The Kenya women’s rugby sevens team were crowned champions of the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger Series 2025 last evening, following consistent performances across all three rounds of the tournament.
Kenya secured the title after finishing third in the final round held at Henryk Reyman’s Municipal Stadium in Krakow, Poland.
Despite not reaching the final in Krakow, their overall series points — boosted by victories in both legs of the Cape Town rounds — were enough to clinch the top spot in the women’s standings.
The Krakow leg was won by South Africa, who defeated Argentina 21-12 in the final. Kenya beat Thailand in the third-place playoff to secure bronze.
Kenya’s campaign began in March with back-to-back tournament wins in Cape Town. Those results gave them a commanding lead heading into the final round.
Over the course of the series, they recorded dominant wins against top-ranked sides, finishing with the highest cumulative points in the women’s category.
Team captain Grace Okulu acknowledged the difficulty of the final leg but emphasised the importance of consistency:
“It’s been a tough couple of days in Krakow but we bounced back and we were able to win the series,” she said after the match.
This marks the first time a Kenyan women’s team has won the HSBC Sevens Challenger Series. The result places them among the top contenders for promotion to the core HSBC SVNS Series, pending the outcome of playoff fixtures.
The 2025 HSBC Sevens Challenger Series featured combined events in Cape Town (1–2 and 7–8 March) and Krakow (11–12 April).
