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Kenya Lionesses put in a second-half comeback attempt but fell to 15-12 China in their second match of the ongoing 2026 Nairobi HSBC SVNS being staged at Nyayo Stadium on Saturday.
Le Zhang scored in the opening minute as China led 5-0 before Sun Yue stretched the Asians’ lead to 10-0 three minutes later. Ge Chenjie also crossed over at the stroke of half-time as China led 15-0 despite missing all three conversions.
In the final half, it was all a Kenyan affair after Freshia Oduor shrugged off two defenders to score a centre post try with less than a minute left.
France-based Grace Adhiambo then sprinted to score the Lionesses second try, but it was too late as China held on to win.
However, Kenya picked an important losing bonus that will surely come in handy during the rankings.
Earlier on, the Lionesses came from 12-0 down to edge out Brazil 15-12 in their opening match.
Jante Okello, Stella Wafula and Naomi Amuguni all crossed over the white wash as Kenya completed a second-half comeback and stayed well on course to qualify for the World Championship that doubles as qualifiers for Division One.
In other matches, Argentina picked up their second win after downing Spain 19-17. The South Americans had thrashed China 20-10 in their opener.
Brazil, meanwhile, bounced back to winning ways by edging out South Africa 12-0