Kenya’s U18 Rising Lionesses opened their rugby sevens campaign at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games with a 12-5 victory over China in their Pool A encounter at the Complexe Iba Mar Diop CID Stadium in Senegal on Monday, November 2, 2026.

The game began with both teams looking to stamp their authority in the opening minutes. The breakthrough came in the third minute after China’s Guo Xinlei was shown a yellow card and sent to the sin bin, giving Kenya a numerical advantage.

Kenya capitalised on the opportunity, with Evalyne Afande crossing the try line to give the Junior Lionesses a 5-0 lead. Joy Murigi missed the conversion as Kenya took control of the opening exchanges.

Neither side added to the score before the half-time break, with Kenya leading 5-0.

The Rising Lionesses came out strongly after the restart and extended their lead within the first minute of the second half. Micheal Mmboga scored Kenya’s second try to make it 10-0 before Joy Murigi added the conversion moments later to stretch the advantage to 12-0.

China fought back through Peng Songmei, who crossed for a try to reduce the deficit to 12-5. Peng missed the conversion, leaving Kenya with a seven-point lead.

The Rising Lionesses kept China at bay for the remainder of the match, and the final whistle confirmed a 12-5 victory for Kenya.

Kenya will return to action against hosts Senegal in their second Pool A fixture, scheduled for 5:26 p.m. later in the day.

The victory places the Rising Lionesses second in Pool A with three points, level with Australia, who lead on points difference following their 32-0 win over Senegal.

The top two teams in each pool will qualify for the semi-finals, while the remaining sides will compete in the placing matches.