Janet Okello scored a hat-trick of tries as Kenya Lionesses kicked off their 2025 Rugby Africa Women's Sevens campaign on the front foot after thrashing Ivory Coast 44-0 at RFUEA Grounds on Saturday afternoon.
The Safari Sevens champions were keen to begin their attempt to dethrone record champions South Africa on a bright start and also impress their home crowd as hosts, a goal they achieved thanks to brilliant play from Okello.
Ivory Coast had kicked off their campaign with a 57-0 defeat to Ghana in their opener and needed to avoid defeat against the hosts to stand a chance of making the playoffs.
Okello broke the deadlock after selling a pair of wheels down the left wing before adding a second on the opposite side of the field moments later for an early 10-0 lead, as the two conversions slipped wide.
Lionesses captain Sheila Chajira powered over the line to stretch the lead to 15-0 before Okello grabbed her hat trick heading to the break as Kenya led comfortably 20-0.
In the final half, Freshia Awino sliced through the defence to score, followed shortly by scrum-half Edith Nariaka, extending the advantage to 32-0.
Faith Livoi then bulldozed her way over for 39-0 before Kenya sealed the dominant 44-0 win with a final five-pointer.
At the same time, defending champions South Africa recorded the biggest win of the round, thrashing Mauritius 68-0.
Maria Tshiremba opened the scoring before Simamkele Namba sprinted down the right to double the lead to 12-0. Tshiremba then completed her brace, pushing the score to 19-0, before Nadine Roos added another for a 26-0 advantage.
Namba also bagged her second as the Cecil Afrika-coached side went into the break at 33-0.
In the second half, Ayanda Malinga, Vianca Boer (who scored twice), and Patience Mokone joined the scoreboard as South Africa cruised to a 68-0 victory.
Uganda also enjoyed a strong outing, securing a 50-0 win over Burkina Faso to boost their chances of advancing to the quarterfinals.
Other results saw Tunisia beat Egypt 22-0, Zambia school Burkina Faso 54-0 and Zimbabwe pamper Mauritius 29-7. Madagascar also beat Egypt 31-5.
Rugby Africa Women's 7s Results
Tunisia 22-0 Egypt
Zambia 54-0 Burkina Faso
Ghana 57-0 Ivory Coast
Zimbabwe 29-7 Mauritius
Madagascar 31-5 Egypt
Uganda 50-0 Burkina Faso
Kenya 44-0 Ivory Coast
South Africa 68-0 Mauritius.
