KENYA women's Sevens team fell to Maple Leafs of Canada 27-5 in the of the Dubai International Invitational tournament.

The Lionesses, captained by Doreen Remour and coached by Kevin Wambua, had lost to the same team 0-17 in their pool matches.

However, they defeated South African side Tukks 21-0, in a match that saw captain Remour score two tries with Janet Awuor adding a third. Celestine Masinde slotted all the three conversions. They went on to beat Sweden Vikings (Sweden 7s) 22-14 with Masinde grabbing a brace and Phila Olando and Janet Awuor touching down once each. Remour slotted home one conversion in the match.

A 7-5 victory over Moscow Region and a 12-5 win over UAE booked them a slot in the semi- final against the Vikings. They subsequently inflicted a second defeat on the Vikings, posting a 7-0 result to reach the final where they fell 5-27 to the Canadian development side, Maple Leafs. Wambua said the results were encouraging considering this is their third tournament in Dubai

"The girls have done extremely well to get to the final of the invitational tournament. Our performance reflects our determination and the growth of women's rugby in Kenya," he noted. "We have shown our mettle in the tournament in Dubai and having reached the final, I would like to appeal to the union to organise more international tournaments for the side in the new year."

Elsewhere, the inaugural Naivasha 10-a-side tournament is slated for December 15-16 at the Oserian grounds. The event is to help popularise the game outside the strongholds of Nairobi, Kisumu, Kakamega and Nakuru and--at the same time raise funds for Stormers-- a self supporting club from the area. Teams expected for the event include--Mwamba, Masaku, Blak Blad, Thika, Nakuru RFC, among others. Organisers have promised to put up an excellent tournament as they seek to tap the talent in the area.