Shujaa break USA as Lionesses roar in São Paulo

Coming into the clash winless against the Americans in their last two meetings in Nairobi and Montevideo, Shujaa arrived with intent and a point to prove, delivering a performance stitched together with grit, speed, and precision.

Captain George Ooro set the tone early, bulldozing through with trademark physicality to score the opening converted try.

The USA responded to level matters, but Shujaa’s spark refused to dim. Rising star David Nyangige pounced on a knock-on advantage, slicing through the defence to restore Kenya’s lead.

The contest briefly tilted when the USA were awarded a penalty try following a high tackle by speedster Patrick Odongo, who was sent to the sin bin.

Yet even with a man down, Shujaa showed resilience. Nyangige returned to haunt the Americans, grabbing his second try after capitalising on defensive lapses and handling errors.

With momentum firmly in Kenya’s favour, Menengai Oilers’ John Okoth scooped up a loose ball and linked brilliantly with Nakuru RFC’s Christant Ojwang, who crossed over for Shujaa’s fourth try, stretching the score to 24–14.

The Americans faltered further, and Ojwang returned the favour moments later, benefiting from Nigel Amaitsa’s clever offload to release Okoth, who sealed the victory with Shujaa’s fifth try.

The result capped a strong run for Shujaa, who had already secured qualification to the championship round following convincing wins over Canada and Germany, despite a narrow loss to Belgium. They now turn their focus to Uruguay in their final fixture of the São Paulo leg at 20:34 EAT.

Meanwhile, the Kenya Lionesses lit up the tournament with a dominant 46–0 demolition of China. Freshia Awuor and Faith Livoi ran riot, scoring four and two tries respectively in a statement performance.

After opening with a loss to Argentina, the Lionesses bounced back with a spirited 24–17 win over Spain and a gritty 14–5 victory over South Africa.