Mwanja said their Olympics hopes are simply a ‘dream deferred’ that they will relentlessly pursue when the repechage tournament comes around next year.

“It has been an enjoyable experience…we came into this tournament with our heads held high, playing one game at a time. We dared and believed we were going to qualify for the Olympics…and we still believe we are going to qualify. We are proud of how we played and even getting to the finals. Despite losing to the South Africans, we gave them a run for their money,” Mwanja said.

It was a case of so-close-yet-so-far for Lionesses as the Boks scored in the last moments of the second half to clinch the tie 12-7 after Sharon Auma had put the ball over the white line to give Kenya a 7-5 lead.

The South Africans had gone into the breather with 5-0 lead after what had been a closely-fought first half.

Kenya’s path to the finals was a emphatic one in which they had swat side neighbours Uganda in the semis, thrashing them 27-00 in a dominant display on Sunday morning.

Reflecting on their campaign in North Africa, Mwanja waxed lyrical about the girls, adding that this is a team many have not heard the last of.

“We came here not to fill up the numbers but to contend for the trophy. The girls played their hearts out…they played quite well. When you get to such a final, it is the attention to the details that matter, including passing, decision making and execution . Everyone wants to win but it’s not about who wants to win…every team that came here wants to win. However, it is about the team that makes the less mistakes,” the former Kenya international said.

He added: “There’s so much pressure and when there’s so much pressure on the skill level, that’s when mistakes happen. So, a team that makes less mistakes carries the day. As you could see, we made one or two mistakes that turned the tide against us but the game could’ve gone either way.”

‘Ironman’ further pointed to the mix of experience and youth in the team as a plus that will pay dividends in the near future.

“I am proud of the girls…there are young girls here like Sharon (Auma) who is barely a year in the team. Looking at Phoebe (Akinyi), Judith (Ouma)…looking at Diana (Awino) who is 20 years old as well as Dorcas (Nyachio)… you see it is a team that is a mix of youth and experience led by Janet Okello and Grace Okulu who has been in the team for so long as the captain and is actually very young because she started age grade rugby at the tender age of five or seven years in Nakuru ,” he said.

Mwanja added: “We have a good future plus we have the captain Sheila Chajira who has just recovered from injury. The team will be beefed up…we covet the support of the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU), the programmes and the government as well. We appreciate the Ministry of Sports and everything they have done for us to get here.”

Lionesses will be hopeful of a second successive appearance at the quadrennial games following their participation at the last edition in Tokyo, two years ago.