Ouma said Olesia was a hard tackler and an integral member of the team and that winning the tournament is the perfect way to honour her memory.

“We are going all in for the number five…she (Olesia) was playing number five in the team. She used to make tackles…big tackles, so that is what we are going to do in Dubai. We are going in with a positive energy and we are going to play for her. That’s just it,” Ouma said.

Olesia was a core member of the Lionesses, having represented the national team at major competitions, including the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup in Madagascar in May this year, which was her last international outing.

At the club level, she turned out for Northern Suburbs, in addition to working for the Shamas Rugby Foundation.

On her part, Ouma will be skippering a 25-woman team for the first time, in a tournament in which they will be debuting.

She described the opportunity to captain the national team as a honour but a heavy responsibility on which she will be razor focused.

“I think I have grown to now being the captain. It is not easy…this is my first time captaining the team and I am going to give my heart to it, just like I have been doing all throughout my years in this sport,” Ouma said.

She added: “Of course, I feel it (the pressure of captaining the team for the first time). It is a very heavy responsibility but the key is to continue doing what I have been doing, which is pouring my heart out.”

Moreover, Ouma outlined how she has been pursuing continuous improvement in her game by keeping up to speed with the latest changes in rugby.

“Since I started playing, the game of rugby has been changing every day. I wake up every day and there is something that has changed in the game and it is up to me to keep in touch with the same,” she explained.

‘Come so far’

Another player who is proud of the far she has come in rugby is Grace Adhiambo, the national rugby 7s team skipper.

Adhiambo admits she is amazed by her growth in the game to the extent she feels like she has been playing rugby all her life.

“I think I started playing rugby when I was very young. People tell me until today that I have played rugby for so long…even longer than my age. Being a second-time Olympian is a huge thing in my life. Qualifying for the Olympics will definitely open doors for me…not only for me but also the other ladies in the team,” she said.

Adhiambo will be leading a 12-woman team to the Rugby Africa 7s Olympics qualifiers in Tunisia from October 14-15.

The skipper said they will be taking no prisoners as they bid for another appearance at the quadrennial event, following on from their participation at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

“We are going all in…we have what we need and even if we don’t have it all, we are going to work hard to bring something on the table. I know the other teams will want to come down hard on us but we are also not going there to just relax, hoping that things will happen,” she said.