The national women beach volleyball team was defeated 2-0 by England in their final warm-up match yesterday ahead of the Commonwealth games which kick off on Friday.

Denise Mutatsimpundu and Charlotte Nzayisenga, who will represent Rwanda in the Games, lost the first set 21-12 and although they started well the second set, the English side still recovered to win 21-16.

The Rwandans won their first friendly 2-0 against Trinidad and Tobago and coach Christopher Mudahinyuka says there are some positives to pick despite losing to a superior England team.

"The English team were more experienced than us and it showed with how they stayed calm and composed when we took the lead in the second set; nonetheless, the team deserves credit for pushing them and being resilient. Some teams would have lost without getting a single point,” said Mudahinyuka.

Mutatsimpundu and Nzayisenga booked their ticket to the XXI Commonwealth Games after beating Nigeria in the final of African Championships in Sierra Leone last October. The Rwandan duo will begin their campaign against New Zealand on April 7 before taking on Vanuatu on April 8 before wrapping up their group games against Singapore the following day.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw