Former Kenya Sevens star Humphrey Kayange was on Wednesday inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame.
Kayange became the first Kenyan and East African rugby athlete to be on the 164-person Hall of Fame list which celebrates those who have inspired and developed the game from humble origins.
He played for both the Kenya 15s and Sevens teams between 2004 and 2016.
The Rio 2016 Olympic Games was a fitting stage for one of Kenyan rugby’s greats to bow out on.
A veteran of 12 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, from 2004-16, Kayange, along with his brother Collins Injera, was a mainstay of a Kenyan team feared for its strength and athleticism.
A Master graduate in Chemistry by profession, Kayange helped the Shujaa reach two Rugby World Cup Sevens semi-finals, in 2009 – the same year he was nominated for World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year – and again in 2013.
He also appeared at two Commonwealth Games, in 2010 and 2014, and was a member of the team that won Kenya’s first-ever World Series Cup title in Singapore in 2016. He finished his career on the World Series as Kenya’s third highest points scorer in sevens, with 799 points and 159 tries, while in 15s he scored four tries in 12 tests as a hard-running centre.
Even though Kenya failed to challenge for a medal at Rio 2016, the very fact rugby sevens was part of the Games’ programme was in some part down to Kayange, who as a member of World Rugby’s bid team, successfully presented the case for the sport’s inclusion to International Olympic Committee members in 2009.
In 2021, Kayange was elected to the IOC Athletes’ Commission and as an IOC Member.
