Edward Rombo

Last updated
Edward Rombo
Date of birth (1967-03-19) 19 March 1967 (age 57)
Place of birth Nairobi, Kenya
School Nairobi School
University University of Nairobi, Leeds University
Rugby union career
Position(s) Winger
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1987 Barclays RFC ()
1987–90 Mean Machine RFC ()
1999–03 Mwamba RFC ()
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
Kenya
1987–90 KRFU Chairman's XV
Watembezi Pacesetters VII
Scorpions RFC
Coaching career
YearsTeam
2010– Mwamba RFC
Rugby league career
Playing information
Position Wing
Club
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
1990 Leeds 916
1991–94 Dewsbury 109332
1995–97 Featherstone Rovers 56104
Total174000452
Coaching information
Club
YearsTeamGmsWDLW%
2020- Kenya

Edward Rombo is a Kenyan former rugby union and rugby league footballer. He was one of the few Kenya rugby players to turn professional, when he moved to Leeds Rhinos in 1990. [1]

Contents

Playing career

Rombo was born in 1967 in Nairobi, Kenya. He started playing rugby union when he moved to Nairobi School for secondary school education, where he captained the 1986 school side. [2] During his school years he also played for Barclays RFC, which won the Kenya Cup in 1987. After leaving school, he enrolled in the University of Nairobi, where he joined Mean Machine RFC.

On a trip to Singapore with the Watembezi Pacesetters VII he was awarded the player of the tournament, and soon after was signed by English rugby league club Leeds. He also went on to play for Dewsbury and Featherstone Rovers.

There have only been a few other players from Kenya that have played overseas, such as Benjamin Ayimba and Oscar Osir, who both had stints with the Cornish Pirates from 2005 to 2006 [3] and Lucas Onyango who played for various professional rugby league clubs including Widnes Vikings. Teddy Omondi and Derrick Wamalwa also played professional rugby in France for Racing Club of Paris. Wamalwa was forced to retire due to knee injury. Omondi however continues and has just secured a new three-year contract.[ needs update ] Willy Ambaka has also secured a pro-contract in France where he plies his trade. [4] He took the opportunity to attend the University of Leeds and gain a degree in law.

He returned to Kenya in 1999, and played for Mwamba RFC between 1999 and 2003. Rombo later served as assistant coach for Kenya 7s and as a director on the Kenya Rugby Football Union Board from 2010 to 2012. He then retired and is now the Mwamba RFC coach.

Managerial career

In 2020, Rombo was named head coach of the Kenya national rugby league team. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iestyn Harris</span> Professional RL coach & former GB & Wales international dual-code rugby footballer

Iestyn Rhys Harris is a former dual-code international professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s, and coach in rugby league in the 2000s and 2010s. He played representative rugby league for Great Britain and Wales, and at club level for the Warrington Wolves, the Leeds Rhinos (captain) where he won the 1998 Man of Steel Award, the Bradford Bulls (captain), and Featherstone Rovers, and representative rugby union for Wales, and at club level for Cardiff RFC and Cardiff Blues, and has coached representative rugby league for Wales, and at club level for Featherstone Rovers, the Crusaders Rugby League, the Wigan Warriors, and Salford Red Devils.

Rugby League in Kenya is a growing spectator and participatory sport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornish Pirates</span> English rugby union club, based in Penzance

The Cornish Pirates are a professional rugby union team who play in the Championship, the second level of the English rugby union pyramid, and are the premier Cornish rugby club. Formerly known as Penzance & Newlyn RFU, the Cornish Pirates play and train at their home ground, the Mennaye Field in Penzance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenya national rugby union team</span>

The Kenya national rugby union team, commonly known as the Simbas, is the country's national team managed by the Kenya Rugby Union. The team plays in red, green, and black jerseys with black or white shorts. The Simbas represent Kenya in the Africa Cup and various other tournaments across the continent. They currently rank 34 in the World Rugby Rankings and fourth in Africa. Kenya is yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby union in Kenya</span>

Rugby union in Kenya is a popular sport, in particular due to the success of the Kenya national rugby sevens team in the rugby sevens format, and tournaments such as the Safari Sevens, which has been growing yearly, and now includes numerous international teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collins Injera</span> Rugby player

Collins Injera is a former Kenyan rugby player. He holds third place for the number of tries scored on the World Rugby Sevens Series with 279. He is known for his achievements with Kenyan national rugby sevens team.

Derek Hallas is an English former rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s, and coached rugby league in the 1960s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Yorkshire, and at club level for Roundhay RFC, as a centre, i.e. number 12 or 13, and representative level rugby league (RL) for Great Britain and Yorkshire, and at club level for Keighley, Leeds, Parramatta Eels and the Inverell Hawks (captain), as a centre, and coached at club level for the Inverell Hawks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Africa rugby union team</span> Rugby team

Established in 1950, the East Africa rugby union team is a multi-national rugby union team drawing players from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, though the vast majority of these came from Kenya which has traditionally been the strongest rugby playing nation in the region. The team has played against incoming international, representative and club touring sides and it conducted seven tours between 1954 and 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mwamba RFC</span> Kenyan rugby union club

Mwamba Rugby Football Club,, is a Kenyan rugby union club based in Nairobi. The club was founded in 1977 with the aim of promoting rugby union among indigenous Kenyans at a time when the sport of rugby was still de facto a preserve of whites in Kenya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grzegorz Kacała</span> Polish rugby union player (born 1966)

Grzegorz Kacała is a Polish former professional rugby union and rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, and has coached rugby union in the 2000s and 2010s. He was born on 15 March 1966. In rugby union, his position was in the back row, usually Number 8. He is the only Polish player to have been on a Heineken Cup winning team, in 1997. He did so with CA Brive. He was named man of the match in the final against Leicester Tigers. He currently coaches in Poland at Lechia Gdańsk (2009/2010). He also played with Cardiff RFC. He started his professional career in the Polish League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bamburi Rugby Super Series</span>

The Bamburi Super Series was an East African Rugby union competition with eight teams in total, five teams from Kenya two from Uganda and one from Tanzania (Twigas) that is currently defunct. It is closely based on the Super Rugby competition in the southern hemisphere. Games take place at the RFUEA Ground in Nairobi (Kenya), Friedkin Recreation Centre in Arusha (Tanzania) and the Kyadondo Grounds, Kampala (Uganda). Rhinos have won the most titles with four wins, and are the only team to have defended a title when they beat the Cheetahs 25–5 in the 2010 final.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homeboyz RFC</span> African rugby club in Nairobi, Kenya

Homeboyz Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Nairobi, Kenya, that competes in the Kenya Cup, Eric Shirley Shield, Enterprise Cup and Mwamba Cup. Formed in 2009, Homeboyz also has a women's team that competes in the Kenya Rugby Football Union women's league every year. Both the men's and women's teams also compete in the Kenya National Sevens Circuit that happens annually. Their main home ground is Jamhuri Park.

The Eric Shirley Shield is a rugby union tournament in the Kenyan domestic league. It was founded in 1962 as a second tier competition to the Nairobi District Championship

KCB Rugby Club is a rugby union team based in Nairobi, Kenya. It was formed in 1989 after the disbanding of Kenya Breweries RFC when their main sponsor, Kenya Breweries, pulled out. That year they joined the Kenya Cup. Their first match was against Impala RFC, whom they beat 96–6. In 1994 the team was relegated to the Eric Shirley Shield, however by 1996 they had regained their position in Kenya's top rugby league. The club now has a 2nd XV team which has performed well, winning the Mwamba Cup, and Eric Shirley Shield several times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enterprise Cup</span>

The Enterprise Cup is an annual rugby union competition in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, though the competition frequently has the appearance of being an all-Kenyan affair as the majority of rugby clubs in the African Great Lakes region are based in this one country and frequently clubs in Tanzania and Uganda are unable to take part due to financial constraints. The original cup was donated by sailors from HMS Enterprise, who had toured British East Africa in 1928. The only years in which the competition has not been played is between 1940–1946 due to World War II and in 1987 because an international rugby competition was held on RFUEA Ground as part of the All Africa Games.

Rugby union in East Africa is almost entirely an amateur sport. It has been played in the three East African nations for more than a century; the first recorded match taking place in 1909, though it was almost certainly being played for several years prior to this. There are many club and school teams, the oldest of which were established in Colonial times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulinzi Stars F.C.</span> Kenyan football club

Ulinzi Stars Football Club is an association football club based in Nakuru, Kenya. They compete in the Kenyan Premier League, where they won three consecutive titles from 2003 to 2005. They are the only team to have done so, along with AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia, and won their most recent league title in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kisumu RFC</span> Kenyan rugby union football team

Kisumu Rugby Football Club is a Kenyan rugby union club based in Kisumu. Also known as Lakeside RFC, for the 2015–16 season the club competes in the Nationwide League.

Rugby league in Africa refers to the involvement of the sport of rugby league in the African continent.

Simon Odongo is a Kenyan rugby union coach and former player. He was born and grew up in Nairobi. His position as a player was Flyhalf / Center / Wing / Fullback and he played for Mwamba RFC, and Homeboyz RFC. He has been the Homeboyz head coach twice now 2018-2019 replacing Paul Murunga and 2021, replacing Jason Hector.

References

  1. "Mwamba Rugby Football Club". Mwambarugby.com. 2010-02-06. Archived from the original on 2012-02-27. Retrieved 2012-06-24.
  2. Archived February 8, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Kenyan Pirates savour sevens success 16/02/09". Cornish-pirates.com. 2005-11-15. Retrieved 2011-06-04.
  4. "Soya Awards". Soya Awards. Retrieved 2012-06-24.
  5. Daly, Phil (2020-05-18). "Former Leeds winger Rombo named Kenyan national head coach". Leeds Rhinos . Retrieved 2020-08-08.