The Kenya national rugby union team is also known as the Simbas . Kenya competes in the Africa Cup and is ranked thirty-fourth in the World Rugby Rankings as of January 2023. Kenya is yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup.
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.
The Kenya national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games. They are currently one of the 15 "core teams" of the World Series, with a guaranteed place in all 10 events each season. Kenya recorded its first tournament win in the World Rugby Sevens Series after beating Fiji at the 2016 Singapore Sevens. Kenya has also been successful in the Rugby World Cup Sevens, reaching the semifinals in 2009 and again in 2013.
The Kenya Cup is the top tier club rugby union competition in Kenya organized by the Kenya Rugby Union. For the 2019-2020 season, twelve teams are divided into two pools of six, Each team plays home and away against each team in its pool and once against each team in the other pool. The top six teams in the single-table format qualify for the playoff finals: the top two teams secure a home semi-final. The other four teams are paired into two knock-out games: the winners of the two games each play one of the two top-ranked teams. The winners of the two semi-final fixtures play in the final to determine the overall winner(the top-ranked team before the playoffs hosts the final).
Nakuru Rugby Football Club also known as 'Wanyore' is a Kenyan rugby club based in Nakuru. It has played for several years in the Kenya Cup and Eric Shirley Shield leagues run by the Kenya Rugby Football Union. Nakuru RFC operates and trains at the Nakuru Athletic Club Grounds in Nakuru. They play at the 2,000-capacity Nakuru Stadium.
Collins Injera is a former Kenyan rugby player. He holds the second place for number of tries scored on the World Rugby Sevens Series with 271. He is known for his achievements with Kenyan national rugby sevens team.
Kenya Harlequin Football Club, is a Kenyan rugby union club that competes in the Kenya Cup, the top level of Kenyan rugby. The club motto "Nunquam Dormio" is Latin, meaning I never sleep.
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.
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.
The Blackrock Rugby Festival, is an annual school's rugby union competition held at St. Mary's School in Nairobi, Kenya, usually around 17 and 23 May. It is claimed to be the biggest high school tournament in East Africa. The first tournament took place in 1983, and also featured a club rugby competition. The tournament is used by Kenyan rugby clubs to scout for new and upcoming players.
First played in 1999,The Kenya National Sevens Circuit is an annual series of rugby sevens tournaments run by the Kenya Rugby Union in conjunction with host clubs featuring teams from across the country. Teams compete for the National Sevens Circuit title by accumulating points based on their finishing position in each tournament. The season’s circuit currently comprises 6 tournaments in 6 cities and towns across Kenya.
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.
Andrew Murunga is Kenyan footballer who plays for Kenyan Premier League side Vihiga United as a striker. He made his debut for the Kenya national football team on 5 June 2013 in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Nigeria.
The 2016 Kenyan Premier League was the 13th season of the Kenyan Premier League since it began in 2003, and the 53rd season of top-division football in Kenya since 1963. It began on 13 February and ended on 19 November. Tusker won their eleventh league title, earning a place in the preliminary round of the 2017 CAF Champions League. Ulinzi Stars earned a place in the preliminary round of the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup as runners-up of the 2016 FKF President's Cup, which was also won by Tusker. The two teams will face each other at the 2017 Kenyan Super Cup.
Peter Karia is a Kenyan rugby union player. He plays hooker.
Innocent "Namcos" Simiyu is a Kenyan rugby union former player who captained the Kenya national rugby union team and the national rugby sevens team. In the World Rugby Sevens Series, Simiyu has represented Kenya in 121 matches scoring 321 points. At club level he played for Impala Saracens and Kenya Harlequin.
Ferdinand Omanyala Omurwa is a Kenyan sprinter competing in the 60 metres, 100 m and 200 m. In 2022, he won his first international championships, with victories in the 100 m at the Commonwealth Games, and African Championships in Athletics. Omanyala is the African record holder and the ninth-fastest man of all time in the event after clocking a time of 9.77 seconds on 18 September 2021 in Nairobi. He also holds Kenyan national record in the 60 m.
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.
Myke Rabar
