Kayange inducted to World Rugby hall of fame

Former rugby international and National Olympics Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) athlete representative Humphrey Kayange has been inducted into the World Rugby’s Hall of Fame, class of 2021. 

The former Shujaas captain is among six legends of the game who have been recognized by the World Rugby Hall of Fame for making outstanding contributions to the game of rugby throughout their careers, demonstrating rugby’s character-building values of integrity, passion, solidarity, discipline and respect on and off the field. 

The six inductees excel within two themes selected by the Hall of Fame panel for 2021, rugby sevens and the Olympic Games in a big Olympic year, and the 150th anniversary of the first international match between Scotland and England in March 1871. 

Kayange who played in the Rio Olympics Games was a member of the World Rugby bid team that convinced the International Olympic Committee (IOC) members to elect rugby sevens to the Olympic programme in October 2009. 

The Kenyan, who was this year, elected to the IOC’s Athletes’ Commission and as an IOC Member, furthering rugby’s voice within the Olympic movement, joins this year’s list of inductees that also has Osea Kolinisau who captained Fiji to their first-ever Olympic medal with gold at Rio 2016. 

Others include Huriana Manuel-Carpenter who won silver with New Zealand as rugby sevens made its Olympic debut in Brazil. In recognition of the 150th anniversary of the first international match, one player from England and Scotland will be inducted in former grand-slam winning England captain Will Carling and legendary former Scotland captain and coach Jim Telfer. 

The sixth inductee, Cheryl McAfee of Australia played an integral role in the first Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2009, scoring the first try in tournament history against China. She went on to lead Australia to the title, defeating New Zealand 15-10 in Dubai. 

The following year, McAfee would guide the Wallaroos to third at the 2010 Rugby World Cup, which remains Australia's highest finish at the event. The induction comes in a fitting year for the Sevens pioneer, having played a major role in the successful bid for the sport to join the Olympics as she joined the World Rugby’s Committee in 2012 after retiring two years earlier, helping the promotion of women's and Sevens Rugby. 

“On behalf of World Rugby, I would like to congratulate our six Hall of Fame inductees, who did not just make their mark on the field of play, but who has played a significant role in advancing the sport. In this Olympic year, we are recognising those who have all played a significant role in cementing rugby as an Olympic sport. Their contributions should not be underestimated in terms of the global growth of rugby. We are also acknowledging the contributions of those who have left their mark on the oldest international fixture in the game," World Rugby Chairman and Hall of Fame inductee No.94 Sir Bill Beaumont told World Rugby in an interview.

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 to 2016, 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.