Injera: King of rugby who is loved on the pitch and off it

Some know him as Collo. Others as Papa Locole. Some call him Chuchu Train. He has scored the most tries in the history of the World Rugby Sevens Series.

He is known in pretty much every country in the world, for he is Collins Injera.

The Mwamba Rugby Club and Kenya Sevens icon will forever have the 2015-2016 World Rugby Sevens Series etched in his memory following a fantastic season that saw him score his way into the game’s history books.

The 29-year-old try scoring machine touched down 32 times, bringing his total career tally to 235 tries, the highest ever recorded by any player in the history of the Sevens Series.

Injera, one of the most popular players in the shorter version of the game, surpassed the previous record set by Argentine legend Santiago Gomez Cora.

England Sevens winger Dan Norton is close on his heels with 210 tries, but for now the father of two sits pretty at the top of the world.

Like most rugby players in Kenya, Injera got introduced to the gentleman’s game while doing his O-levels at Vihiga High School.

Following his successful completion of high school in 2005, Injera opted to follow his big brother Humphrey Kayange to Ulinzi Rugby Club which was then famed for its super fit, aggressive, well-built players who would beat opponents to submission with ease.

With Ulinzi’s demise in 2007 Injera and his brother Kayange joined Mwamba where their stars would begin to shine.

Injera was called up to the national sevens team in 2008 by Benjamin Ayimba who was in the process of forging a team that could take Kenya to the next level — winning trophies.

He is lightning fast, deceptively strong, and has proven time and again that he can pull a trick or two up his sleeve whenever systems are not working as planned.

“He was actually the strongest player during my stint as Kenya Sevens coach. He could bench-press three times his weight in the gym,” says Mitch Ocholla, who coached Injera between 2011 and 2012 at the national team.

A telepathic combination of Injera and Kayange would help in this project as their partnership gave Ayimba one of the most lethal teams in the world which also included the phenomenal Innocent Simiyu, workhorse Ben Nyambu and reliable playmakers Lavin Asego and Biko Adema.

Coaches and fellow players often describe Injera as an intelligent man and a good role model to youngsters.
Former Kenya Sevens coach Ocholla believes Injera is the complete package, as he is extraordinary on the pitch and a great character off the field.

“He is going to be a world leader. His leadership skills show that he has become more mature. On the pitch he is versatile. I have seen him play at the wing, centre, scrumhalf and even flyhalf.

‘‘He has a good understanding of the game. You can see young children saying they want to become someone like Injera, which means he is a role model,” holds Ocholla.

Ocholla also believes Injera is a great mentor, skills that he will have to put to good use in helping younger players like Nelson Oyoo and Leonard Mugaisi fit into his shoes.

“He is a natural athlete but he is also intelligent. This has heightened his ability to learn new skills and absorb game plans and puts him above the rest. He is a good example of what you can achieve if you put your mind to something.

‘‘You can see that he thrives in everything that he does on and off the pitch. Even when he falls short, his efforts are easy to see,” says John Mbai, Mwamba RFC head coach.

Injera was named man of the match when the Kenya Sevens team beat Fiji in the Singapore final to become the second African team to win a main cup. He scored two tries in the final to see Kenya destroy overall series champions Fiji 30-7.

He also emerged the fifth best performer in the 2015-2016 season. Only Jasa Veremalua, Osea Kolinisau (Fiji), Seabelo Senatla (South Africa) and Perry Baker (USA) had better statistics than Injera.

The performance chart involved the calculation of total tackles, line breaks, ball offloads and ball carries each player managed for every minute he was on the pitch.

Injera’s total tally was 312, just 48 behind Fiji’s Veremalua.

His most important career tries however came in the London Sevens — the final leg of the 10-stop circuit. The Mwamba RFC winger scored his 230th try in a pool game against Scotland. Kenya however lost …

In the final pool game against France, Injera went down for his 231st try but that was not what caught the attention of the world.

Little known to fans around the world, Injera’s parents were seated in the stands cheering their boy on. Realising that the try had put him on the scorers’ throne, Injera dashed to the stands, took off his jersey and handed it to his father before embracing both his parents in one of the most emotional scenes ever witnessed in sporting history.

The photo of Injera’s father lifting the jersey and showing it to the world went viral within minutes.

Injera is as good as sure of a place in the Kenya Sevens team which will take to the field at the London Olympics in August, and will look to earn the country her first ever medal in a team sport.

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