Edward Rombo is a Kenyan former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

and

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer. He was one of the few Kenya rugby players to turn professional, when he moved to

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headi ...

in 1990.

Playing career

Rombo was born in 1967 in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

, Kenya. He started playing

when he moved to

Nairobi School The Nairobi School is a national secondary school in Nairobi, Kenya. It was founded in 1902 by the British settlers who had made Nairobi their home after the construction of the Uganda Railway. In 1925, Lord Delamere and Sir Edward Grigg, then ...

for secondary school education, where he captained the 1986 school side. 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 , mottoeng = In unity and work , image = Uon emblem.gif , image_size = 210px , caption = Coat of Arms of the University , type = Public , endowment ...

, where he joined

Mean Machine RFC Mean Machine RFC is a Rugby union club based in Nairobi, Kenya. It is the representative side of the University of Nairobi and was founded in 1977 during the time when rugby union in Kenya was predominantly played by white settlers and expats. In ...

. 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

club

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

. He also went on to play for

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

and Featherstone Rovers. There have only been a few other players from Kenya that have played overseas, such as

Benjamin Ayimba Benjamin Ayimba (27 August 1976 – 22 May 2021) was a rugby player and coach of the Kenya sevens rugby team. Career Ayimba played for Nondescripts RFC 2002 before moving to Cornish Pirates in England between 2003 and 2005. He played in t ...

and

Oscar Osir Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

, who both had stints with the Cornish Pirates from 2005 to 2006 and Lucas Onyango who played for various professional

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.

Willy Ambaka William Ambaka Ndayara (born 14 May 1990) is a Kenyan rugby union player, currently playing for the Kenya national rugby sevens team, Kenyan national sevens team as well as for in New Zealand's Mitre 10 Cup. He has previously played professional ...

has also secured a pro-contract in France where he plies his trade. 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 Mwamba Rugby Football Club, (Known as Stanbic Mwamba RFC for sponsorship purposes), 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 spor ...

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

coach.

Managerial career

In 2020, Rombo was named head coach of the

Kenya national rugby league team The Kenya national rugby league team represent Kenya in the sport of rugby league football. History They made their international rugby league debut against Italy where Kenya defeated them 34-24 in front of over 5000 fans at a local primary schoo ...

References

External links

Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rombo, Edward 1967 births Living people Alumni of Nairobi School Alumni of the University of Leeds Dewsbury Rams players Expatriate rugby league players in England Expatriate rugby union players in England Featherstone Rovers players Kenya national rugby league team coaches Kenyan expatriate rugby league players Kenyan expatriate rugby union players Kenyan expatriate sportspeople in England Kenyan rugby league players Kenyan rugby union players Leeds Rhinos players University of Nairobi alumni