Laban honed his rugby skills further at Baringo High School and former East Africa rugby 15s champions Laiser Hill Academy
Kipsang received his first call up to the national team immediately after high school, to play in the 2021 Rugby Africa Under-20 Barthes Trophy held in Nairobi where Kenya’s Chipu emerged winners
He joined former Kenya Cup champions Kenya Harlequin in June the following year after the Christie Sevens leg of the National Sevens circuit
Laban stands six feet and three inches tall, and is fondly referred to by his team mates as Fumo Liyongo – a celebrated hero, warrior and poet from the East African coast who lived between the ninth and 13th centuries, and Maro Itoje – a top England rugby player.
He is the men’s U20 team captain
Laban Kipsang’s childhood dream was to be a top footballer, a striker like Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga or former Arsenal, Manchester United and Inter Milan forward Alexis Sanchez. He loved the work rate and keenness of Alexis and Olunga, and especially their confidence, creativity and prowess when taking free-kicks and penalties. But, his older brother, Reuben Chepkonga, who was also a rugby player, had other ideas for him. He encouraged the fifth-born in a family of seven to immerse himself in rugby.
How did you get into rugby? Initially I was a football forward (number nine). That was my dream career. I attended football training sessions in Eldoret as my brother went for rugby training, but eventually he convinced me that rugby was a good sport and encouraged me to try it. At the time, I was a football striker at Uasin Gishu Primary School. I didn’t have any interest in rugby. I believed that rugby was a difficult sport where one can easily get injured. But after some time, I decided to try it out. My brother would take me for training sessions with the University of Eldoret’s Trojans when his university was on recess. He taught me the basics like tackling and passing, and gradually, I developed interest.
