Ex-Kenya Sevens star joins US Army
Kenya's Horace Otieno (left) is tackled by Argentina's Gaston Revol during the pool C match of the 2012 Tokyo Sevens World Series rugby tournament in Tokyo on March 31, 2012.
What you need to know:
- The 33-year-old player, who featured for Kisumu Rugby Club and Mwamba Rugby Club locally, announced he was joining the US military on his social media pages on Thursday.
Former Kenya Sevens star Horace Otieno has joined the United States of America army.
The 33-year-old player, who featured for Kisumu Rugby Club and Mwamba Rugby Club locally, announced he was joining the US military on his social media pages on Thursday.
"This We'll Defend," said Otieno on Twitter. "I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the United States of America in close combat."
Before retiring from rugby in 2016, Otieno had played 123 matches for Kenya in the prestigious World Rugby Sevens Series between 2007 and 2014, scoring 215 points from 43 tries.
The prop comes from a sporting family. His brother Hyke, also played for Mwamba, while Godfrey is currently a scrum half at the Kenya Harlequin.
Horace represented his national club Mwamba RFC in the local leagues and tournaments as well as turning out both Kenya Sevens and Kenya 15s (Simbas) in the international scene.
He was part of the Shujaa team that reached semi-finals at the World Rugby Sevens World Cup in Dubai (2009) and Moscow, Russia (2013).
Otieno also worked as a Physical Education and Sports Coach with some of the top international schools in Kenya like Peponi and Greensted International Schools.
He had a remarkable rugby career while in high school at Nyabondo High School and reached to the national schools competitions in 2001 to 2004.
He played for his college, Technical University of Kenya, from 2006-2008 and Mwamba RFC from 2006 until he retired.
