Scrumhalf Samuel Asati steps and dances to rugby success

Standing at a full height of 5’6 and weighing 75kg, Samuel Asati has always been small but fearless on the rugby pitch boasting of quick feet, quick mind and a bag full of tricks.

“When I was a kid watching rugby, at first, I didn't know if I could make it. Because those guys were huge,” says Asati.

Asati nicknamed “TinTin” was born in Kisii county in 1999. He grew up at the Karura Forest in Nairobi where his mum worked.

“I'm the last born in family of four boys. None of my siblings are sportspeople. As a child I had a need for adrenaline, rough sports. Football was too normal for me. So, I tried cricket first then settled on rugby when it was introduced at Muthaiga Primary School.”

He started playing rugby in class six with Shamas Rugby Foundation in 2012. In 2013 he travelled to South Africa with Shamas for an exchange programme. Then in class eight he transitioned to Northern Suburbs RFC which was then the feeder team for KCB Rugby.

When he was starting out in age-grade rugby a youth coach at KCB Rugby assigned him the scrumhalf position. And while he can play as a flyhalf, Asati has made the number nine position his own for school, club and country. He has built his reputation around speed, awareness, distribution, and his ability to influence games from the base of the scrum.

Due to his good rugby foundation, he played for Kisii’s Cardinal Otunga High School team from Form one to four. During the school holidays, Asati would play for KCB Under-16 and Under-18 teams in the occasional rugby festivals.

He has good memories of playing for Cardinal Otunga during the 2016 secondary school national games held at Kangaru High School in Embu while in Form four.

Immediately after high school, he started playing for KCB Rugby second team in the country’s second division league, Eric Shirley Shield (ESS).

“I believe one thing that has made me stand out is I've had quite a good transition. Played in the age grade, went to the KCB team two side, transitioned to the KCB Rugby Kenya Cup side, then to the national teams, I've had quite a good development. I've never missed any step,” Asati shares what he believes is the secret to his success.

For the past 14 years Asati has been part of KCB Rugby, with nine of those years as a professional player under a performance-based contract.

“KCB is one of the clubs that takes care of their players quite well. Both when they are healthy and playing or when they get injured and need surgery and rehabilitation. Being part of the KCB Rugby team, you wear the jersey with pride. And remember whenever much is given to you, much is expected from you,” a proud Asati explains.

KCB known for signing the best in the country currently has 65 players in its rugby books – for both Kenya Cup and ESS sides. This makes the competition for places stiff as Asati explains, “In the number nine position, we have six players, so that's healthy competition in the team. And there is assessment after a period, so there is no room to relax.”

When he is not dancing and dummying past opponents on the rugby pitch, Asati is a student at KCA University, doing his second bachelor's degree - business and information technology. His first degree was in Real estate management at Mount Kenya University.

“The first degree was for the parents. I am doing my degree now,” is how Asati explains his decision to go back to school. Given his national team duties that have him globetrotting for weeks at a time, being a student calls for commitment and balancing from himself and understanding from his lecturers.

In his view, “since in rugby in Kenya is not fully professional, it's semi-professional in some clubs, and amateur in most of the teams”, any upcoming player should really focus on their education and “use rugby to open doors, to get education scholarships, jobs”.

Asati who is 27, boasts of a long career within the national rugby team set-up.

“I was first selected for the Kenya Under-16 team in 2014, under the late coach Eric Situma. We were supposed to go to Germany, but we did not travel. Then in 2017, I was called up to the Kenya Under-20 team – Chipu - but did not make the final squad. 2018 is when I first played for Chipu under coach Paul Odera.”

Chipu finished third behind hosts Namibia and Tunisia in the 2018 Barthes Cup. Kenya got revenge the following year. Asati was the vice-captain as Chipu stunned Namibia 21 - 18 in the 2019 Barthes Cup final played at the KCB Sports Club. Lifting the African Under-20 trophy earned Chipu a slot in the 2019 World Rugby Under-20 Trophy in Brazil.

2019 was an extra good year for Asati as he also made his debut for the senior fifteens’ national men’s rugby team, Kenya Simbas, against Zambia in the 2019 Victoria Cup played at the RFUEA Grounds.

Even as he took on the rough and tumble of fifteens’ rugby and roared with Kenya Simbas, Asati had a dream.

“Any kid growing up who plays rugby, what was shown on the magazine was Kenya Sevens. So, I used to look up to Michael “Two Jumps” Wanjala who was the Kenya 7s number nine. My dream was always to play for Kenya Sevens.”

His dream actualised in 2023 when he got his call-up to the national sevens team, Shujaa, under coach Kevin “Bling” Wambua.

Asati fitted smoothly into the national team jersey, “I don't know why but things have just worked out for me because I just move step by step, I find myself just growing. When I got called into Kenya Sevens. I didn't know I'll be a starter in the team, and after I got called into the team, I've started all the matches till now for the national side.”

It is a tough juggling act for Asati. He trains with Kenya Sevens from 6.30am to midday Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. And then he trains with KCB Rugby from 5.30 - 9pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

“I couldn't have played for Kenya Sevens if I couldn't have played for KCB. So, KCB has built me up to the Kenya Sevens. Plus, KCB has among the best facilities in Kenya rugby. So, it gives me the high-performance setup for me to train,” reflects Asati.

In 2026, Asati featured in the India’s Rugby Premier League, turning out for Delhi Redz which gave him an opportunity to compete alongside international players and experience a different professional rugby environment.

Asati’s story demonstrates that elite sporting success rarely happens overnight. Behind the 2024 Paris Olympics appearance is a player who first travelled to South Africa with his school team in 2013.

Behind the national-team jersey is a teenager who progressed through the age-grade structures. Behind the international recognition is a KCB player who has spent years competing domestically and developing “step by step”.