Collins Injera’s father is a professor of immunology. He did not understand why his son could be forced to repeat Form Two at Vihiga High School over poor performance. After all, his other siblings did not have academic deficiencies.
His elder brother former Kenya Sevens captain and international player Humphrey Kayange followed his father and took up biochemistry. Injera’s sister, Linda, also went into the medical field as a pharmacist.
Injera, known for his rocket speeding and devastating hand-off against opponents, told listeners at Engage Talk that “being a contrarian growing up used to put me in so much trouble especially in an era when parents believed spare the rod and spoil the child.”
At Vihiga High, he opted for rugby though his first love was soccer. “At the first touch of the ball I got hooked and it affected my academics so much I was forced to repeat classes. I was devastated. My friends had moved classes while I would be the guy who would be laughed at,” Injera said.
But come the school holidays, the boy who was brought up in Nairobi but grew up in Eldoret put jokes aside and made incredible makeup strides while still playing rugby. The school principal was impressed with how he had changed. He was not a dander head after all.
He managed to join Daystar University for a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations making him the only sibling who discarded medicine. That’s besides his younger brother, Michael, who took Human Resource Management.
But his parents were proud to be in the same stadium when a pass from Humphrey Kayange saw him become one of the greatest try scorers in the World Rugby Seven Series. His 210 points were the most from any player besides England’s Ben Gollings. He is still the second greatest try-scorer despite the tries rising to 271.
It took nine years to achieve that fete besides playing at the Olympics and getting awarded an OGW (Order of the Grand Warrior) by President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2010.
The 32-year-old father of three even missed his first child’s birth playing rugby in Las Vegas. “I don’t know whether my wife has forgiven me,” he said.