Arguably one of the best rugby players to ever grace the Shujaa jersey, Collins Injera has now taken a key interest in a different sport, far much unfamiliar from the tackles and big hits rugby itself delivers.
Currently still a utility back in the national rugby 7's squad, Injera hopes to transition to a professional golfer after calling time on his rugby career. The 34-year-old was part of the action in the 2021/2022 Safari Tour golf series staged at the Vet Lab Sports Club course in Kabete last weekend, for the second leg of the Kenya Open Golf Limited owned golf series.
Injera ignited his passion for golf while a number of sports in the country were suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic back in 2020 and revelled in featuring in one of his first pro tournaments. "I started playing golf last year so I'd call myself a Covid golfer because when we didn't have anything to do, golf was the only sport that people could go in and just play when all sports were banned and that how I started playing it and that's how I found myself here," Injera said.
"My first Safari Tour playing in the pro I loved it, I started as a casual and once you are a sportsman and you are used to being competitive but when it comes to golf it's a sport where you are the everything, you are the referee, you are the midfielder, you are the striker," he added. The Mwamba RFC ace was overlooked in last season’s World Rugby Seven Series as Shujaa bagged silver in Vancouver and Bronze in Edmonton to finish third in the just-concluded series.
Injera who holds second place for the most number of tries scored on the World Rugby Sevens Series with 279 revealed that the sport has helped him mentally and will be hoping for a smooth transition into the sport. "I've found golf to be a mentally tough game, I think it's a sport that has personally helped me develop my mental aspect and even applying it onto the rugby field, for me now it's casual,maybe in the future I might pick it up and see where it takes me."
"I want to play the pro am, it's not every day you get a chance to play with the pros, I took it as an opportunity to be able to come and witness, the pros are playing a very good game and I took some things from them," said the rugby great.
Apart from sport and despite his impressive list of accomplishments, Injera also considers family to be his greatest accomplishment. “Family has really grounded me, because I know there are people who are depending on me and looking up to me. It has shaped me as a man." He said.