Hunger for glory encourages Kenya rugby star Janet Okello

Kenya's Janet Okelo breaks through the Papua New Guinea defense on day one of the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series Qualifier in Hong Kong on 4 April, 2019. [Mike Lee - KLC fotos for World Rugby]

Every successful team has a selfless player who always leads to them to victory, especially in crucial moments. And for the national women’s rugby team, Kenya Lioness, Janet Okello stands out as the fulcrum upon which the valves of glory often revolve.

While most women avoid rugby because of its perceived aggressiveness and the sight of players tackling one another, Okello thinks differently. Rugby runs deep inside her blood.

His unbridled love for rugby is visible in her eyes. At the mention of the sport, a pensive smile often illuminates her face.

“Rugby is not just a sport, it’s a way of life. In my Life, rugby is not a sport. It is neither work nor a game, but something I treasure,” she said.

Okello is no doubt a team player and her moves on the pitch have earned her respect from teammates and coaches.

She is not your typical Kenyan woman rugby player. She is no doubt the cornerstone of the Kenya Lioness – always ready to summon her energies and ensure the national team wins.

Okello’s rugby career was something not on the radar until in 2010 when she was at Butere Girls High School that the games teacher, Mr Malala encouraged her to play. She originally had aspirations around an entirely different sport – athletics.

Born and raised in Nakuru, the 28-year-old said while growing up, her dream was to become a sprinter.

“During her childhood days at Mama Ngina Primary School, I used to take part in 100m and 200m sprints where I would beat my competitors,” said Okello, the first born in a family of six siblings.

Her venture into rugby did not begin until she joined Butere Girls High School in 2009. “I took athletics seriously during my first year.

“However, our games master wanted me to play rugby since I had the speed and physique in me and after giving it a try, I realised it was more fun and I eventually developed passion in it.”

She pays glowing tribute to the late Lioness captain Aberdeen Shikoyi for helping and encouraged her to take rugby seriously.

“In 2011, I was privileged to participate in the Safaricom Sevens High Schools tournament where I met the late Shikoyi (the then Kenya lioness captain) who advised the national team to take me upon completing Form Four,” she said.

True to Shikoyi’s words, Okello joined the national team straight from school, making her senior debut with the Kenya Lioness at the Dubai Sevens in December 2013.

“With my basic rugby skills, I was so nervous. Everything was new - the atmosphere, the experience, the weather, people and the body physique of the opponents scared me because I was a tiny girl,” she said.

She continues: “I warmed the bench many times because I was new in the team and had little experience in rugby. Luckily, I was given a chance of the last one minute and I had to prove to the coach that I could play well. I made a last minute try and that's when the coach believed in me and from thereon I became a regular figure in the national team.”

She went on to sign up for KCB the same year where she went on to be the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) 10-aside top try scorer and top point scorer for 7s and 10s women league from 2013 to 2016.

Okello helped Kenya qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics, an achievement she says she treasures.

“Playing at the Olympic Games was an honour. To go neck to neck with the world best at the biggest stage remains a memorable one,” she said.

In 2017, she signed up for Mwamba RFC where she finished as the top try scorer in the KRU’s 10’s and 7’s last year.

As the Kenya Lionesses sailed through to the 2018 Commonwealth Games to Gold Coast, Australia, Janet Okello played the role of the ‘backbone of the team’, while shy but composed at the Robina Stadium.

During the qualifiers, Okello scored a hat-trick against Senegal in their second match and bagged two in the win over Tunisia that sent them to the Gold Coast competition.

Despite her youthfulness, Okello beat World marathon record holder and Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge and teammate Sinaida Aura to the 2017 Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK) Sports Personality of the Month of September.

Last year, she helped the national women’s rugby sevens team to qualify for the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games despite losing 15-14 to perennial rivals South Africa in the final of the Africa Sevens-cum-Olympic qualifiers in Tunisia at the weekend.

Lionesses bagged the ticket to represent Africa in the quadrennial event since the South African Sports Confederation and Olympics Committee decided not to send their team to the summer games.

She was crowned Athlete of the Year at the 2019 Magharibi Michezo Awards gala in Bungoma in December.

She was also voted Magharibi Women’s Rugby Player of the Year.

She says the sport has helped even as young as she is.

“Rugby has taught me leadership skills, how to be a strong, confident and independent woman and a team worker”

“I credit the sport with lifelong lessons which I have successfully applied in my career and personal life. Through the game I have found some of the closest friends that still remain with me years later, and from all parts of the world,” Okello added.

She said players have a role in promoting the sport, especially to help clear the notion that the sports is meant for 'rough people.'

“The perception about rugby should change. The sports promotes interaction, supportive and fun. And I want to share that experience so as dispel the thinking that rugby is meant for hooligans. I surely want to be part of those redefining promoting women rugby," she said.

Okello also thanks national captain Philadelphia Olando for supporting her in the sport.

“Playing for the national team helps me so much. It sounds funny when I say it but I didn’t know that much about rugby. Olando taught me and gave me the confidence in the sport."

“She made me understand that rugby is one of the few sports where the rules are the same for men and women. It builds confidence physically and mentally,” she said.

Okello’s goal is to give back to the society and celebrate the female athletes who have the passion and drive to compete in physical games while balancing work and life.

To upcoming players who want to make it to the national team, Okello who hopes to play in New Zealand, says: “They must have patience, believe and hard work because nothing comes easy. And also trust in God too.”

Her former coach Kevin Wambua said Okello is a determined player who is always a threat to opponents.

“She has the speed. When you are not alert, there is no way you can stop her. She plays an integral part in the national team and I am proud of her,” he said.

Off the pitch, Okello runs a cosmetic shop in Kasarani.