Samuel Asati: Adventures of cheeky rugby “Tintin”
What you need to know:
- Asati was born on March 14, 1999 in Kisii
- He was part of KCB team that lifted the Kenya Cup crown in 2021
- Some of the individual awards Asati has won, include Outstanding Back of the season, Impala Floodlit Player of the Final and Most Valuable Player as well as Prinsloo Sevens Most Promising Player in 2018
Samuel Asati is currently among the top 10 rugby players in the country.
The KCB Rugby Football Club star also tops the depth chart for the scrum-half position ahead of the Brian Tanga (Kabras Sugar), Brian Wahinya (KCB), Barry Robinson (Kabras Sugar), Michael Wanjala (KCB) and former Kenya Simbas captain Samson Onsomu (Menengai Oilers) in that order.
His kicking skills for territory is excellent, distribution is accurate, has good decision-making on when to run, pass or kick the ball and a great defender. He also has a good partnership with centre Dominic Coulson.
That’s how high national men’s 15-a-side technical bench led by head coach Paul Odera regards the 23-year-old, who only started rugby to avoid punishment for sneaking out of school to play football.
“I started playing rugby in 2012 when I was in class eight at Genesis Joy Primary school along Thika Road. I loved to sneak from school a lot to go and play football, but one Friday, I was caught by a teacher and caned,” recounts the last-born in a family of four boys.
A week later, Asati, who was a right fullback in football, again sneaked. But to avoid being punished, he cleverly joined the school’s rugby team, which had partnered with Shamas Rugby Foundation and was training under Bonalito Were nearby.
“Since rugby players were allowed to train outside the school, I decided to join them on their next training session. I was cheeky and loved a running game, so I found rugby interesting and fell in love with it,” says the former Muthaiga Primary school pupil.
His rugby career went a notch higher when he joined Nyanza region’s heavyweights, Cardinal Otunga High School, Mosocho in Kisii County. Asati, who started off as a scrum-half, also played as a fly-half and fullback in high school, playing for Shamas during holidays and then Cardinal Otunga when schools reopened.
He was part of the Shamas team that traveled to South Africa in 2013. Asati was called to the national under-16 team the following year to tour Germany.
“The tour did not materialise,” notes sportsman who competed at the 2014 Safari Sevens high school category where he turned up for Nyanza Select which lost to Uganda under-19 in semi-finals. He reached nationals with Cardinal Otunga in 2016.
His journey with KCB started in 2014 with the under-18 side under former Kenya Sevens star Dennis Mwanja and Catholic University of Eastern Africa rugby coach Simon Jawichre.
After clearing high school, Asati played for Northern Suburbs under Jawichre. “Despite my small frame, he loved my defence, confidence and playmaking skills.”
He was at Suburbs – KCB’s feeder team – for six months. He started training with KCB’s senior team in 2017 upon the advice of strength and conditioning coach Mike Shamiah.
An injury to Peter Kamau before a playoff match against Impala Boks, opened the door for Asati. He took that opportunity with both hands. An ankle injury picked during the Driftwood Sevens in Mombasa in early 2017 threatened to derail his progress but was back on his feet three weeks later.
The same year, hooker George Asin baptised him “Tintin” after he had a good game against Kabras Sugar.
“It came from the character in the animation called The Adventures of Tintin. He said I am cheeky like that character on a rugby field. So far I like it,” says the fourth year Real Estate Management student at Mount Kenya University, Thika.
Although he has had some challenging times such as sustaining a injuries on the collarbone in 2015, ankle (2017) and axillary nerve in 2019, Asati says the sport is a safe. “There are a lot of rules in rugby protecting the player, so I consider it a safe sport.”
Tintin says it was a good experience to play in Barthes Under-20 at Ruaraka, Nairobi where Kenya’s Chipu whitewashed Tunisia 73-0 in semi-final before shocking heavyweights Namibia 21-18 in the final.
“That competition built my confidence and experience. We qualified for the World Rugby Under 20 trophy in Brazil. It was also a good experience in Sao Paulo as we met teams which have been in the top-tier of the World Rugby tournament structure for under-20 national sides,” notes Asati.
The youngster’s first match for Simbas was against Zambia during the 2019 Victoria Cup at the RFUEA Grounds where Kenya triumphed 31-16. He was part of the team that lost 20-19 against Senegal during the 2021 Rugby Africa Cup at Nyayo Stadium in September.
He was then used in a position he has never done before – No13 – when Kenya hammered Zambia 42-8 to keep their 2023 Rugby World Cup hopes alive.
Four months later, Asati travelled with the Simbas team to South Africa for a one-month tour. Kenya suffered 84-15 against Currie Cup XV and Namibia 60-24 before mauling Brazil 36-30 and Diables Barcelona 59-6.
He was also part of Simbas Currie Cup travelling squad which registered mixed results in South Africa in April and May this year. Coach Odera’s side hammered Leopards 51-35 and Eastern Province Elephants 41-24 at the RFUEA in their last two matches in June.
These were part of preparations for World Cup Africa qualifiers in France where Asati picked Man of the Match awards in wins against Uganda 42-7 (quarter-final) and Algeria 36-33 (semi-final). He was congratulated by France-based Ugandan rugby star Philip Wokorach who advised him to keep the tempo.
“Being Man of the Match for the two fixtures meant I had more to deliver in the final. Unfortunately, the final did not go our way,” says Asati. Kenya lost 36-0 against Namibia to drop to the repechage slated for November 2022 in Dubai.
Tintin’s family originates from Manga village in Kisii County. This village also boasts of 1972 Olympic 4x400 metres relay gold medalist Charles Asati and Harambee Stars defensive midfielder Duke Abuya.
Some of the benefits he has got from rugby include “a good social life, away from peer pressure. Rugby has also helped me pay bills such as rent and school fees with the help from my parents”.
Asati’s rugby idols are Kenyans Wanjala and Onsomu as well as Aaron Smith (New Zealand), Jerry Tuwai (Fiji) and George Gregan (Australia).
“I love their playmaking skills,” explains the sportsman whose vision is to play professional rugby someday. He is said to be on the radar of a French club.
He advises enthusiasts of the game that: “Playing rugby needs a lot of sacrifice. Put in a lot of work and don’t give up. Tick your boxes of progression daily. Know the little things you need to work on and actually work on them .”
