Kirangari High School rugby coach Collins Onyango believes his first experience of coaching young players at Mathare Rugby Foundation laid the foundation for his rapid rise in the sport.He hit a new level, in his coaching career, after making his first appearance at the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) national games last week.Download our Mozzart Sport App for more newsAt just 25, Onyango was the youngest rugby coach at the national championships held at Mpesa Foundation Academy in Thika.Kirangari were also making their maiden appearance at the national stage.The school had never taken its rugby team that far before, but the debutants exceeded expectations by reaching the quarter-finals and finishing seventh overall.His coaching journey began shortly after completing form four, when Mathare Rugby Foundation, established in 2018 by former KCB Rugby and Kenya Sevens player Maxwell Omondi, gave him an opportunity to work with its junior teams.##NAJAVA_MECA_9892481##At the time, he was still playing but had developed an interest in coaching younger players.“I was the youngest coach at the nationals. I started coaching at Mathare Rugby Foundation after form four. I was still playing, but I had an interest in coaching young kids,” he said.The opportunity soon grew as he took charge of different age groups, including the Under-18, Under-16 and Under-15 teams.Kenya Sevens star Dennis Abukuse joins Canadian sideHis work at the grassroots level eventually caught the attention of Kirangari, who approached him after seeing the progress he had made with young players.“Later I got a chance to coach the Under-18s, Under-16s and Under-15s. Surprisingly, I got a call from the school. They told me they had seen my good work and asked me to come and sharpen their boys,” he recalled.Mathare Rugby Foundation has provided Onyango with a platform to develop his coaching skills while giving young players in the Mathare area access to structured rugby.Through its teams in areas such as Chula, Kosovo and Huruma, the foundation has used the sport to offer youngsters a constructive alternative to crime, drug abuse and early pregnancies.Ominde reveals challenge of balancing club and Kenya Lionesses dutiesThe programme has also produced strong results on the field, with its junior sides enjoying success across different age groups.The foundation recently swept the Under-9 to Under-15 categories at the Shamas Rugby Interschool Tournament and also won the Under-16 boys' title at the Kabeberi 7s.For Onyango those victories became an important part of his development and eventually helped him earn the trust that opened the door to secondary school rugby.“They believed in me. Back then, I used to win those age-grade tournaments from Under-18s going down. Those wins opened doors for me and made them trust me,” he said.The move to Kirangari presented a different challenge.The school had made several attempts to progress beyond the county level, only to fall short, but the management gave the young coach the backing he needed to rebuild the squad.That support included scholarships that enabled the school to attract young players, particularly Grade 10 students, and build a squad capable of competing at a higher level.South Coast Pirates appoint English coach ahead of 2026/27 Kenya Cup campaignThe approach paid off as Kirangari followed their football team, which reached the national stage in 2025, by taking rugby to the same level a year later.“This year, the school helped me get scholarships and we went out to find young boys, mostly Grade 10s. If the school had not agreed to give me those scholarships, it would have been hard,” he said.Kirangari's national campaign provided an early test of the team's character.They suffered a 24-0 defeat to powerhouse St Anthony's Boys High School in their opening pool match, but responded with a 24-5 victory over Njabini Boys before completing a 34-5 rout of Nairobi School to secure a place in the knockout stage.Their cup run came to an end in the quarter-finals after a 29-5 defeat to Upper Hill School, who were among the tournament favourites.Kirangari, however, responded in the classification matches to finish seventh nationally, an impressive outcome for a school competing at the championships for the first time.The experience has also strengthened Onyango's belief that Kirangari can compete at an even higher level, with the school now planning to introduce fifteens rugby after focusing on Sevens this year.“We have always tried sevens, but next year we want to try fifteens,” he added.For the young coach, reaching the national stage carried significance beyond the team's results.It represented proof that the work done at the school and at grassroots level could produce tangible results.“It felt good to be at the nationals because we started rugby at the school this year, in Term Two Sevens, and we are already at the nationals for the first time. It feels good for me, the players and the management. It has been a good ride,” he said.The seventh-place finish has also given him greater confidence in his coaching ability and strengthened his belief in the players.The school management, which had become accustomed to seeing the rugby team bow out at the county level, was also surprised by how quickly the side progressed.“It means a lot to me as a coach. It encourages me and gives me more belief in myself and the boys. I feel it has opened an opportunity for me as a coach to get to this stage. Even the management was surprised that we pushed this far. They were used to getting to the counties and being eliminated by Alliance High School,” he said.Having already exceeded expectations in their first national appearance, the coach now wants Kirangari to become a regular presence at the top level of school rugby while continuing to develop players through the system that gave him his own start.“People can expect a lot of hard work from us and should believe that someone can come from behind and surprise people, just like Kirangari. Rugby has helped me a lot and I have gained self-realisation by coaching a team all the way to the national stage and the final stages,” he added.