Vincent ‘Vince’ Kamali has been there done that, when it comes to Rwandan Rugby. The pacey full-back has terrorized defences since he was at Groupe Scolaire Apred Ndera in 2003. He has won many accolades as a player for club and country.

The Silverbacks and Remera Buffaloes’ star player was born in 1988, to the late Alex Mutaganzwa and Jane Namusisi in Masaka, Uganda. He is the fifth born in family of eight siblings.

Like all Rwandans, who returned home after the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi, Kamali and his family returned to Rwanda in 1997 when he was 9 years old.

At that age he was able to adapt easily and learn the culture and language. He went to school at Bihango Primary Schools in Kabarole, G.S Apred Ndera and Kampala International University (K.I.U) in Kampala, Uganda.

A collision sport

He started playing rugby at G.S Apred Ndera in 2003. He used to go to the pitch just to watch training. He remembers, "Initially, I didn’t want to join because the players were colliding all the time and I didn’t want to take a risk.”

But soon his mates convinced him to join with the help of the coach Francis Kabuye. Kabuye was a teacher at the school, and young Kamali was able to relate with him thanks partly to a language they both spoke, Luganda.

He liked the game in the first session and three weeks later, the school organised schools games, "I was surprised to hear I had been made the captain of Ndera B team.”

 Meanwhile the school football team coach was also counting on him, his name was on two team lists, so he had to choose—and he chose rugby to the disbelief of the football coach.

The tournament went well, Kamali’s team B were runners-up in their group and they were to meet Ndera A in the next stage.

Coach Kabuye knew  Ndera A had no chance against Team B, not with the pace of an energetic Kamali, so before the game he tried to convince the full back to slow down a bit and let the senior team get ahead but ,and he was in for a disappointment.

"I talked to my players and told them we had to ‘discipline’ Ndera A, some players were already charged for being selected into Ndera B instead of Ndera A,” Kamali recalls vividly.

Kamali and Ndera B won the game 22-12 and went on to meet Green Hills Academy in the final. According to Kamali, Green Hills Academy had a good team then with many international students and they won the final game 32-19. He says, "I’m surprised they no longer play the game.”

The senior boys didn’t want to talk to Kamali after that, and he remembers some telling him, "We brought you into the game and you turn against us like that?” In training they wanted to injure him. Even coach Kabuye was mad with him.

Later, coach Kabuye convinced the young Vince to be the school captain as he had the potential to lead, and when he started touring with the Silverbacks the two would exchange notes.

League career start

Remera Buffaloes RFC always goes back to Ndera because it is like their feeder school. In 2006, they had a training session and a later a training game at Ndera.

The club coach and president Gerald Nsengiyumva picked Kamali and three other players to join Buffaloes training camp. That is how his Buffaloes’ career began.  

He played his first Confederation of African Rugby (CAR) game in the then CAR Super 16 hosted by Tanzania in 2008. Tanzania won that edition after defeating Rwanda and Burundi.

 Kamali has gone on to play for the Silverbacks in various editions of the CAR Division 2 15s from 2010 to 2014.

He represented the country in 2010, 2012 and 2011 at the Kowloon 10s Rugby Fest and 2013 GFI Hong Kong 10s. In the first edition, he was the second top try scorer with 6 tries.

He has played for the Buffaloes in the National Rugby League being voted the MVP more than three seasons, in the Hima Cement 10s at Makerere University, the Nile Special Jinja 7s, Prinsloo Nakuru 7s, Western Ug Rugby 7s in Mbarara in 2010, where he was voted as Top Try Scorer and the MVP.

Best moments

Kamali or Vince as his peers like to call him, fondly recalls the Kowloon Rugby Fest in 2010 as his best moment ever; it was his first time in Hong Kong, which he refers to as "a great tournament and a great place.”

Another was the tour to Burundi for a CAR Super 16 tournament and played against Burundi and a Belgian-based side Kibubu Rugby. The Silverbacks beat both two teams to lift the trophy; the full back was the top try scorer and the MVP.

Worst moment

Playing in Burundi in 2008. "The referee awarded Burundi a try from an American Football like pass. They won the game 10-7” he noted. The Silverbacks players protested vigorously but were restrained. "I swore never to go back to Burundi but I was just mad with the heat of the moment.”  

Regrets

Kamali once tackled a younger boy so hard at school, he landed badly and broke his shoulder and was admitted to Kanombe Hospital for 3 months. He was young and new to the game, "I felt scared, it wasn’t even a game, we were just training.”

Future

When he’s done playing Kamali would like to get into training. He has a level 1 coaching certificate, and other coaching certificates he acquired playing in Hong Kong. Currently he helps out at G.S Ndera.

Advice to young players

Kamali urges the youth to join the game, saying, "Back then the game wasn’t established, we used to fear playing, but there’s chance nowadays because people are starting to realize that rugby is an enjoyable sport like others and it has a future.”