From Injury to National & International Highs

Rayvon Amunga’s comeback from 6 months injury, is totally astonishing.  A fracture sustained during the first day back of national team training in January, could easily have derailed his season. Just when he was making his mark, he missed the Shujaa tour to South Africa then 4 HSBC tournaments. It could have mentally and physically been too much, but "Forest" remarkably stayed strong and fought his way back to full fitness, working through months of rehabilitation thanks to the Shujaa physios and Healthy U who supplied him with Nutrition & Recovery products to help strengthen his bones to speed up his return. That support, and Forest’s commitment paid off, he has returned playing some of the best rugby of his career.

What has made the comeback even more impressive is his versatility. From 7s to 15s and back again, Forest has proven he can do it all. Returning to the 7s format, Forest showed he hadn't lost a yard of pace, his game IQ or his natural flair. To put his return into context, at Prinsloo 7s, the first of six National 7s tournaments, his results looked like this: Top Try Scorer (7 tries), Top Point Scorer (55 pts, next player was on 25 pts), made the Dream Team, nominated for Fans' Player of the Tournament and Kabras finished Runners up.  Not a bad comeback after 8 months since his last competitive game in November 2025. And he grew from there making his mark at all 5 of the 6 tournaments, missing one for the U20 Bartes Cup where he returned with the Chipu as Africa Champions, beating two of the continent’s rugby giants, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

"Ray played a big role in the U20 Bartes Cup win. He has come back from injury like he never left. His future is looking "good"—Philip Wamae, U20 Team Manager and DBA Head of Academies

Amunga has had an electrifying 7s campaign, picking up individual honours to match his consistency. Beyond the silverware and individual nominations, what stands out are the repeat performances: tournament after tournament, Forest kept turning up and delivering. He made 3 tournament Dream Teams, 4 Fan’s Player of the Tournament nominees, as well as MVP in the final when Kabras were crowned Dala 7s Champions. What was more impressive than Kabras finishing in 2nd overall behind KCB was that, even though Forest missed 8 of the 36 games across the 6 tournaments, he was still crowned the overall Top Point Scorer for the National 7s Circuit 2026 on his first full circuit. When he had every right to be a little slow out of the blocks, a little rusty, he showed and proved why so many think he is one of Kenya’s most exciting talents. 

We are immensely proud of Forest and the massive strides he has made this season, both as a player and as an example to the younger athletes coming through DBA Africa's programmes. His journey from injury to international rugby is exactly the kind of story that reflects the resilience and talent within Kenyan rugby today and, judging by his form, this comeback is only the beginning.