Seattle Seawolves & Olive Kilifi

The Seattle Seawolves signed USA Rugby Men’s Eagles prop Olive Kilifi, where he will be joined in the front row by his former Sacramento Express team-mate, Ray Barkwill.

Kilifi was born in Huntington Beach, California and resides in Seattle, Washington. He went to Tyee High School in Seatac, Washington, where he played center and later prop. Prior to graduation, he was selected as a USA High School All-American. He currently plays rugby for the Seattle Saracens.

Olive Kilifi made his Eagles debut in November 2013 against Georgia as a reserve and has been capped 20 times.

In March 2014 he started in both Rugby World Cup qualifier matches against Uruguay. On November 1, 2014, he played tighthead prop against the New Zealand All Blacks in sold-out Soldier Field, USA Rugby’s all-time record crowd.

The following year was a very active year of international rugby. In April and early May 2015, Kilifi went on the USA Selects South American tour to play the Uruguay A team in Montevideo, Uruguay, and the Argentina Jaguars twice in Salta, Argentina. He Also played for the USA Eagles against the Aviva Premiership Harlequins on April 30, 2015, at PPL Park, now Talen Energy Stadium, in Chester, PA.

Olive was a member of the USA Eagles at the 2015 Rugby World Cup and played in three matches. In 2016, he joined the PRO Rugby’s Sacramento Express, the first professional rugby league in the United States. In August 2017 he went to Bermuda for a match with the USA Islanders against the Saracens. There he captained the side against former Eagle team-mate, Chris Wyles, who was captain of the Saracens for that match.

Olive Kilifi now joins the Seattle Seawolves as a prop. He is now a seasoned veteran, who will be an asset in any scrum.

Seattle Seawolves Release

Seattle, October 12, 2017: Seattle Seawolves Rugby officially announces the signing of USA Rugby star Olive Kilifi. The 31-year-old from Washington is considered one of the U.S. team’s best scrummagers. “Olive is arguably one of the best players in the US national side. We are confident that his speed and power will provide good go forward ball in general play, but first, it will be in the scrum where we will need him to exert his dominance. We are excited to have him in our squad and we look forward to Olive proving his mettle on the field for the Seawolves”, said Tony Healy, the head coach of Seattle Seawolves Rugby. Ollie, as he is popularly known as, attended Tyee high school in Seatac, Washington and has fond memories. “It all started for me here in Washington, and I’m glad that I have this amazing opportunity to be a part of this dynamic Seattle Seawolves squad”, said Kilifi at the time of the announcement.

We are proud to welcome Olive Kilifi to the Seawolves family.

More about the Seattle Seawolves:

The Seawolves are proud to be Seattle’s Major League Rugby franchise. With an ownership group led by Seattle-based entrepreneur’s Adrian Balfour and Shane Skinner, the club was formed in 2017 and is a founding member of Major League Rugby. The inaugural season kicks off in Spring 2018 and the venue will be Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Washington.