The Utah Warriors signed Olive Kilifi for the 2021 Major League Rugby season. The 34-year-old loosehead/tighthead prop is 5’11” and 275 lbs.
Oli did not play during the 2020 MLR season after sustaining an injury at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Instead, he became a coach of Seattle RFC, a team that he had a long history as a player.
Oli played for the Seattle Seawolves during the 2018 and 2019 seasons. In 2018 he played 417 minutes in 8 matches, starting 6 times. In 2019 he played 394 minutes in 9 matches, starting 7 times. He carried 39 times for 181 meters, had 1 tackle break, made 53 tackles, and scored a try.
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. Before graduation, he was selected as a USA High School All-American. He is a long-time player for the Seattle Saracens.
Olive Kilifi and USA Rugby National Team: Eagle 447
Olive Kilifi made his Eagles debut on 16 November 2013 against Georgia as a reserve at Rustavi and has been capped 31 times., 12 of them as a starter. His last test was against Tonga in a 2019 Rugby World Cup match on 13 June 2019 at Osaka, Japan.
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. Olive was also selected for the Eagles for the November 2018 match against the Maori All Blacks, Samoa, Romania, and Ireland, but an injury during camp derailed his participation. Olive also played in all four matches during the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Professional Rugby
In 2016, Kilifi joined the PRO Rugby’s Sacramento Express, the first professional rugby league in the United States. He also played in the inaugural Major League Rugby 2018 season with the League Champions, the Seattle Seawolves. The Seawolves scrum was considered one of the best in the league.
In 2019 he returned to the Seawolves and his leadership and experience in the forwards were invaluable. Injuries, however, prevented him from playing rugby in 2020. He turned to coach Seattle RFC and in 2021 will return to rugby with the new team, the Utah Warriors.
Club Rugby
In August 2017 Kilifi 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.
He also is a long-time member of the Seattle Saracens and plays with the team in the British Columbia CDI Premier League.
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