NEWS

Seawolves rugby player from Seattle area inspiring others on local and national level

In the world of local Rugby, Olive Kilifi is already a household name. And the team he plays for – the Seattle Seawolves – are quickly becoming mainstream.

“I have tons of kids that after games they’re like, ‘Hey, I want to be a Seawolves player one day.’ Which is awesome you know,” Kilifi said.

It’s almost surreal for the 32-year-old national team member who celebrated a Major League Rugby title in its inaugural year – a Seattle-native, who braved the cold five years ago, celebrating a Seahawks Super Bowl title with 700,000 other fans.

“I think that 12th Man mentality that the city has, has definitely transferred over to our team. And the environment that the Starfire Stadium has,” Kilifi said.

It’s an environment unimaginable two decades ago, when Kilifi first began playing organized rugby at the age of 13.

Watch the full interview here.