Barewa Rugby Club Stripped Off Title

Barewa RFC have been stripped off their title as the 2015 northern rugby union league champions following their demand for the sum of N0.6million to participate in the inaugural Super Cup.

The announcement was made following the outcome of an emergency meeting called by Honorable Mustafa Allahdey subcommittee chairman on technical issues of the NRFF, a verdict was reached in accordance to the NRFF constitution governing its tournament which says ‘any team who forfeits its place in a tournament for any reasons will automatically be replaced by a next inline team’

the Honorable expressed his displeasure saying ‘The Super Cup is an NRFF event captured in its calendar and It is highly disappointing and unacceptable of Barewa RFC to try and hold the federation to ransom despite having been offered a subsidy. If they do not see the Super Cup as a step forward and honor our invitation, then someone is sending a wrong signal around to the entire Rugby world that they are not ready to advance our sport to the next level”

The Nigeria Ruby Football Federation announced the Super cup which will be staged annually to determine the national champions from the various regional leagues as part of its calendar in 2015 at its 2014 annual general assembly and chose Lagos State as the inaugural host for the event.

Barewa RFC photo credit Barewa Rugby

Kaduna RFC who were the runners up of the 2015 northern league will replace Barewa RFC to face Cowrie RFC whom are the southern champions.

The Nigeria Rugby Super Cup 2015 is scheduled to hold on the 27th of February 2016 in Lagos.

Nigerian Rugby Football Federation Releases 14 Man List For Olympic Qualifiers

In line with their promise and drive to qualify for the 2016 Olympics, the Nigerian Rugby Football Federation Technical Committee has released a strong 14 man list for next month’s qualifiers in South Africa.

Arising from their technical meeting held on Tuesday in Lagos, the federation listed Nigeria’s rugby golden boy and speedster, Christian Ogar (Cowrie RFC), Nuhu Ibrahim Samaila (Barewa RFC), Alfred Oche (Jos RFC), Onoru Oyiza Jatto (Cowrie RFC), Samuel Ekpo (Cowrie RFC), Hafis Ayinla (Cowrie RFC) as part of the team to be captained by Azeez Ladipo (Cowrie RFC).

Determined to have a blend of homegrown and foreign base players, 3 players were invited from the United Kingdom, 2 from the United States of America and 1 from South Africa, most of whom were discovered at the recently held President Cup international invitational tournament The Onwukanjo brothers may be in line to feature for the national team together for the first time following the decision of the federation to extend an invitation to Onyinye Onwukanjo (Davenport University Rugby, USA) and Ike Onwukanjo (USA Northeast Olympic Academy).

Other foreign based players are Omotohunola Odulaja (Old Blues RFC, UK), Ayomide Joseph Mogaji (Doking RFC UK), Danjuma Mshelia (Richmond RFC, UK) and Thankgod Okafor (Sharks RFC South Africa)

In a statement made available to the federation’s media department, NRFF Technical Direstor, Fasimoye Olatunji, Technical Adviser, Bandele Coker and Team Doctor, Bukola Bojuwoye will be part of the 19 man delegation to South Africa.

The delegation which will be led by President of the federation, Edward Pam Fom will leave Lagos on the 8th of November for the tournament slated for the 14th and 15th of November Johannesburg.

Head coach and South African Rugby 7s legend, Fabian Juries and all invited foreign players will join the Local boys in Johannesburg on the 9th for the 5 days training ahead of the qualifiers.

Nigerian Rugby team the Black Stallions,

Nigeria is drawn alongside Zimbabwe, Uganda and Zambia in Pool B.

Full list

Christian OGAR (Cowrie RFC, Prop/Hooker)

Ikechukwu ONWUKANJO (USA Northeast Olympic Academy, Wing/Prop)

Nuhu Ibrahim SAMAILA (Barewa RFC, Scrum half/ Playmaker)

Danjuma MSHELIA (Richmond RFC, UK, Wing)

Alfred OCHE (Jos RFC, Fly half)

Omotohunola ODULAJA (Old Blues RFC, Scrum Half/ Playmaker)

Azeez LADIPO (Cowrie RFC, Fly half/ Playmaker)

Ayomide Joseph MOGAJI (Dorking RFC, Prop/ Wing)

Onoru Oyiza JATTO (Cowrie RFC, Wing)

Samuel EKPO (Cowrie RFC, Prop)

Onyinyeukwu ONWUKANJO (Davenport University Rugby, Prop/Hooker)

Hafis AYINLA (Cowrie RFC, Prop)

ThankGod OKAFOR (Sharks RFC, South Africa, Prop/ Centre)

Standby Player
Emmanuel AKINLUYI (Samurai Midwives, HFW Wailers, Prop/Centre)

Merlin bow to Cowrie RFC at Finals Of Rugby 7s President Cup trophy

The deadly combination of Onoru Jatto, Christian Ogar, Afiz Ayinla, Azeez Ladipo were all that Cowrie RFC needed to clinch the 1st edition of the President Cup Rugby 7s tournament which held on friday the 23rd and Saturday the 24th of October 2015 at the Onikan Stadium, Lagos.

The current South West Rugby league champions decimated Merlin RFC of the UK in what happened to be a repeat of the 1st match of the tournament.

With bookmakers expecting a keenly contested game, Cowrie proved all wrong as Black Stallions winger, Christian Ogar scored a try less than 20 seconds into the game to open a 5 points lead against the Merlins who appeared to be struggling under the hot sun.

Merlins RFC, Rugby 7s President Cup

With Merlin RFC still reeling from the point conceded, Ladipo Azeez piled on more pressure with a try before Ogar added 2 tries to earn the Most Valuable Player prize of the tournament.

Despite spirited efforts from the Merlins in the second half, it was a case of too little too late as the game ended 48 points to 14 in favor of Cowrie RFC.

Speaking after the victory, captain of the side, Azeez Ladipo said the victory was a sweet reward for about 3months of training in preparation for the tournament as he commended his team for stepping up their game when it really mattered.

In the 3rd place match, Barewa RFC of Kaduna who narrowly lost to Cowrie in the semifinals were too strong for Racing RFC as they ran away by 7-0 scoreline.

In the Plate finals, Police RFC once again failed to live up to pre-tournament expectations as they were decimated by Panthers RFC by 19 points to 12.

Azeez Ladipo of Cowrie RFC passing the ball

It was all about Parakou RFC of Benin Republic who came, saw and conquered in the Shield category as they defeated Delta RFC by 21 points to 17.

Gosar RFC also went home with the competition’s Bowl.

The competition held in a perfect family atmosphere which saw hundreds of rugby fans from the UK, South Africa and all over Nigeria come with their spouses and children to grace the tournament where enough food and drinks were made available by the organisers.

Cowrie, Merlins Book Semi-Final Tickets At Inaugural Rugby 7s President Cup In Lagos

The 1st edition of the President Cup took off in grand style on Friday at the Onikan stadium with Cowrie RFC winning all their 3 matches to qualify for the cup semifinals of the 1st edition of the tournament.

Cowrie defeated Merlins RFC from UK by 19points to 15 before displacing Gosar RFC by 47 points to 0 in a one sided affair.

In their last game, they handed Sabongari RFC a 26-0 defeat to finish at the top of group A.

Still in group A, Merlins recovered well from their 1st defeat as they bounced back to win their 2nd game against Sabongeri RFC by 26points.

Merlins RFC, Rugby 7s President Cup

The UK team finished their last group stage game against Gosar RFC with an emphatic 28 points victory to finish second in the group, qualifying for the cup semifinals.

Barewa RFC started their President Cup campaign on a bright note defeating Panthers RFC made up of foreign and home based Nigerian players by 17points to 5 and then winning their last game against Delta RFC by 24points to 0

Police RFC whom many tipped to get to the finals of the competition fell by the roadside as they narrowly lost out of the cup semifinals with points differences after beating Parakou RFC of Benin Republic by 12-5 and later playing a 7-all draw with eventual group winner, Racing RFC.

With the finals slated for tomorrow, Cowrie RFC will battle Barewa RFC while Merlin will take on Racing who finished top of group B with 5 points in the Cup semifinals of the inaugural edition of the competition.

Sabon Gari RFC, Rugby 7s President Cup

In the Plate semifinals Panthers will face Sabongeri RFC and Police will take on Gosar. The Shield finals will take place between Delta RFC and Parakou RFC of Benin Republic.

The finals will commence by 11:00am on Saturday at the Onikan stadium Lagos.

Independence Rugby 7s’ International Flavour Good For Home Based Boys – Fom Pam

The President of the Nigerian Rugby Football Federation, Sir. Edward Fom Pam says the fast approaching CMB Building Maintenance & Investment Company Ltd sporsored Independence Rugby Sevens invitational tournament organised by the Friends of Rugby in conjunction with the federation will positively impact on the standard of the home based players.

“We have our Independence Sevens coming up, slated for October and a lot of international clubs are coming to beef up the competition.”

“Like the Western Province and other clubs coming from UK and across Africa, you know that it will beef up the intensity of your home grown players”

Cowrie RFC Captain Azeez Ladipo Receiving the winner’s Trophy from then Governor of Lagos State Babatunde Fashola

He believes the tournament which will be held between the 23rd and 24th of October at the Onikan stadium featuring foreign clubs like Accra Sharks from Ghana, Western Province of South Africa, Parakou RFC of Republic of Benin, UR7s of Kenya, Panthers International and Merlins Invitational both from the UK will definitely stretch the home based players to the limit and bring out the best in them..

According to the technical committee of the federation, the tournament will be used by the national team handlers to select players to camp ahead of the 2016 Olympics qualifiers coming up in Johannesburg in November.

“We are mixing our grassroots players with our foreign exports also known as Nigerian Exiles ahead of the Olympics qualifiers”.

Defending Champions Cowrie RFC will lead other Nigerian club sides- Barewa RFC, Kaduna RFC, Sabon Geri RFC, Jos RFC, Racing RFC, Police Machines, Gosar RFC, South South 7s and South East 7s to the 2 day competition.

NRFF Announces Slight Adjustment To Independence Rugby Sevens Date

The Nigerian Rugby Football Federation in conjunction with Friends of Rugby have finally announced Friday, 23rd and Saturday, 24th of October as dates for this year’s International Independence Rugby Sevens taking place at the Onikan stadium, Lagos.

According to information made available by the tournament manager, Fasimoye Olatunji, this decision was made after majority of the foreign teams complained about the original date stressing that traveling immediately after the tournament may not be good enough.

Cowrie RFC, winners 2014 Independence 7s

Accra Sharks from Ghana, Western Province of South Africa, Parakou RFC of Republic of Benin, UR7s of Kenya, Panthers International and Merlins Invitational both from the UK are all expected to arrive on Thursday 22nd with all visas related issues already sorted out.

Last year’s winner, Cowrie RFC will lead clubs like Barewa RFC, Kaduna RFC, Sabon Geri RFC, Jos RFC, Racing RFC, Police Machines, Gosar RFC, South South 7s and South East 7s to repel foreign invasion in their quest to retain the title in Nigeria.

16 TEAMS FOR NIGERIA INDEPENDENCE RUGBY SEVENS INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT

Sixteen teams are set to feature in the seventh edition of the Independence Rugby 7s International Tournament at The Onikan Stadium Lagos, Nigeria on the 24th and 25th of October 2015 .

Participating teams are from within and outside Nigeria and Thelo Wakefield; the President of WP Rugby Union will also make an appearance.

Defending champions Cowrie RFC and 2014 runners up; Barewa RFC make a comeback to the tournament that also features Western Province from South Africa, Ultimate Rugby 7s (Kenya), Panthers Internationals and Merlins Invitational from the UK.

Other teams are; The Police Machines RFC, Plateau Tigers RFC, Kaduna RFC, Racing RFC, Accra Sharks from Ghana, Parakou RFC from Benin Republic, Gosar RFC, SabonGeri RFC, South-South 7s and South East 7s.

Cowrie RFC, Winners of 2014 Independence 7’s

“The Independence Rugby Sevens International Tournament is organized by Friends of Rugby, and It was started in 2009 it is held annually to commemorate Nigeria’s independence anniversary. Asides the commemoration of Nigeria’s Independence, the tournament will also afford National team players an opportunity to use the tournament to prepare for the Olympic qualifiers set for November in South Africa where the Black Stallions of Nigeria are pooled alongside Zimbabwe who emerged fourth at the end of the recently concluded Safari 7s, Uganda and Zambia.

Northern Rugby league: Kaduna RFC upset Zaria RFC

…Coach cautioned, player dismissed as Kaduna RFC upsets Zaria RFC

Week 3 action of the Northern Rugby league sanctioned by the Nigeria rugby Football Federation took centre stage across various venues in the North East region.

Kano RFC were awarded 14 points after they worked over Keiprince RFC who failed to show up for their week 3 encounter.

Meanwhile, Kaduna RFC defeated Zaria RFC 7 points to 3 after coming from behind in the 2nd half with Mohammed Abdullahi scoring a try before the resulting kick was converted to upturn Zaria’s 1st half lead in a game that saw Zaria’s head coach bagging a yellow card and his player picking up a red card in the 2nd half.‎

Friends Of Rugby Firm Up Plans For Nigeria Independence Rugby 7s Tournament 2015

Organisers of Independence International 7s Tournament have begun planning ahead for the event. The Independence Rugby 7s tournament is held annually to commemorate Nigeria’s Independence anniversary. The tournament will be staged again at the Onikan stadium on the 9th and 10th of October 2015. The two day tournament which started in the year 2009 has since grown to be the biggest Rugby 7s party in West Africa. Its 2013 edition had a wider International participation with clubs from the UK, Egypt and Ghana adding the much needed International flavour. However, clubs from every zone in Nigeria competed extremely well last year and we witnessed an electrifying final year between Cowrie RFC and Barewa RFC of Kano. Cowrie RFC beat Barewa RFC 27-14 to emerge 2014 champions.

Cowrie RFC Captain Azeez Adenopo Receiving the winner’s Trophy from then Governor of Lagos State Babatunde Fashola

“The 2015 edition promises to be bigger and better, eleven local and five international teams will battle for this year’s trophy, We have received expression of interest from Ultimate Rugby 7s team from the Uk, Blitzboks 7s from South Africa, Accra Sharks of Ghana and two more foreign teams. This tournament is potentially a major tourist attraction and we are putting all structures in place for a great tournament”. Says Tournament coordinator; Olatunji Fasimoye

Fasimoye also stressed that last year’s finalists, Cowrie RFC and Barewa RFC have automatic spots if they express interests this year but other local teams across the country will have to go through a “playoff” for a spot in the tournament due to increasing number of foreign team’s participation as it was done last year. Modalities of Playoffs will be announced shortly.

Rugby sevens, also known as seven-a-side, Sevens, 7s or VIIs, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. Rugby sevens is administered by World Rugby, the body responsible for rugby union worldwide. The game originated in Melrose where the Melrose Sevens tournament is still played annually. The game in an Olympic sport and is popular at all levels, with amateur and club tournaments generally held in the summer months. Sevens is one of the most well distributed forms of rugby, and is popular in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

North Central and North Eastern Rugby League Resumes After Ramadan Break

North Central and North Eastern Rugby League Resumes after Ramadan break

Abuja RFC

The league organizing committee of the North Central and North Eastern Rugby League have officially announced the resumption date of the leagues, the league will now resume after Ramadan.

As Rugby enthusiasts in these regions continue to yearn for more action following the announcement which has seen the league suspended since the first sets of matches were played on the 6th of June across various venues in the region.

The Technical committee of the league led by Eusebius Yayock said that after due consultation with the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation Technical department, the season will resume on the 25th of July which is a week after the Moslem fasting period.

As the end of match day 1 in the North Central League, Plateau occupies the top spot on the table as they were awarded 14 points after walking over Nassarawa who failed to show up for their match without any official notification from the club management while Abuja defeated Viti Accordingly by 15points to 10 to occupy the second position on the log.

Meanwhile, in the North East, Kaduna proved too strong for Kano scorpions as they ran away with 64points, the scorpions were too powerless to sting the crocs at home.

In other matches played, Zaria RFC outscored Sabon Gari RFC by 15points to 8 as Barewa RFC walked over Kelprince RFC with 14points in their kitty without breaking sweat.

2015 NORTHERN RUGBY LEAGUE SET TO KICK OFF

With the northern rugby followership heating up for the kick off of the 2015 league season, Head of the Northern Technical Sub Committee Eusebius P Yayock is confident that Rugby fans and supporters are in for a swell time based on the improvements already made by the clubs and the organisers.

He revealed that this year’s league will be played in two conferences which is the North West/and North Central with an addition of two more teams who met the league participation requirements and laid down guidelines.

action from a previous edition of the Northern Rugby League

The two new teams, Viti Rfc of Jos will be competing with Abuja RFC, Plateau RFC and Nasarawa RFC in the North Central Conference while Keiprince Rfc of Kaduna, will be competing with the likes of Barewa RFC, Zaria RFC, Sabon Gari RFC, Kano RFC and Kaduna RFC in the North West Conference for the 2015 zonal title.

With the season set to kick off on the 13th of June, the defending champions Barewa Rfc are not taking any chances regarding their preparation for the league as other club’s too are doing all it takes to wrestle the title from them.

Abuja RFC

The Coordinator of the newly elected Northern Nigerian Rugby Association under the umbrella of the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation Audu Musa expressed his commitment to promote rugby in the North as he calls for corporate organizations to participate in the sponsorship of the sport in the North.

“We are pleading with established organizations in the North to support the sport as part of their corporate social responsibility.”

South-West Rugby Union League Ready To Resume April 25th

Southwest Rugby League

Organizers of the South-West league; Friends of Rugby held a meeting last weekend to review the phase of the league and they have announced 25th of April as the resumption date of the second phase of the league.

The resumption of South-West rugby league is a great way to end April and it promises to be a fascinating opening weekend with second placed team on the log; Racing RFC facing off with the oldest club in Lagos, Lagos RFC. Spectators will witness a local derby between Gosar RFC and EcoII RFC with both teams based in Ajegunle. Defending champions and league leaders Cowrie RFC are billed to face Hawksters Athlethics RFC although the match may not hold as Hawksters Athletics is yet to appeal the sanction placed on them by the NRFF since October 2014. The last match of the opening day will be between Police RFC and Ilorin based Royal Stallion RFC.

The chairman of Friends of Rugby; Mr Kelechukwu Mbagwu announced at the meeting that a Preparatory/Enablement fee from league sponsors; CMB Building Maintenance & Investment Co. Ltd will go to all participating teams. Mr Mbagwu also congratulated the Northern League organizers for a job well done on the completion of their 2014 League Season.

An anti doping seminar will be held at the press conference before the start of the League to be handled by Doctor Bukola Bojuwoye with all team coaches and captains mandated to attend.