2016 Olympics Qualifiers Is Not Mission Impossible- Edward Pam Fom

The president of the Nigerian Rugby Football Federation, Sir Edward Pam Fom has assured Nigerians that the senior men’s national team will not disappoint Nigerians in South Africa as they seek their 1st ever Olympic ticket.

Fom told journalists that it will not be business as usual when the Black Stallions file out to represent Nigeria as he called for understanding.

According to him “This is a developing nation in rugby, this is a developing national team. At our very worst we are good and at our best, we can be dynamic”

“Nigerians should be patient with us, we hope to always churn out good results as we have always done”

Speaking before their departure for Johannesburg today for a 5 day training exercise before the competition slated for the 14th and 15th of November, the NRFF president thanked the Director General of the National Sports Commission, Dr Alhassan Yakmut for giving the federation an audience to discuss their plans and programs after which he promised to be fully supportive at every point in time.

Nigerian Rugby team the Black Stallions,

He also thanked CMB Building Maintenance & Inv Co. Ltd for their unflinching supports in ensuring the availability of funds for the federation, which has in no small way helped them in preparing the team for international engagements.

He concluded by urging Nigerians to keep supporting, believing and praying for the team as they compete against Zambia, Uganda and Zimbabwe in group B in their quest to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Nigeria’s Black Stallions Of To South Africa For Olympic Qualifiers

The Nigeria Rugby Senior National team also known as the Black Stallions will depart tomorrow, Sunday, 8th of November for Johannesburg, South Africa for the Rio 2016 Olympics qualifiers.

7 home based players and 4 officials will depart Lagos from the Murtala Muhammed aboard a Kenyan Airways flight by 12:40pm Sunday 2015. ‎

The delegation will be led by President of the Nigerian Rugby Football Federation, Edward Pam Fom alongside the Vice President, Fasimoye Olatunji, Bandele Coker (Technical Adviser) and Bukola Bojuwoye (Team Doctor) as part of the delegation.

Meanwhile, Head coach, Fabian Juries and all invited foreign players will join the team on the 9th for the 5 days training ahead of the qualifiers on 14th & 15th of November 2015.

Speaking after their last training session on Saturday, the Technical Director of the Federation, Tunji Fasimoye revealed his optimism that the team will do well and might probably surprise the World.

He thanked CMB Building Maintenance & Inv Co. Ltd for their unflinching support in making sure that funds were provided for the federation to facilitate their trip.

In his words, Fasimoye said, “Special kudos must go to Kelechi Mbagwu, Chairman, CMB Building Maintenance and Investment Company Limited for his support.”

“We went to Zambia for the Cup 1C and Togo for the pre-Olympics qualifiers earlier this year with little or no support from the National Sports Commission, CMB came to our rescue and provided the necessary financial backing to make it possible”.

“Months after our trip to Togo, here we are about to travel to South Africa, nothing from the NSC once again. If not for CMB, this trip would not have been possible”

Nigeria has been drawn in Pool B, alongside Zimbabwe, Uganda and Zambia. Zimbabwe are favorites to advance from Pool B.

Black Stallions,

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)

RUGBY AFRICA ANNOUNCES POOLS FOR OLYMPIC QUALIFIERS

Rugby Africa has confirmed the pools for The Olympic qualifiers which will be staged in Johannesburg, South Africa from the 13th – 14th November, 2015. The Africa Cup Sevens is a qualifying tournament for The Rio Olympic Games in 2016.

Nigeria has been drawn in Pool B, alongside Zimbabwe, Uganda and Zambia. Zimbabwe are favorites to advance from Pool B.

Nigerian Rugby team the Black Stallions,

Reacting after the draws, coach of the Nigerian Rugby team also know as Black Stallions, Fabian Juries said “The draw here offers some really exciting match-ups right from the group stage and there’s lots of potential for upsets as well which means no team can take anything for granted”.

Africa Rugby Sevens Pool Announced

Africa Rugby Sevens pools:

Despite Zimbabwe being tipped by bookmakers as group B favorites, the South African Rugby legend believes the Zambia team are no pushovers However, he has warned opposing teams that any attempt to underrate Nigeria may prove costly.

Meanwhile in group A, Kenya who is a strong force in africa rugby will tackle Madagascar, Senegal and Mauritius.

In group C, northern african brothers, Tunisia and Morrocco have been pitted together with Namibia and Bostwana.

All African Games Miss Was Devastating-Azeez Ladipo

Captain of Nigeria senior national Rugby team the Black Stallions, Azeez Ladipo has described their absence from the All African Games as devastating and heart wrenching watching the Nigerian contingent compete despite qualifying for the event.

Speaking with journalists, Azeez who doubles as captain of the national team and Southwest Rugby League champions, Cowrie RFC said it was more painful having been made to pass through the same harrowing experience following their exclusion from the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth games by the Nigeria Olympics Committee.

“We are devastated, the federation is devastated, and the boys are devastated.”But we are not letting that put us down.

The resilient flyhalf said despite the setback, they will not stop trying or give up because Rugby has come to stay in Nigeria.

Captain Azeez Ladipo on National duty for the Black Stallions

He revealed that he has spoken to some of the national teams players both home and abroad as their captain, he encouraged them not to give up or allow the setback to let them down.

He promised that they will definitely channel their energy into the Rio 2016 Olympics qualifiers scheduled to hold in South Africa later in November.

“It is going to be difficult too because it’s a very tough task but we are not going to give up. We are going to keep fighting until Nigeria is recognized as a world power in Rugby.”

Christian Ogar Is Emerges Best Rugby Player As CowryRFC Win South West Rugby League

Star boy of Nigeria rugby, Christian Ogar was on Saturday voted as the most valuable player and he also emerged as the highest point scorer of the South West Rugby league sponsored by CMB Building and Investment Company at the final day of the league which was held at the main bowl of the National stadium, Lagos.

Christain Ogar of Cowrie on the move

The national team player who plies his trade with Cowrie RFC of Lagos was consistent all through the season as he masterminded his team’s unbeaten run in the 2014/2015 rugby league with 36 tries, 1 try conversion and 3 penalty conversions recording a cumulative of 193 points.

Even though Cowrie RFC won the league before the league finals with accumulated points, the final against police was crucial in their quest to defend their 7 years 15’s unbeating run which was achieved with ease.

At the well-attended final league game sponsored by CMB Building and Inv. Co. Ltd, 3rd placed, Police RFC were awarded the fair play award despite losing to the champions, Cowrie RFC 22-0 in a match which could be described as fast and furious as both teams came out for the maximum points.

Ramon Bakare Police Captain being presented with the Fair play award by the MD CEO of CMB Building Maintenance & Inv Co Ltd Mr Kelechukwu Mbagwu

In the game which was characterised with mazy runs, pin point tackles and incisive passes, Sammy Ekpo bagged 2 tries while Dipo Olawale and Christian Ogar registered 1 try each and a conversion by Tunji Oduntan was all that was needed by Cowrie RFC to show their superiority against a very physical Police RFC side.

Meanwhile, in the first game of the day, spectators and invited guests were treated to a display of good game of rugby with both teams putting up a classy display, but the young and less experienced Royal Stallions of Ilorin side lost to Racing RFC 50-0, Racing RFC now claims the second spot on the league table and also a slot in the national playoff as the runners up of the South West Rugby Union League.

Mr Kelechukwu Mbagwu the MD/CEO of the league sponsor CMB Building and Ind. Co. Ltd, and the Vice President/Technical Director of Nigeria Rugby Football Federation Fasimoye Olatunji were present at the event for the award presentation.

Azeez Ladipo Cowrie Captain being presented with the throphy as champions of the SWL by the MD CEO of CMB Building Maintenance & Inv Co Ltd Mr Kelechukwu Mbagwu

Curtain Falls On South West Rugby League As Organisers Plans Award Ceremony

The last round of matches of the 2014/2015 South West Rugby league season sponsored by CMB Building will take place on Saturday, 29th of August at the mainbowl of the Lagos National stadium, Lagos.

According to the fixtures, 2nd placed Racing RFC will be looking at grabbing the maximum point as to consolidate their position on the log and book a place at the national playoff when they take on Royal Stallions of Ilorin who have already secured their top flight status next season.

The main battle of the day will be against a motivated Cowrie RFC side against 3rd placed Police RFC who will be desperate to win and hope that Racing will slip up in the race for the 2nd place.

SOUTH WEST RUGBY LEAGUE

Speaking ahead of the match, head coach of Cowrie RFC, Joseph Ofoha says despite having already emerged as the league champions, a victory against Police will be an icing on an already sweet cake and an avenue to avenge their 2013 final loss to Police at the Independence Sevens tournament.

The organizers while revealing the last match day schedule also revealed that immediately after the last match, there will be a brief award ceremony where cash rewards will be presented to the League winner, Most Valuable Player of the league, highest point scorer and fairplay award for the deserving team.

Nigeria Rugby Football Federation Sad Over Last Minute Exclusion From AAG.

The President of the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation, Sir Edward Pam Fom has expressed surprise at the last minute removal of the sport from events to feature at the 2015 All Africa Games scheduled for Congo next year.

Having already qualified for the games at the qualifiers in faraway Togo, Pam Fom wondered why the organisers allowed participating teams to waste their time and resources to prepare and play the qualifiers when there was no concrete plan for the sport which is fast becoming popular in Africa.

Black Stallions,

In the same vein, the federation’s Vice President and Technical Director, Fasimoye Olatunji, described the exclusion of the sport from the 50th edition of the AAG as a devastating blow for the federation after their 2012 Commonwealth games exclusion on the insistence of the National sports commission and the Nigeria Olympics Commission despite their qualification.

Fasimoye said the federation saw the AAG participation as a proper avenue to prepare for the 2016 Olympics games qualifiers in South Africa later this year and also as a launch pad for the Black Stallions on the international scene.

He finally appealed to all stakeholders who were looking out for the national team‘s participation at the games never to give up over what he described as a “minor setback” in the wheel of progress of the sport in Nigeria promising that nothing will stop the federation from repositioning Rugby in the country.

South West League: Police RFC Climb To Second Place…,

The tension of a derby and top of the table clash between two Victoria Island based teams; Cowrie RFC and Racing RFC provided a fascinating game of rugby, one that at a stage could have gone either way at the main bowl of the National stadium, Lagos on Saturday.

It took just 10 minutes for Onor Jatto to open the scoring for Cowrie as Christian Ogar took the responsibility of converting the kicks in the absence of inspirational captain, Azeez Ladipo who was not fielded. In what turned out to be a fast and furious game, racing responded almost immediately when centre, Festus Nwasor took advantage of a John Sylvanus error in the 27th minute and raced 50 yards for a try.

Sodiq Oduola of Cowrie RFC makes a tackle

After starting out slowly, Cowries’ speed star, Christian Ogar turned the heat on Racing RFC with two tries which prompted racing to make 2 substitutions- Chike Nwagbogu came out for Stephen Israel and veteran; Taleeb Adeniyi replaced Imeh Okon on the wing with little time remaining in the first half.

The grudge match that was described as the most tactical, exciting and “neatest” game of the day by fans and observers, resumed in the second half with the same urgency from both teams who were desperate to earn the bragging right. Christian Ogar kicked over a penalty early in the second half before Denis Clement who was a former Cowrie player replied Christian Ogar with a penalty conversion of his own.

Clement Denis scored another penalty and a drop kick point to take Racing points to 16 and his territorial kicking created a lot of problems and put Cowrie on the back foot towards the end. Cowrie defended well and held on for the double against Racing this season.

In the opening match of the day, Police RFC showed their superiority over Eco II with a 97-0 emphatic win.
Speaking after the game, captain of Police RFC, Rahmon Bakare said they actually came out for the game to overrun Eco II, but due to some silly mistakes, they could not score more as he promised that they will go back to the drawing board to perfect their tactics.

A dejected Captain of Eco II RFC, Kazeem Busari, said “We tried our best, but obviously our best was not enough due to the caliber of players at our disposal”

Meanwhile it took 18 minutes for the deadlock to be broken in the second match between Royal Stallions of Ilorin and Gosar RFC of Lagos.

It was Gosar RFC who broke the deadlock in the 18th minute with a breakaway try by Ezekiel Tom. Gosar further took a 12 point advantage with Dare Salami scoring another try before Sadiq Akanni redeemed himself scoring the resultant conversion after missing the first opportunity. Ife Ibiteye reduced the deficit scoring 3 points for Royal Stallions of Ilorin courtesy of a penalty kick.

Cowrie RFC in a defensive line

With the resumption of action in the second half, Salami Felix made a try for Gosar RFC in the 48th minute despite Royal Stallions proving a hard nut to crack and Sodiq Akanni scored the resulting kick as the match ended 19 points to 3 against Royal Stallions RFC.

Olatunbosun Plays Up Cowrie/Racing Rugby Football Club Rivalry

Ahead of this weekend’s clash between Racing Rugby Football Club and Cowrie RFC in the CMB Building Maintenance & Investment Company Limited/ South West Rugby league, Head coach of Racing, Ayo Olatunbosun Johnson has boasted that his team is always ready to come against any team.

Speaking after their evening training session on Wednesday, the ex-coaching coordinator for grassroots development, Lagos said Racing has a reputation to protect because they are the best rugby club in the country despite Cowries doing very well with couple of points clear on top of the South West league table after an impressive start to the season.

“I believe that with the spirit in camp plus our recent game pattern and records, we should be able to get a surprise win against Cowrie RFC on Saturday.”

Although many people describe our recent form as “medicine after death” but we want to maintain our second spot on the table and play in the national finals taking place in Abuja later this year.

He lamented the elongation of the 2014 league calendar which spilled into 2015 due to the breaks that normally comes in with mixing up international events with the domestic ones but acknowledged that the board is doing a great job.

Racing Fly half; Ekpo Williams in action during a South West Rugby league game

“I must give thumbs up to the NRFF Technical Director Tunji Fasimoye for the great job he is doing as per the South West Rugby league, and I think he is doing exceptionally well”

In other matches to be played on Saturday, third placed team, Police RFC will take on Eco II RFC while fourth placed Gosar RFC of Ajegunle will hope to fend off the surge of fifth placed Royal Stallions RFC of Ilorin.

South West Rugby League Resumes As Three Matches Take Center Stage

South West League coordinator Olatunji Fasimoye has announced that the CMB Building Maintenance & Investment Company Limited sponsored League will resume its final round of matches on the 1st of August. Teams have swung into action as they intensify preparation in their quest to improve and consolidate their positions on the log with three games remaining.

After weeks of break occasioned by the National Team engagements which were primarily prosecuted by predominant home based players which saw the Black Stallions book a place in the 50th edition of the All Africa Games in Congo and the Olympic qualifiers ticket in South Africa later in the year, Fasimoye expressed optimism that with the experience gathered by the players after mixing with their foreign based counterparts, the last 3 sets of matches promises to be explosive with a lot of technical and tactical improvements.

Hafis Ayinla of Cowrie RFC Breaking a Tackle at SWL Fixtures agains Eco II RFC

Three matches will be played at the National Stadium main bowl on the 1st of August starting at 11:00 am.

Third placed team, Police RFC will take on Eco II RFC whom is still searching for their first win this season. Fourth placed Gosar RFC of Ajegunle will hope to fend off the surge of fifth placed Royal Stallions RFC of Ilorin in the second match and the last match will be an explosive encounter between Victoria Island rivals; table topping Cowrie RFC parading the likes of Christian Ogar, Onoh jato and Azeez Ladipo against Racing RFC who are second on the log tutored by Ayo Olatunbosun. Racing will be looking for a revenge after Cowrie scored four tries on their way to a 26 – 8 victory in the first leg.

Cowrie RFC is a breakaway faction of Racing RFC in 2005 and has since dominated the rugby scene in the country.

Lagosians are enjoined to come all out and support the league on the 1st of August.

Please find attached for pix, League Fixture, League Log Table and League Scorer Chart.

NRFF Takes Positives From Cup 1C Campaign

Black Stallions In Action at the Rugby Africa Cup 1C

The President of the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation, Sir Edward Fom Pam has refused to be depressed over the non-qualification of the senior national team to the Africa Rugby division 1B after Zambia defeated Zimbabwe by 19 points to 12 in the promotion decider on Saturday.

The Black Stallions narrowly missed out on promotion after losing to the home team by 15 to 8points in their first match before defeating 3rd ranked rugby playing nation in Africa, Zimbabwe by 34points to 23 to brighten their chances which was later dimmed by Zambia.

Black Stallions at the Rugby Africa Cup 1C

The president acknowledged that the team boxed itself into a very tight corner after unexpectedly losing to Zambia which bookmakers thought was going to be an easy ride on their way to gaining promotion, hence excuses are not warranted because the team had their chances.

Fom Pam noted that the tournament provided the technical committee of the federation a clear insight as to what the senior national team will look like based on the performances of the team at the competition after about 2 years of trying to gather together a team that can hold its own against any country in the world.

Fabian Juries, Black Stallions Coach

He thanked CMB Building Maintenance & Investment Company Limited for being there for the National team as always as they were solely responsible for the 1 week camping exercise in Zambia before the tournament which went a long way in helping the Fabian Juries led team to record a decent result.

He called on well-meaning Nigerians, corporate organizations to key into the vision of the NRFF by partnering with the federation through sponsorship of the national teams, grassroots and national competitions which will help in exposing the hidden talents scattered all over the country.

Black Stallions In Action at the Rugby Africa Cup 1C

photo credit: Nigeria Rugby Football Federation

Nigeria’s Black Stallions fall to Zambia

Azeez Ladipo’s penalty and Onoru Jatto’s try in the first half was all the Black Stallions could pull off as host-Zambia pulled off a 15points to 8 over the senior national team of Nigeria at the Africa Rugby cup 1C cup.

Zambia scored 2 tries in the first half and kicked over a penalty as the score stood at 12-8 at half time.
The second half was tight for both teams but Zambia managed to kick another penalty over for another 3 points.
Reacting after the game, NRFF technical director; Fasimoye Olatunji expressed concerns over some questionable calls made by the referee in favor of the host who were desperate to host to win and gain promotion into the 1B division.

Black Stallions,

He submitted that the team will have to come all out against Zimbabwe on Wednesday if they are to step up to Cup 1B.

The federation is still awaiting Rugby Africa’s decision’s after a formal complaint was made over Zambia Rugby Union’s decision to appoint a referee from Kenya and touch judges and match commissioner from Zambia for the match against the Black Stallions.