Cowrie RFC Are One Point Away From Retaining Title As Police, Racing Battle For Second Spot

Runaway South West Rugby League winner, Cowrie RFC will be crowned as the 2014/2015 season champion of CMB Building Maintenance & Investment Company Limited sponsored league this weekend if they win Gosar RFC as actions resume at the mainbowl of the National stadium.

Gosar currently forth on the table after 11 games have 29 points with 5 wins and 6 losses will provide a formidable opposition for Cowrie who will definitely be crowned league champions on Saturday if they secure a win, draw or loose within seven points as they need just a single point to seal their title for the fourth straight season.

In the second match of the day, Royal Stallions RFC of Ilorin stand a good chance of winning their second match of the season when they face Eco II RFC who are still searching for their first win of the season after 11 games. With just 6 points separating the two teams at the bottom of the table and only 2 games to go, both teams will be going for broke if they are to stand any chance of escaping relegation.

Christain Ogar of Cowrie on the move

The highlight of match day 11 will definitely be between second placed Police RFC and third placed Racing RFC starting by 3:30pm, the match which will see the winner move to the second spot and brighten their chances of sealing a spot in the national playoffs holding in Abuja or Lagos later this year.

Police RFC still basking in the euphoria of their 97-0 dominant victory over Eco II RFC on match day 10 will certainly not find their opponent who are still reeling from the narrow loss to Cowrie RFC an easy nut to crack.

At the end of match day 10, Cowrie RFC winger, Christian Ogar leads the league’s scorer chart with 34 tries, 1 conversion, 2 penalty conversions, penning down 178 points in the process while Oyebola Sulymon of Police RFC is in second position with 8 tries, 33 conversions, and 4 penalty conversions penning down 118 points.

National team and Cowrie RFC captain, Azeez Ladipo is in the 3rd spot with 105 points.

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.

Nigeria’s Rugby Team Books Passage To All Africa Games And Olympics Qualifiers.

Nigeria have booked their ticket to the All Africa games and Olympics qualifiers after winning 2 games and losing 2 at the Africa cup North Rugby tournament. The Rugby National team started on a bright start after walloping Mali by 36-0 in the first game of the campaign.

The latest rave in the South West league, Christian Ogar of Cowrie RFC and Ikechukwu Onwukanjo scored 2 tries each with UK based Danjuma Msheila, Alfred Oche weighing in with a try of their own to bring the total numbers of points recorded to 30points.

Black Stallions, Azeez Olanrewaju

Black Stallions’ captain Azeez Ladipo also contributed his own quota as he showed leadership by example by converting 3 penalty kicks to put the final score at 36points in favour of Nigeria.

In the second game It was a different story entirely as the more physical Morocco took the game to the Nigerian team.

After containing the Moroccans for a while, Nigeria lost their bearing later in the 1st half to concede the 1st try and finally conceding 14 tries to 0 in the 1st half.

In the 2nd quarter, it was business as usual for the Nigeria team as they tried to claw their way back into the game with Ikechukwu Onwukanjo scoring a try after an impressive run by former national team captain, Hammed Gbenga as Ladipo converted the resulting kick.

With spectators expecting a comeback by Nigeria with the score standing at 14-7, Morocco went a step ahead again with another 7 points of their own which took the wind out of the Nigerian team sail.

With the game coming to a close and both teams becoming tired, Morocco confirmed their superiority with another 7 points courtesy of a try and a penalty kick conversion.

Despite the 21 to 7 points loss, Nigeria were still able to qualify for the semifinals where they met their West Africa brothers, Ivory Coast which turned out to be an exciting match.

The match started on a cautious note as both sides were not ready to throw caution to the winds.

It paid off for the Ivorians as they drew the first blood before Onor Jato replied with a try of his own to draw level for Nigeria and Azeez Ladipo converted the resulting kick to give the Nigerian side a 2 point advantage into the half time.

The technical input of the technical crew paid off in the 2nd half as the Black Stallions dominated proceedings as they made use of the full length of the pitch to wear their opponents down.

Black Stallions 7s prop Hafis Ayinla

The Black Stallions took the lead when Christian Ogar’s pressure on the opponent’s defense paid off as a careless ball was picked up by debutant, Ikechukwu Onwukanjo to score his 4th try of the competition before the dependable Azeez stepped up to convert the kick.

The match ended in 14 points to 5 in favor of the team.

In the finals, Nigeria once again met Morocco and this time the Nigerians took an early lead through Danjuma Msheila as the game started on a frenetic note as Azeez converted the penalty kick which put the score at 7-0 against Morocco.

The Nigerian side had the chance to see off their opponents but the chances were fluffed which gave the Moroccans the opportunity to come back in the 2nd half to claim the much coveted victory by 38 to 7 points.

The team will arrive in Nigeria From Togo today.

SOUTH WEST RUGBY LEAGUE: COWRIE REMAIN UNBEATEN, AS RACING MAULS ECO II

Despite the heavy downpour on Saturday, The South-West Rugby League went ahead as scheduled as the aftermath of the rain further made the pitch perfect for rugby.

Gosar RFC took on Police RFC in the first match and stuck to their territorial game plan. after twelve minutes spent in their opponents half, Police winger, Moshood Ajikanle’s break away try opened the flood gates for the men in black followed by a conversion by Sulymon Oyebola. Police scored one more try before the break and added two more tries in the second half leaving the final score at 24-0.

Cowrie RFC

In the second game, Cowrie RFC proved their superiority in the league by defeating the Royal Stallions of Ilorin 77-0 In a one sided affair where Cowrie dominated the game all through.

Though the Ilorin boys had a few breaks, they could not utilize them with the solid defence and brutal attack of Cowrie. Christain Ogar increased his dominance on the scorer table with 4 tries, he has so far scored 32 tries registering 160 points on the scorer chat, Cowrie’s new wing sensation; Onor Jato who returned from a 5 match absence came in after the first half break to register 2 tries giving him his 5th try of the season while the captain of the side Azeez Ladipo converted 6 out of 13 tries scored.

Racing RFC

The last match of the day between Eco II RFC and Racing RFC ended in favour of Racing even though the Ajegunle boys were able to register 3 pionts through a penalty conversion by captain; Samsom Okeowo in the last minute of the second half to keep the score at a respectable 62-3.

Eco II RFC

South West Rugby league: Cowrie RFC Extends Lead…,

Nigeria and Cowrie rugby sensation, Christian Ogar was the cynosure of all eyes on Saturday in the week 2 of the CMB Building Maintenance and Inv. Co. Ltd sponsored South West Rugby league which took center stage at the mainbowl of the National stadium, Surulere, Lagos against struggling Eco II RFC.

With fans wondering whether Cowrie were going to reach the 100point mark, the influential national team player turned up the heat, affirming is superiority on the scorers chat recording 6 tries, the duo of Sunday Bassey and Sammy Ekpo scored 2 tries each in a match that left the stunned Eco II team wondering where it all went wrong.

The scoreline will not be complete without the help of Sadiq Oduola, Olawale Oladipo and Matthias Emmanuel who all scored a tri each with National team captain showing again why he is arguably one of the best ball kickers in Africa as he converted 15 out of 16 try conversions, scoring 30 points in the process.

Action from the Southwest Rugby League

Speaking after their 5 star performance, the soft spoken Christian Ogar traced their impressive performance to hours of hard work in training.

Although, he said despite the 110 to 0 point margin against Eco II who are still searching for their first win of the season, the boys were not fully in shape as it was their first league match of the year.

Meanwhile, Racing RFC of Lagos continues to push for a second place finish on the table as another victory against the Hammed Gbenga led Gosar RFC moved them a step closer to their season target.

Muktar Ibrahim of Racing scored the first tri of the day and Monday Omorogieva converted the resulting kick to open a 7-0 lead.

Midway into the game, Gosar turned the tide against their foes and were seriously piling on the pressure in their bid to restore parity but it was Racing that extended the lead to 12-0 in the dying moment of the first half through Imeh Okon after Gosar’s backline were caught unawares.

Despite Gosar RFC putting up a spirited effort, Daniel Uduogu delivered another deadly blow to the heart with another try in the second half as the game ended in 22-0 in favor of Racing.

Speaking after their loss, Gosar RFC prop, Mark Macaulay blamed their harrowing defeat on the players who did not play to instruction as they let their guards down at crucial moments of the game.

Cowrie RFC, South west Rugby League Leaders

In his own view, Captain of victorious Racing RFC, David Oyekanmi said it feels good to be a winner and he feels on top of the world after their well-deserved victory.

Nigeria Police RFC were awarded 14 points as they walked over Hawkster Athletics RFC who are still serving a suspension from the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation.

Meanwhile Royal Stallions RFC of Ilorin versus Lagos RFC game didn’t hold following the withdrawal of Lagos RFC from the league due the their club’s managerial issues.

Cowrie RFC Eyes Unbeaten Run… As South West Rugby League Week 2 Actions Resume

Action resume this weekend with week 2 matches of the 2nd phase of the CMB Building Maintenance & Inv. Co. Ltd sponsored South West Rugby league takes centre stage at the main bowl of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos on Saturday 9th May 2015 With Hawkster Athletics RFC of Lagos still serving their Nigeria Rugby Football Federation imposed ban following their misconducts at the Independence Sevens Rugby fiesta, their match against Police RFC slated for 10:30am will not hold with the boys from the barracks scheduled to walk away with 14 technical walkover points.

Southwest Rugby League

Cowrie RFC of Lagos with 39 points from 8 matches will look to extend their lead at the top of the log as they take on Royal Stallions RFC of Ilorin in a game many have tipped to be an easy win for Cowrie RFC to extend their unbeaten runs to 9 games in the 2014/2015 league season.

5th placed Gosar RFC on 17 points after 8 matches will be taking on 3rd placed Racing RFC in the 3rd match of the day with head coach of the Gosah RFC, Gbenga Hammed playing, he and his boys may shock Racing in their push for a national playoff ticket taking place later in the year.

Lagos RFC currently on 11 points and occupying the 6th position will square up against Eco II RFC who have not recorded any point on the log table the game is billed to start by 4:30pm and its the last match of the day.‎

Christain Ogar of Cowrie Rugby Club in Action

Cowrie’s Christain Ogah still maintains his supremacy on top of the scorers chart with 100 points after scoring 20 tries while the National Team (Black Stallions) and Cowrie RFC captain, Azeez Ladipo follows closely with 3 tries, 39 conversions with a cumulative 93 points, Police RFC’s Oyebola Sulymon with with a cumulative 77 points is 3rd on the chart.

Cowrie RFC Maintain Top Position As South West Rugby League 2nd Stanza Starts

The 2nd stanza of the South Western Rugby league organized by ‘Friends of Rugby’ and sponsored by CMB Building and Maintenance Company started on Saturday on a bright note as spectators were treated to light refreshments and music.

1st game saw Racing Rugby Football of Lagos walk over Lagos RFC who failed to show up for their match and were walked over with 14 points.

The 2nd game of the day between Gosar RFC and Eco II RFC started on a cautious note as both teams were skeptical of committing all into attack in fear of a counter attacking move before Felix Salami of Gosar took the game to their opponent as he scored their 1st try of the second phase in the 21st minute against Eco II with Gbenga Hammed missing the resulting conversion kick.

Police RFC in action

Alex Ngbonyebi of Gosar RFC piled more misery on Eco II RFC with a well worked try in the 33rd minute with Gbenga Hammed missing the resulting conversion kick.

Gosar RFC took a 15-0 advantage over their local rival from Ajegunle, Eco II RFC into the 1st half break.

Gosar RFC extended their lead against Eco II with the commencement of hostility in the 2nd half with Gbenga Hammed scoring another penalty conversion in the 62nd minute to record 18 points.

Busari Kazeem of Eco II redeemed his team with a dramatic try scored in 71st minute before stepping up again to convert the resulting kick.

Felix salami of Gosar RFC took the game before Eco II as he scored another good try in the 81st minute of the encounter before Babatunde Shittu missed the resulting penalty as the game ended in 26 points to 7 in Gosar RFC’s favor.

The third game between Cowrie Rugby FC Lagos and Hawkster Athletics RFC of Lagos was decided to be a technical walkover in favor of Cowrie RFC by the technical committee of the league due to the existing suspension of Hawkster Athletics by the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation – Official with Cowrie awarded 14 points.

Steven of Royal Stallions Ilorin beats a defender

The last match of the day, between Police RFC and Royal Stallions RFC of Ilorin started on a fast and furious note with Abdulmalik Salihu of Police RFC drawing the 1st blood against Royal Stallions while Yahaya Samson missed the resulting penalty kick. At half time, the scores stood at 12-0 in favor of Police RFC.

In their quest to control the damage from Police RFC, Royal Stallions made couple of changes which was not enough as diminutive Ikechukwu Obiagazie scored a try for Police RFC and Suleiman Oyebola made the conversion to extend their lead to 19 points.

With Royal Stallions RFC letting down their defensive guard, they were punished as Yahaya Samson scored a try which was latter converted by Suleiman Oyebola to extend their lead to 26 points.

After match day 8, Cowrie RFC are still top of the league table with 39points, Police RFC and Racing RFC are tied on 29 points with Police having a superior points aggregate Hawkster Athletics RFC are still 4th on the league table with 23 points after they were walked over Gosar RFC, Lagos RFC, Royal Stallions RFC, Eco II completes the table in that order.

South West Rugby League Resumes This Weekend

Nigeria Rugby Football Federation vice-president, Olatunji Fasimoye has stated that the body in conjunction with ‘Friends of Rugby’ have put in place the necessary modalities for a smooth take off of the second-round phase of the South-West League kicking off this weekend inside the main bowl of the National Stadium Lagos.

Speaking during the media chat held at the media centre of the National stadium, Fasimoye assured all clubs of fairness and new innovations in the second half of the season as he revealed that all grievances and complaints have been reviewed with a view to improving the standard of the league.

Christain Ogar of Cowrie Rugby Club in Action

Fasimoye who stood in for the President, Sir Edward Fom Pam stated that all the south-west rugby clubs including Royal Stallions of Ilorin have all indicated their readiness to continue in their quest to upstage Cowrie RFC from the top spot.

In the interactive session, Fasimoye outlined the games schedules of the upcoming league stanza with each team expected to play seven more matches as he urged the participating clubs to be disciplined and abide by the rules governing the fast rising sport in Nigeria.

He complained to sports writers that sponsorship has not been forthcoming despite numerous letters, proposals and meetings held with individuals and corporate organizations as he thanked ‘CMB Building Maintenance and Investment Company limited’ for the progress recorded so far.

Steven of Royal Stallions Ilorin beats a defender

8 teams are expected to storm the mainbowl on Saturday with Cowrie Rugby Club leading the pack with 35 points.

Other teams include Police Rugby Club, Royal Stallions, Racing RFC, Eko II, Gosah RFC Hawkster Athletics and Lagos RFC.

SOUTH WEST RUGBY LEAGUE KICKS OFF 5th of April

Official club rugby makes a long overdue return to Lagos at the National Stadium, Surulere, on the 5th of April 2014 as the South West Rugby League kicks off the regional leagues as announced by the Nigerian Rugby Football Federation (NRFF).

The regional league includes the South West League, Northern League and South South League. These leagues will run concurrently this year and the winner of each regional league will contest in the Super League for the title of the 2014 best team in the country. The Northern League is comprised of seven teams, while the South West and South South/ East League comprise eight and four teams respectfully.

Eight clubs will contest the South West league over two rounds during a twenty four week season with all matches being played at the National Stadium. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Mr. Tunji Fasimoye, the Vice President and Technical Director of the NRFF, said it was important for the growth of rugby for players to get regular competition and opportunities to show their skills ahead of the international season.

“Nigerian rugby players around the country have been starved of regular competition and it is the NRFF’s intention that the leagues will provide players with the chance to play and put their hands up for selection to the national team ahead of the Confederation Of Africa Cup Group C tournament in Botswana in June,” Mr Fasimoye said.

The Vice President thanked CMB Building Maintenance and Investment Company for their drive towards the development of Rugby in Nigeria and their support in sponsoring the 2014 Regional Leagues. He also thanked the media for their growing support for rugby and acknowledged their role in rugby’s development.

The Chairman of the Friends of Rugby FOR (Mr Kelechuckwu Mbagwu) said the South West League, matches will be played every second Saturday with the first match of the day beginning at 10:30am and the last game ending at 6 pm. A lunch time interval, between the first two games and the last two games of the day, will provide opportunities for schools, women and social rugby games to share the platform and build a rugby culture in the country.

League points will be awarded on the basis of 4 points for a win, 2 points for a draw and 1 point for losing by 7 points or less. In keeping with international trends to encourage attacking rugby 1 bonus point will be awarded for scoring four tries or more in a game.

The draws for the South West League was conducted in the presence of the clubs and their captains.

“The media have a crucial role to play in growing and developing rugby. We count on you to help spread the word among boys and girls as little is known about the game. There are a lot of young boys and girls who would like to play the game and your reports on the matches and the leagues will help grow a fan base for clubs and the national teams,” he said.

Teams competing in the three regional leagues announced by the NRFF are:

SOUTH WEST LEAGUE:

1. Cowrie RFC
2. Police RFC
3. Lagos RFC
4. Hawckstar Athletics RFC
5. Racing RFC
6. Eco II RFC
7. Gosar RFC
8. Royal Stallion

NORTHERN LEAGUE:

1. Kano RFC
2. Kaduna RFC
3. Zaria RFC
4. Sabon Gari RFC
5. Jos RFC
6. Kano RFC
7. Barewa RFC

SOUTH SOUTH/EAST LEAGUE

1. Abia RFC
2. Imo RFC
3. Delta RFC
4. Edo RFC