Pepsi ICC WCL Division 2 Begins In Windhoek On Saturday

The six captains participating in Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 2 (WCL Div.2) have spoken about their sides’ chances in the tournament, which gets underway in Windhoek, Namibia, on Saturday.

The tournament sees Canada, Kenya, Nepal, Netherlands, Uganda and host Namibia lock horns in an eight-day, round robin tournament. The final and play-offs will be played on Saturday, 24 January, with the top two teams qualifying to play in the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2015-17 and Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Championship.

The opening day of the tournament will see three matches played, with host Namibia taking on Kenya at Wanderers, Netherlands squaring off against Canada at United and Uganda facing off against Nepal at Wanderers Affies.

Nicolaas Scholtz, Namibia, credit ICC.

Namibia captain Nicolaas Scholtz said that he is confident of success on home soil. “My hopes are very high because I know the amount of work that has been put in by every individual member of the team. We believe in each other and are a very tight knit group; I hope that we can finish in the top two and win the final at the end of the week.

“As the hosts we will try and use all our knowledge about the grounds and pitches to help us in performing to our best. I am really looking forward to the tournament and to play some hard, competitive cricket in the right spirit,” said Scholtz.

Rakep Patel, Kenya. credit ICC

Kenya captain Rakep Patel is in a positive frame of mind looking ahead to the start of the tournament. “I think we fancy ourselves to do well in the tournament and in tomorrow’s match. If we click as a unit I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t do well, there are fantastic individuals in our team and we just have to work together as a group. We don’t want to look too far ahead, we just have to concentrate on one game at a time and do the basics well.”

Previewing his side’s first match, Netherlands captain Peter Borren said: “The whole squad is pumped and ready to hit the ground running when we face Canada tomorrow. They are a side which we’re reasonably well-acquainted with, and a team whom we have had success against in the past. I am confident that given our fantastic preparation, we will perform to our potential. Canada have some dangerous players in their team, though we will leave no stone unturned in an effort to come out on top on the day.”

Looking ahead to the first-day clash against Netherlands, Canada skipper Jimmy Hansra said: “We are preparing for tomorrow’s game with great intensity, and focusing on our strengths. We have played against the Netherlands on a few occasions in the past, and we both need to hold our nerve during this important tournament opener. An unknown combination of turf wickets, grounds, and recent team form will have a big impact on the outcome of this game.”

Paras Khadka, Nepal. credit :ICC

Looking ahead to his side’s match against Uganda, Nepal skipper Paras Khadka said: “It is the first match in the tournament and we want to start on a positive note. We need to stick to our basics and believe in our strength and play to our potential. It is important to get a strong start as we have seen in previous Pepsi ICC World Cricket League tournaments; every team must be prepared well, so we cannot take any game or any team lightly.”

Uganda captain Frank Nsubuga said his side must start well against Nepal: “I think it is going to be a tough game as both teams are well balanced. My boys are very confident; we have played Nepal many times and we want to use that experience to perform well tomorrow.”

Tournament schedule:

17 Jan – Namibia v Kenya (Wanderers), Netherlands v Canada (United), Uganda v Nepal (Wanderers Affies)
18 Jan – Namibia v Uganda (Wanderers), Nepal v Netherlands (United), Kenya v Canada (Wanderers Affies)
19 Jan – Rest/reserve day
20 Jan – Nepal v Canada (Wanderers), Kenya v Uganda (United), Namibia v Netherlands (Wanderers Affies)
21 Jan – Kenya v Netherlands (Wanderers), Namibia v Nepal (United), Canada v Uganda (Wanderers Affies)
22 Jan – Rest/reserve day
23 Jan – Netherlands v Uganda (Wanderers), Namibia v Canada (United), Nepal v Kenya (Wanderers Affies)
24 Jan – Final (Wanderers), 3rd v 4th play-off (United), 5th v 6th play-off (Wanderers Affies)

Top two teams will qualify for the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2015-17 and Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Championship

Namibia, Canada And Nepal Prepare To Battle For Pepsi World Cricket League Division 2

Opportunity for top teams to play in ICC’s Intercontinental Cup 2015-17 and Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Championship 2015-17.

Pepsi ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Division 2 will see six Associate teams locking horns in Namibia and Jimmy Hansra of Canada, Nicolaas Scholtz of Namibia, and Paras Khadka of Nepal, say their teams are prepared for a tough battle.

During the eight-day tournament that commences on 17 January, Canada, Kenya, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands and Uganda will compete for the opportunity to progress to ICC’s four-day Intercontinental Cup and the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Championship 2015-17.

Canada skipper Jimmy Hansra is looking forward to play in an ICC tournament again: “It will be one year since Canada last participated in an ICC tournament. The team has worked hard over the last year and are looking forward to playing in this important tournament.”

There are some youthful additions to Canada’s squad with Nitish Kumar and Nikhil Dutta, who both represented Canada at the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in UAE at the beginning of 2014, both being called up.

Hansra who led the team at the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in January 2014 in New Zealand, said: “We have played against many, if not all of the teams that are participating in ICC WCL Div. 2, and know what to expect from them. We have some talented and hungry cricketers, and are looking forward to showcasing our talent in Africa. We have to stick to our strengths and execute our plans, and I have no doubt in the overall ability of this group to do well in this tournament.”

Newly-promoted Nepal will be led by veteran skipper Paras Khadka, who said: “Everyone is working hard and we are very keen to play our very best and win the tournament. If we play to our potential we will come out with flying colours. It’s a major tournament and everyone is really keen to perform and climb up the divisional ladder.”

Nepal has had a big year of international cricket, competing in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in January 2014, and competing on the world stage at the ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, where it beat Hong Kong and Afghanistan. Nepal also won the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 3 in Malaysia in October 2014.

“This year we played in our first ICC World Twenty20, performed well in the event and once again won ICC WCL Div. 3. Back home, cricket has grown ten folds and has reached another height. We must continue this momentum; our focus is to get into the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Championship and the ICC Intercontinental Cup,” said Khadka.

Hosts Namibia will be captained by Nicolaas Scholtz who is excited to be playing on home soil: “Namibia is really looking forward to playing in front of our home crowd and we’re aiming make our country and supporters proud. We are looking forward to some hard competitive cricket and perform in the right spirit and to the maximum of our abilities.

“I think we will have a very good chance to win the tournament. We have a really good team, full of energy, with a good mix of experience and youngsters. The team are well-prepared for the tournament and everyone is ready and itching to get going,” said Scholtz.

The opening day of the tournament will see Namibia take on Kenya at Wanderers, Netherlands lock horns with Canada at United, and Uganda face Nepal at Wanderers Affies.

The tournament schedule is:

17 Jan – Namibia v Kenya (Wanderers), Netherlands v Canada (United), Uganda v Nepal (Wanderers Affies)
18 Jan – Namibia v Uganda (Wanderers), Nepal v Netherlands (United), Kenya v Canada (Wanderers Affies)
19 Jan – Rest/reserve day
20 Jan – Nepal v Canada (Wanderers), Kenya v Uganda (United), Namibia v Netherlands (Wanderers Affies)
21 Jan – Kenya v Netherlands (Wanderers), Namibia v Nepal (United), Canada v Uganda (Wanderers Affies)
22 Jan – Rest/reserve day
23 Jan – Netherlands v Uganda (Wanderers), Namibia v Canada (United), Nepal v Kenya (Wanderers Affies)
24 Jan – Final (Wanderers), 3rd v 4th play-off (United), 5th v 6th play-off (Wanderers Affies)

All matches are scheduled to start at 0930 local time

Squads

Canada – Amarbir Hansra (captain), Rizwan Cheema, Parth Desai, Navneet Dhaliwal, Satsimranjit Dhindsa, Nikhil Dutta, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Nitish Kumar, Usman Limbada, Umer Nawaz, Cecil Pervez, Durand Soraine, Hamza Tariq, Srimantha Wijeyeratne

Kenya – Rakep Patel (captain), Elijah Asoyo, Alex Auma, Jadavji Bhimji, James Kamande, Irfan Karim, Lucas Ndandason, James Ngoche, Nehemiah Ngoche, Shem Ngoche, Collins Obuya, Nelson Odhiambo, Narendra Patel, Gurdeep Singh

Namibia – Nicolaas Scholtz (captain), Stephen Baard, Sarel Burger, Merwe Erasmus, Louis Klazinga, Bjorn Kotze, Jean – Pierre Kotze, Bernard Scholtz, Johannes Smit, Christiaan Snyman, Gerrie Snyman, Raymond Van Schoor, Craig Williams, Helao Ya France

Nepal – Paras Khadka (captain), Binod Bhandari, Amrit Bhattarai, Naresh Bahadur Budhaayer, Shakti Prasad Gauchan, Sompal Kami, Bhuban Karki, Karan KC, Subash Khakurel, Gyanendra Malla, Sagar Pun, Basant Regmi, MD Arif Sheikh, Sharad Vesawkar

Netherlands – Peter Borren (captain), Rahil Ahmed, Wesley Barresi, Jeroen Brand, Mudassar Bukhari, Ben Cooper, Vivian Kingma, Ahsan Malik, Stephan Myburgh, Michael Rippon, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Szwarczynski, Paul van Meekeren, Matthijs van Schelven

Uganda – Frank Nsubuga (captain), Davis Karashani, Hamu Kayondo, Arthur Kyobe, Brian Masaba, Deusdedit Muhumuza, Roger Mukasa, Phillemon Mukobe, Abram Mutyagaba, Patrick Ochan, Danniel Ruyange, Jonathan Sebanja, Laurence Sematimba, Henry Ssenyondo

Match officials
ICC Regional Referee Dev Govindjee will be the referee for the tournament.

The umpires are:

· Ian Ramage – Mentor Umpire (Scotland)
· Tim Robinson- Mentor Umpire (United Kingdom)
· Shaun George- Mentor Umpire (South Africa)
· Mark Hawthorne (N. Ireland)
· Anil Chaudhary (India)
· David Odhiambo (Kenya)
· Buddhi Pradhan (Nepal)

CAVB’s Zone 5 Competition Calendar Announced

African Volleyball Confederation’s “CAVB” Zone 5 calendar was announced following their Board meeting in Cairo, Egypt this week presided by Eng. Atta Elmanan from Sudan in presence of CAVB President Dr Amr Elwani and 8 counties from this zone.

The zone Board decided to manage the zonal qualification for the 2015 All Africa Games through two sub-zonal pools for the Men’s volleyball qualification, where the champions of each pool represent the zone in the peak African Sports event to be held in Congo Brazzaville September 4 to 19, 2015. The Women’s Volleyball qualification will feature one pool where the winners and runner up claim the qualification tickets for Congo.

In Beach Volleyball the Men’s and Women’s qualifications will be through one tournament each where the top 4 teams clinch their rickets to Congo.

Kenya women will be one of the favourite national teams in the zone

The schedule of All Africa Games will be as follows:

Volleyball
Men’s Volleyball Sub- zone 1 in Rwanda May 1 to 6, 2015 (Rwanda-Kenya-Uganda-Burundi-Tanzania)
Men’s Volleyball Sub- zone 2 in Ethiopia May 7 to 13, 2015 (Ethiopia-Egypt-Sudan-Djibouti-Eritrea- Somalia)
Women’s Volleyball Zonal in Uganda April 20 to 28, 2015 (Uganda-Kenya-Rwanda-Burundi-Tanzania-Egypt-Ethiopia)

thrilling action in the CAVB Beach Volleyball

Beach Volleyball
Men’s Beach VB Zonal in Tanzania April 16 to 20, 2015 (Tanzania-Kenya-Rwanda-Burundi-Egypt-Sudan-Ethiopia)
Women’s Beach VB Zonal in Kenya May 7 to 11, 2015 (Kenya-Rwanda-Burundi-Tanzania-Egypt-Ethiopia).

Beside the competition the zone members decided on the courses to be organised in 2015 within the zone countries and through Sudan Development center.

The meeting was headed by CAVB President Dr Amr Elwani, Zone 5 President Eng. Atta Elmanan, CAVB Vice President Waithake Kioni (Kenya), Augustine Agapa (Tanzania), Omar El Hag (Sudan), Nasiwu Sadik (Uganda), Fouad Abdelsalam (Egypt), Louis Rwakiranya (Burundi), Gustave Nkurunziza (Rwanda), Begziabher Alebel (Ethiopia).

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Pepsi ICC WCL Div.2 Hopes To Produce More Success Stories

Important tournament on the pathway to the ICC Cricket World Cup

The Pepsi ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Division 2 starts in Namibia this week and it gives the opportunity for teams to advance along the pathway to the ICC Cricket World Cup.

This will be the third WCL Division 2 to be staged and the second to be hosted in Namibia and many teams have had some great success stories on their way to the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier and ODI status. In 2007, Argentina, Denmark, Namibia, Oman, Uganda and United Arab Emirates all participated in the tournament in Namibia.

The 2007 event featured some close-fought matches and an exciting final in which the winners United Arab Emirates defeated Oman by 67 runs. United Arab Emirates have gone on from strength to strength gaining ODI status until 2018 after being finalists at the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in 2014, missing out narrowly to Scotland and will now feature in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

United Arab Emirates played hosts to the WCL Division 2 in 2011 with array of teams on show including Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Namibia, Uganda and Bermuda. United Arab Emirates defeated Namibia in the final by 1 wicket promoting both teams to the ICC World Cricket League Championship 2011-2013 and ICC Intercontinental Cup 2011-2013.

As a result of strong performances in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in 2014, Hong Kong finishing third and Papua New Guinea finishing fourth both gained ODI status until 2018.

Following the recent decision of the ICC to “break the glass ceiling” and allow AMs the opportunity to play Test cricket, the WCL is now an important part of this process as it provides a pathway into the ICC’s four-day Intercontinental Cup. In addition, WCL Division 2 can enable the top teams to progress to the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Championship 2015-17.

Fixtures

17 Jan – Namibia v Kenya (Wanderers), Netherlands v Canada (United), Uganda v Nepal (Wanderers Affies)
18 Jan – Namibia v Uganda (Wanderers), Nepal v Netherlands (United), Kenya v Canada (Wanderers Affies)
19 Jan – Rest/reserve day
20 Jan – Nepal v Canada (Wanderers), Kenya v Uganda (United), Namibia v Netherlands (Wanderers Affies)
21 Jan – Kenya v Netherlands (Wanderers), Namibia v Nepal (United), Canada v Uganda (Wanderers Affies)
22 Jan – Rest/reserve day
23 Jan – Netherlands v Uganda (Wanderers), Namibia v Canada (United), Nepal v Kenya (Wanderers Affies)
24 Jan – Final (Wanderers), 3rd v 4th play-off (United), 5th v 6th play-off (Wanderers Affies)

All matches are scheduled to start at 0930 local time

Dr Elwani Opens CAVB Zone 5 Meeting In Cairo

CAVB

2015 Zone 5 meeting: Dr Elwani opens Zone 5 meeting in Cairo

CAVB President Dr Amr Elwani opened the ordinary meeting of the continental Zone 5 on Friday, with a welcome address to the attending 8 national federations from Sudan, Egypt, Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia.

Elwani thanked the attending NFs President for their attendance and help to develop the sport throughout the zone, which is considered the biggest zone in the continent.

“This zone has a lot of experienced officials led by Eng. Atta Elmanan, Zone 5 president and the CAVB Vice President and Kenya VB Fed President Mr Waithaka Kioni,” said Dr Elwani.

“I know this region of the continent can attract a lot of sponsors to the sport who can help the development projects in the 11 zone countries. We need to work together to face the great challenge of 2015 busy calendar.”

Zone 5 President Eng Atta Elmanan asked the zone members to work hard to overcome the political and financial problems of their countries. “We have 2 main targets here; the first is to start the condensed activity to face the too many qualifications in 2015 and the second to budget these activities with our work to involve new sponsors.” He said.

The meeting was headed by CAVB President Dr Amr Elwani, Zone 5 President Eng. Atta Elmanan, CAVB Vice President Waithake Kioni (Kenya), Augustine Agapa (Tanzania), Omar El Hag (Sudan), Nasiwu Sadik (Uganda), Fouad Abdelsalam (Egypt), Louis Rwakiranya (Burundi), Gustave Nkurunziza (Rwanda), Begziabher Alebel (Ethiopia) and CAVB Technical Director Howyda Mondy.

CAVB President Dr Elwani addresses Zone 5 members

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CAVB Zone 5 To Meet In Cairo

African Volleyball Confederation “CAVB” zone 5 will hold its ordinary meeting in Cairo, Egypt on Friday January 9, 2015 to discuss the 2015 activity of the zone that includes 11 counties.

Among other important issue the meeting discusses the zonal system of qualifications for the 2015 All Africa Games to be hosted in Congo Brazzaville in both volleyball and Beach Volleyball categories and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.

Kenya women will be one of the favourite national teams in the zone

The zone members will also discuss Zone 5 countries’ African Dream Project Data Base and the national and zonal course to be organised in 2015 within the zone area.

Zone 5 countries are Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea and Somalia

The meeting will be headed by CAVB President Dr Amr Elwani.

ICC Announces Squads And Match Officials For Pepsi ICC WCL Division 2

Tournament to be played in Namibia from 17 to 24 January

The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced the six squads that will travel to Namibia for the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Division 2, which will be played from 17 to 24 January.

Canada, Kenya, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands and Uganda will lock horns in the eight-day round robin tournament, which provides the opportunity for the top teams to progress to the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2015-2017, ICC’s four-day first-class competition for Associate and Affiliate Members, as well as the 50-over Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Championship.

Squads

Canada – Amabir Hansra (captain), Rizwan Cheema, Parth Desai, Navneet Dhaliwal, Satsimranjit Dhindsa, Nikhil Dutta, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Nitish Kumar, Usman Limbada, Umer Nawaz, Cecil Pervez, Durand Soraine, Hamza Tariq, Srimantha Wijeyeratne

Kenya – Rakep Patel (captain), Elijah Asoyo, Alex Auma, Jadavji Bhimji, Dhiren Gondaria, Irfan Karim, Lucas Ndandason, James Ngoche, Nehemiah Ngoche, Shem Ngoche, Collins Obuya, Nelson Odhiambo, Narendra Patel, Gurdeep Singh

Namibia – Nicolaas Scholtz (captain), Stephen Baard, Sarel Burger, Merwe Erasmus, Louis Klazinga, Bjorn Kotze, Jean – Pierre Kotze, Bernard Scholtz, Johannes Smit, Christiaan Snyman, Gerrie Snyman, Raymond Van Schoor, Craig Williams, Helao Ya France

Nepal – Paras Khadka (captain), Binod Bhandari, Amrit Bhattarai, Naresh Bahadur Budhaayer, Shakti Prasad Gauchan, Sompal Kami, Bhuban Karki, Karan KC, Subash Khakurel, Gyanendra Malla, Sagar Pun, Basant Regmi, MD Arif Sheikh, Sharad Vesawkar

Netherlands – Peter Borren (captain), Rahil Ahmed, Wesley Barresi, Jeroen Brand, Mudassar Bukhari, Ben Cooper, Vivian Kingma, Ahsan Malik, Stephan Myburgh, Michael Rippon, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Szwarczynski, Paul van Meekeren, Matthijs van Schelven

Uganda – Frank Nsubuga (captain), Davis Karashani, Hamu Kayondo, Arthur Kyobe, Brian Masaba, Deusdedit Muhumuza, Roger Mukasa, Phillemon Mukobe, Abram Mutyagaba, Patrick Ochan, Danniel Ruyange, Jonathan Sebanja, Laurence Sematimba, Henry Ssenyondo

Match officials

The match officials for the event include three umpire mentors who will be helping to educate and guide the umpires throughout the tournament as part of the ongoing ICC initiative for umpire development outside the Full Members.

Dev Govindjee from South Africa will be the referee for the tournament.

The umpires are:

· Ian Ramage – Mentor Umpire (Scotland)
· Tim Robinson- Mentor Umpire (United Kingdom)
· Shaun George- Mentor Umpire (South Africa)
· Mark Hawthorne (N. Ireland)
· Anil Chaudhary (India)
· David Odhiambo (Kenya)
· Buddhi Pradhan (Nepal)

Fixtures

17 Jan – Namibia v Kenya (Wanderers), Netherlands v Canada (United), Uganda v Nepal (Wanderers Affies)
18 Jan – Namibia v Uganda (Wanderers), Nepal v Netherlands (United), Kenya v Canada (Wanderers Affies)
19 Jan – Rest/reserve day
20 Jan – Nepal v Canada (Wanderers), Kenya v Uganda (United), Namibia v Netherlands (Wanderers Affies)
21 Jan – Kenya v Netherlands (Wanderers), Namibia v Nepal (United), Canada v Uganda (Wanderers Affies)
22 Jan – Rest/reserve day
23 Jan – Netherlands v Uganda (Wanderers), Namibia v Canada (United), Nepal v Kenya (Wanderers Affies)
24 Jan – Final (Wanderers), 3rd v 4th play-off (United), 5th v 6th play-off (Wanderers Affies)

All matches are scheduled to start at 0930 local time

CAVB Beach VB Continental Cup begins In Namibia

CAVB

More than 40 African Countries will fight for one spot per gender at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016 in the very popular Beach Volleyball. Namibia will once again host the first round in Windhoek over the weekend.

Angola, Zimbabwe and host Namibia will play in a country vs country format, with the top 2 countries moving on to the next round. Each National Federation will take part with 2 teams (2 players per team) per gender, meaning there will be 4 games per match for ladies and men respectively. In case of a draw a golden set (only up to 15 points) will be played to determine the winning nation.

Officials from Uganda, Algeria and Lesotho will supervise the competition which will be held at the DTS Sports Ground in Olympia from Friday to Sunday. The first matches will start Friday morning 09h00 with the last matches being played on Sunday afternoon.

The Namibian Team consist of the following players:

Ladies:
Team A: Simone von Wietersheim/Rosi Hennes
Team B: Kim Seebach/Stephanie Palmhert

Men:
Team A: Tin Hlupic/Brendon de Jager
Team B: Jan Eric Sack/Roman von Ludwiger

“Especially the teams from Angola are traditionally very strong and our young team will have to fight hard”, says James Verrinder, Namibian National Beach Volleyball Coach, “but we play on our home soil, which should be a big advantage”. “Zimbabwe has the same players as 4 years ago, and there were some tough matches” Heiko Kesselmann added, who is Director of Beach Volleyball in Namibia and local organizer of this competition.

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South Africa Win Back Africa Rugby Sevens Crown

South Africa’s academy side beats Kenya’s second string in Harare to reclaim the CAR Africa sevens title.

South Africa’s sevens academy side scored a confidence-boosting regional victory at the CAR Africa 7s to underline the country’s strength in depth ahead of the upcoming rounds of the HSBC Sevens World Series in Dubai and South Africa.

In doing so, the side won back Africa’s sevens crown at the Prince Edward School in Harare, which was won by Kenya in 2013.

Featuring seasoned veterans such as Chris Dry and Steven Hunt, South Africa’s second string went unbeaten in the tournament and beat Kenya’s Shujaa in the final 38-5.

Both nations topped their respective pools and went on to reach the final with respective wins over hosts Zimbabwe, 19-12 and Tunisia, 29-5. Zimbabwe, meanwhile, ensured that the home Harare fans went home happy with a morale-boosting 41-5 win against Tunisia to finish third.

Pool A standings: 1 South Africa (academy), 2 Tunisia, 3 Madagascar, 4 Senegal, 5 Zambia, 6 Botswana
Pool B standings: 1 Kenya (Shujaa), 2 Zimbabwe, 3 Namibia, 4 Uganda, 5 Nigeria, 6 Ivory Coast

South Africa win back Africa Rugby sevens crown

Blitzboks head for Dubai

On the same day their countrymen regained regional bragging rights, Neil Powell’s Blitzbok senior side embarked on the journey to Dubai for the Emirates Dubai Sevens, round 2 of the world series.

Two notable inclusions are Kyle Brown and Rayno Benjamin, pictured. Brown has recovered from the injury he suffered at the Commonwealth Games, while Benjamin was part of the world series-winning side in 2008/09 and his inclusion signals South Africa’s intent in this Olympic qualifying season.

Final ranking CAR Africa Sevens, Harare, Zimbabwe

1. South Africa (academy)
2. Kenya (Shujaa)
3. Zimbabwe
4. Tunisia
5. Namibia
6. Uganda
7. Madagascar
8. Senegal
9. Zambia
10. Botswana
11. Nigeria
12. Ivory Coast

Ntiense Williams,

African 7’s Championship 2014-Black Stallions of Nigeria Finish In Eleventh Place

Day two of the 2014 African 7’s Championship saw The Black stallions of Nigeria loose their final group game to Uganda 28-10 in an energy sapping game, this result saw the team dropping to the bowls finals where the team eventually lost to Botswana in the semi finals.

The Black Stallions of Nigeria having lost to Botswana eventually finished in the eleventh position at the Africa Rugby Sevens Tournament by virtue of their 24-21 Victory Over Ivory Coast.

Handlers of the Team have promised to more in the area of Conditioning and “high performance training” for the local rugby players as this was one aspect of the game that affected the team the most.

The Black Stallions will depart Zimbabwe venue of the CAR Africa 7’s Championship via South Africa today and are expected back in Lagos at about 8:00pm Nigerian Time.

Meanwhile the south African Rugby 7’s team have the CAR Africa Rugby sevens trophy after they defeated Kenya in the Cup Final.

Azeez Ladipo, Black Stallions Captain In Actions

photo credit NRFF

Mixed Fortunes For Nigeria At CAR Rugby 7’s Tournament

At the end of day 1 of proceedings at the championship, Nigeria played 4 games in the group widely referred to by many as ” the group of death” recording one win and 3 losses against african rugby’s power houses.

The Black Stallions battled hard against Zimbabwe despite the massive support enjoyed by the home team.

Nigeria Rugby 7’s team the Black Stallions

The Fabian Juries tutored lads fought hard but were so unlucky as they lost by 19 to 26 against the host nation. This was the Nigerian Team’s first match experience after 2 weeks of intense camping, the team led by Azeez Ladipo caused an upset as they romped to a 28-0 win over Ivory Coast in the second game despite many observers and keen followers not giving the Nigerian team a chance.

After expending so much energy in the 2nd game, the team fell to Kenya by 38points, then later suffered another 49points loss to Namibia.

Speaking after the end of day one of the tournament, Technical Adviser of the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation, Dele Coker said “it is encouraging to see the home based players compete well against top African Nations which justifies the federation’s resolve to stick with home grown players and give them the necessary exposure.

Nigeria Rugby 7’s team the Black Stallions in action

“He further affirmed that there is hope for rugby in Nigeria as the home based players proved that if well groomed and nurtured they can be a force to reckon with in Africa and beyond, despite the limited time to train coupled with limited international experience as the team exhibited true courage and understanding of the game.

The competition enters day 2 today as Nigeria will face Uganda in the last match of pool A, the outcome of which will determine if Nigeria will compete for the plate or bowl.

photo credit NRFF

Volleyball: Tanzania Host African Dream Project Implementation

Tanzania hosted the implementation of the African Volleyball Confederation “CAVB” African Dream Project in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania last week.

The project which is supported by FIVB President Dr Ary Graca is considered one of the most important Development plans in Africa in the last few years.

Five countries, namely Djibouti, Rwanda, Uganda and hosts Tanzania attended the 4 day clinic conducted by Canadian Instructor Mark Tennant. A member from Tanzania Olympic Committee closed the clinic in attendance of the local media.

The Programme aims at having a common project for all African countries, mainly focusing on volleyball at school. All relevant stakeholders must be involved which are Ministry of Education, Ministry of Sport, Ministry of Youth, and National Olympic Committee. The project will see the setting up of centers that will be used to develop identified athletes at young age and arranging all the keys for their involvement later on to their corresponding Youth national teams.

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Muharam Mchume from Tanzania