The rebirth of Nigeria's Rugby Team and Paris 2024 Olympics aspirations

Not many would have made exact prediction that Nigeria would have made such a quick return to the World stage after surviving a two-year ban imposed on its activities by the World Rugby council.

The World Rugby Council had banned and suspended Nigeria from all international Rugby activities after the World Council cited an infringement in its statues following the dissolution of all Federation Boards and setting up a caretaker committee including the Rugby Federation by the Ministry of Sports in April 2021, an action the World Rugby Council frowned at, the body also labelled such development as an undue interference by the government.

The Nigeria Rugby Football Federation (NRFF) was then left with no secretariat to deal with, a situation which consequently slammed a ban on Nigeria.

Through the suspension, Nigeria's activities in Rugby were low, as the ban denied Nigeria from participating in many international meets such as Rugby World Cup 2023 qualifiers, Birmingham Commonwealth Games qualifiers and the just concluded Africa Women's Cup.

Although, Nigeria had missed out in all the previous World Cup qualifications attempt, yet, the ban was an unfortunate mileage drawback and also huge setbacks to the evolution of the Rugby game in Nigeria, which many pundits are of the opinion that if continuity had been guaranteed, Nigeria could eventually be the giant of Africa of the game dislodging other established countries such as South Africa, Zimbabwe and Ghana.

In the previous games played by the Black Stallions before the ban, the team had been experiencing a steady rise; the team had engaged in 23 games, won 8, lost 13 and drew 2.

The Black Stallions longest winning streak then stood at four matches while their longest losing streak stood at sixth.

Black Stallions formed in the mid-80s, played their first international against Zimbabwe on Aug.1 1987, losing by 111-12 in Nairobi, while the best opportunity for the team came in the match against Mauritius in Africa Cup when the team recorded a whooping 63-3 in Group 1c.

So far, Black Stallions have played 15 with six wins, 11 defeats and two draws.

After two years in the wilderness, World Rugby Council has certified that Nigeria had fulfilled the basic condition for re-absorption, and lifted the lid on Nigeria’s suspension from international championships.
 
Nigeria was officially reinstated as a full member by the World Rugby Council, having a clean bill of health.

The reinstatement of Nigeria as full member, followed an unanimous vote by World Rugby Council on November 10, 2022 in Auckland, New Zealand.

In an official letter by World Rugby's Chief International Relations and Participation Officer, David Carigy, he stated that Nigeria Rugby Football Federation has been reinstated. 

It stated that NRFF was to submit progress of activities to World Rugby Council in 2024 and pledged to help the game grow in the country.

NRFF President, Dr Ademola Are had in response to the re-absorption of Nigeria commended the World Rugby for giving Nigeria the nod to rejoin the international scene. 

He pledged that his administration would not relent in making rugby more popular in the country.

“I am happy to see that Nigeria is back to the international scene. 

``On assuming office as the president of (NRFF), I stated that it would not take too long for Nigeria to be back in the international scene.

``The journey has not been easy, however, I thank World Rugby for understanding the need to develop the game in Nigeria by lifting the ban. 

``I also thank the Hon Minister of Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare and NRFF Board Members for their continued support and not to leave out the Rugby players and fans for their patience as well as the media for sticking with us through thick and thin. We say Thank you all.

“We are grateful. This recent development would make the NRFF to redouble its efforts and keep working hard to reposition our national rugby team (The Black Stallions), our female team, Nigerian domestic clubs and grassroots development programmes." Ademola concluded.

NRFF General Manager, Mr Azeez Ladipo added: ‘’We are working to ensure our national League kicks off in 2023. 

``We have the Northern League and Southern Leagues to keep our players going. Our target is to see that rugby is played in all parts of the country, this is why we are focusing on grooming children in Rugby,” Ladipo declared.

Ladipo added that the federation would start mapping out plans to ensure that the country returns strongly to the international scene as it waits for an official letter from the World Rugby body to that effect.

“The entire members of the Nigeria Rugby community are delighted at the lifting of the ban placed on Nigeria, last year. 

``The lifting of the ban has given the nation once again the opportunity to take part in international championships.

``All our national teams will now have the opportunity to join their counterparts in the Rugby activities,” he said.

However, after serving out the ban, NRRF saw the need to restrategize, especially with the national team assignments and thus appointed an experienced coach for the Black Stallions to refresh the international assignments.

Consequently, Nigeria had lost about 40 of its players to other countries, with England squad harbouring the largest chunk of Nigerian players playing for their national team.

The first task of NRRF and Ademola Are was to announce the appointment of experienced Scotsman; Steve Lewis as Head coach of the senior National Teams.

The rugby federation’s president, Dr Are Ademola quickly made the announcement after the re-admittance of Nigeria into the international scene by World Rugby.

NRRF tagged Steve’s first assignment to lead the National Men’s and Women’s Sevens teams to the 2024 Olympic Games Pre-Qualifiers in Mauritius and Zambia in June and July respectively. 

NRRF noted that these outings were symbolic as it would be the first set of activities of Nigeria Rugby on the international scene since 2019.

The Olympic Games pre-qualifiers, according to NRRF, is the pathway for Nigeria to participate in Paris 2024.

Lewis afterwards led Nigeria to participate in the 12 countries tournament in Mauritius from June 24-25 where the team competed for the available four slots in the Africa Cup Sevens slated for Zimbabwe in September. 

The participated countries include; Mauritius, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Botswana, Cameroun, Algeria and Nigeria. Others include; Burundi, Congo, Lesotho, Sénégal and Egypt.

Also, the Nigeria Women’s sevens and other African Women’s teams converged in Zambia from July 1-2 where they competed for the available three slots in the Africa Women’s Cup Sevens slated for Tunisia in October.

Lewis in his reaction said: “I look forward to playing a part in Nigeria’s return to international competition, and laying down good foundations for a new generation of Nigerian players and coaches.” 

Steve is not a stranger to Nigeria Rugby, having coached the Black Stallions ten years ago from 2012-2013. Under his watch, Nigeria qualified for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014 against all odds.

Steve was named USA Rugby coach of the year in 2016 and 2019 respectively. He coached Jamaica Sevens up to the World Challenger Series-Olympic Repechage in 2020 and he is a Technical Consultant for a much improved Brazil National Rugby Team.

Coach Stephen Lewis, before the appointment to coach Nigeria, was the Director of Rugby at Championship winning New York Major League Rugby Club.

The Black Stallions in their first assignment in Mauritius produced eye-catching performances.

The Rugby Sevens Pre-Olympic Qualifiers ended  triumphantly in Mauritius for the team with an unwavering determination, the Nigerian team fought their way to the final, showcasing their prowess with resounding victories throughout the tournament. 

Their campaign commenced with a dominating 24-7 triumph over Ghana in the opening match, setting the stage for their subsequent accomplishments.

Undeterred by their opponents, the Black Stallions continued their winning streak, overpowering Burundi by an impressive margin of 43-14. 

In their final group stage encounter, they exhibited their sheer dominance, obliterating Congo with an astonishing 43-0 victory.

The quarter-final clash saw Coach Steve Lewis’s well-led squad unleash a merciless assault on Botswana, soundly defeating them by a commanding scoreline of 33-5. 

This momentous triumph secured their place in the semi-finals, where they encountered a formidable Cote D’Ivoire side. However, even in the face of fierce opposition, the Stallions exhibited their indomitable spirit and emerged victorious with a hard-fought 20-12 win.

In the ultimate showdown, the Nigerian team suffered their sole setback of the pre-qualifier tournament, succumbing to a valiant Algerian team with a score of 24-5. 

Nevertheless, the Black Stallions’ overall performance was nothing short of remarkable.

Of notable significance, the Nigerian contingent comprised eight promising newcomers who made their impressive debuts. 

These rising stars included; Awobowale Olukolade Mobolaji from Stallions RFC, Esiri Aaron and Asher Chinedu from Bournvile RFC, Goualin Pierre Henri from Old Priorians RFC, Henrry-Ajudua Chukwuyem Frederick from Atlanta Major League Rugby, Ilube Matthew Maurice from Old Priorians RFC, Lipede Adenekan Jojoola from Old Colfeians RFC, Odunlami Oluwadara Olufewa from the University of Bath RFC, and Onyeahasi Alexander George from Clifton. Accompanying them were the seasoned veterans Ono Jatto, Gabriel John, Declan Nwachukwu, and David Aniebonam, who added their wealth of experience to the team.

Looking ahead, the Black Stallions now turn their attention to the upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe, scheduled for September. 

In their pursuit of a coveted spot at the Olympics, Nigeria will lock horns with formidable opponents, including Uganda, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Namibia, Madagascar, Tunisia, Zambia, Kenya, South Africa, Algeria, and Cote D’Ivoire. With their determination and skill, the Black Stallions aim to seize this golden opportunity and etch their names in Olympic glory.

Nigeria now has a date with the final round of the qualifying series for the Paris 2024 Olympics rugby event following their second position at the pre-Olympics Championship held in Mauritius.

The elated Nigeria Rugby Football Federation (NRFF) delegation, led by Coach Steve Lewis, said the feat in Mauritius was, particularly, thrilling, as it marked a successful return to the international scene after the ban on the country was lifted this year. Nigeria’s co-captain, Declan Nwachukwu, won the highest try scorer award at the championship.

The outstanding performances of Black Stallions did not go unoticed as Nigeria has been moved up 13 places in the latest Rugby Sevens ranking released by Rugby Africa.

The Black Stallions jumped up from 24th in Africa to 11th in the latest ranking released by Rugby Afrique, the body in charge of Rugby in Africa.

This came on the backdrop of recent performances by Nigeria’s men senior national team at the Rugby Sevens Pre-Olympic Qualifiers in Mauritius.

The Nigerian team which was made up of eight new debutants, Awobowale Olukolade Mobolaji – (Stallions RFC), Esiri Aaron – Asher Chinedu – (Bournvile RFC), Goualin Pierre Henri – (Old Priorians RFC), Henrry-Ajudua Chukwuyem Frederick – (Atlanta Major League Rugby), Ilube Matthew Maurice – (Old Priorians RFC), Lipede Adenekan Jojoola – (Old Colfeians RFC), Odunlami Oluwadara Olufewa – (University of Bath RFC) and Onyeahasi Alexander George (Clifton), were able to blend well with the old war horses such as Ono Jatto, Gabriel John, Declan Nwachukwu and David Aniebonam.

With the last series of qualifications in September, there are strong inclinations that Nigeria will make it to her first ever appearance in Olympics Rugby to make Africa proud.