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Cowrie Rugby Football Club of Lagos and
the Edo State women’s rugby side last weekend emerged respective
winners of the men’s and women’s categories of the Independence Rugby
Seven’s tournament.

The two-day
tournament, which got underway at the main bowl of the National
Stadium, Lagos, on October 1 – Nigeria’s Independence Day, saw Cowrie
defeating Police RFC 12-0 in the men’s final while Edo defeated
archrivals Delta state 12-5in the women’s final.

Frank Adedeji and
Dipo Olawale each scored a try for Cowrie, along with a conversion by
Azeez Ladipo, to secure a comfortable 12-0 win over the Police side,
while Tessy Benjamin, Edith Ekechi and team captain Bimpe Johnson were
the heroes of the Edo state team in their win over Delta state.

Benjamin and Ekechi
each scored a try while Johnson got a conversion with Chioma Agu
scoring a consolation for the Delta state team in the final.

Gifts galore

At the end of the
tournament, which was organised by the Friends of Rugby, winners in the
men’s and women’s categories went home with a cash gift of N250,000,
and N150, 000 respectively, along with trophies. They also got a bottle
of champagne and Irish cream to go along with their trophies and cash
rewards.

The losing
finalists were not left out. The Police team got N100,000 for their
efforts while the Delta state side grabbed N75,000. They each got a
bottle of champagne as well.

The only foreign
team to participate in the tourney, Ghana’s Accra Sharks RFC, and Addax
were adjudged the most disciplined sides in the men’s and women’s
categories and got N25,000 respectively for their efforts,

while the most valuable players in the men’s and women’s categories got the sum of N30,000 each.

“We are grateful to
God Almighty for a most successful rugby tournament that has ever been
witnessed in the history of the game in Nigeria,” said the tournament’s
coordinator, Ntiense Williams, at the end of the event.

The tournament, is
now in its third year, and it had 27 teams in attendance, including six
women teams whose representatives, at the end of Saturday’s finals,
collectively bestowed on the Friends of Rugby chairman, Kelechi Mbagwu,
the title ‘Pillar of Rugby’; in appreciation of his contribution
towards the development of rugby in Nigeria.

“I am used to
giving out to people, but you guys have surprised me today by honouring
me,” said a surprised Mbagwu. “From the bottom of my heart, I am
humbled and I very much appreciate your kind gesture.

“I promise to do everything within my
powers to ensure that the ban on the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation
by the International Rugby Board is lifted in the earliest possible
time for meaningful progress to be recorded for Nigerian Rugby,” said
Mbagwu. The International Rugby Board had placed Nigeria on indefinite
suspension in October 2009.