Nigeria Content Online

Rugby women World
Cup is currently going on in England and Nigeria is not represented in
the tournament. The female team which came second on their first
international tournament could not feature in the tournament because of
the ban that was placed on the National Rugby Football Federation. The
women Rugby World Cup which began on the 20th of this month has only
one African country represented.

South Africa, the
only African country at the World cup, has shown some dominance in the
game in Africa and their presence was registered for the first time in
2006, fifteen years after the inception of the tournament. However,
they are not the only African nation that have been actively involved
in developing the game of Rugby amongst women.

Efforts have been
made to develop the female version of Rugby in Nigeria. In the
forefront of this mission was Ntiense Williams who put together the
first women team under the auspices of Young Lions RFC in 2000. His
efforts paid off when other teams began to float female teams and by
2006, Women Rugby was first played at the National Sports Festival in
Ogun State, tagged Gateway Games.

Last year, a female
team from Nigeria was sponsored to their first international tournament
by the Friends of Rugby, one of the organizations whose aim is to
promote the development of Rugby football in Nigeria.

The first Nigerian
Female 7’s Rugby Team that went to the 1st North-West African Women 7’s
Rugby Tournament in Ghana early in 2009 came back home with a silver
medal. This feat was achieved despite the fact some of the Nigerian
women met each other a day before the tournament began.

Lost Opportunity

Asked why Nigeria
is not at the world cup in England, Williams, who is the Secretary of
the Lagos Rugby Union League organized by Friends of Rugby attributed
it to a subsisting ban on the Nigeria team by the games governing body,
the International Rugby Board (IRB).

“We lost out of the qualifiers due to the ban on the Nigerian Rugby Football Federation by IRB (International Rugby Board)”.

The ban was clamped
on Nigeria last year after plans to concession rugby by the National
Sports Commission (NSC) led to conflict between Racing Rugby Football
Club, which eventually won the bid to head the Nigerian Rugby Football
Federation (NRFF) and friends of Rugby, which claimed the process was
rigged in favour of Racing.

Folu Majekodunmi,
NRFF’s spokesman, however said he was not aware of the participation of
any Nigerian women’s rugby team in any international competition last
year.

“I don’t want to give you information I am not sure of. We are still trying to raise a team”, he said.

However, Scholar
Opara, the captain of the team that played in the tournament confirmed
that they were in Ghana and finished second. She regrets that Nigeria
is not represented at the ongoing World Cup. Asked if they would have
made it to the event had Nigeria not been under ban she said:

“Why not? What
could have stopped us from going on to do our best? Our coaches are
trying for us and doing their best to keep us fit.

I just hope that
the ban placed on Nigeria by the international Rugby Board would be
lifted so that we can go on to do what we know how to do best”.

Despite the ban,
however, the ladies are keeping themselves battle ready for any time
when they would get the opportunity to play.

Hoping to do more with support

After they first
featured at the Gateway Games, the women have also featured in local
competitions with the state teams of Edo and Delta showing dominance in
the game. The last two National Sport Festivals – Gateway Games 2006
and Kada Games 2009- have seen them hauling home the maximum gold
medals that could be obtained in Rugby.

Opara says Friends
of Rugby have been in forefront, organizing competition and sponsoring
the teams on tours outside the country.

“Our coaches have
been doing okay and this man, Kelechi Mbagwu has been trying his best.
What Rugby needs right now is more supporters. The people there cannot
do it alone; therefore we need more sponsorship”. Mbagwu is the
chairman of Cowrie RFC and also chairman of Friends of Rugby. It was
through his efforts that Opara and her team mates went on that tour in
Ghana.