CMB will sponsor Independence Rugby 7’s despite international withdrawal

The Independence Rugby 7’s Championship organizers received late withdrawal notice from three international teams scheduled to participate in the Tournament,  the news from Alexander RFC, Nigeria Exiles RFC and Botswana National 7s Team came in on Monday 27th October. Although, the story behind their withdrawal was not clearly stated but it has an element of the Ebola controversy.

The CEO of CMB Building Maintenance & Inv. Co. Ltd and the sponsor of the tournament Mr Kelechukwu Mbagwu , affirms that organizers will go ahead with plans despite the withdrawal of the three foreign teams, his brand will focus on the overall picture which is to develop the sport in Nigeria, although the withdrawal of the international teams is not good for the expected brands mileage from the tournament, they are more keen on the development of Rugby in Nigeria. 

CMB Building Maintenance & Inv. Co. Ltd is the back bone of the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation
NRFF Technical Director  and Tournament Director of the independence Rugby 7’s Fasimoye Olatunji in his reaction to the withdrawal of these teams said, “we will not let the withdrawal distract us from the overall goal, although we will miss the international flavor in the tournament but their absence will not in any way affect the standard of the competition, despite the participation of three international teams last year, we witnessed two local teams; Police Machines and Cowrie RFC in the cup final.

We will use the tournament to access our local players  and this is an opportunity for players in contention for the trip to the Africa Cup 7s scheduled for 8th-29th November in Harare to put their hands up for selection under the watchful eye of ex springbok 7s star; Fabian Juries”.

Juries is the third highest try scorer in the history of IRB International 7s series and he will be at the tournament to assist the NRFF technical team look at possible players for Black Stallions 7s.

Fasimoye further appeal to the public to come all out to support and enjoy the independence rugby 7’s which will be held at the Onikan  Stadium Lagos on the 31st October and 1st of November 2014.

SOUTH AFRICAN RUGBY TALISMAN ‘FABIAN JURIES' CONFIRMED FOR INDEPENDENCE RUGBY 7’S

The Ex-Springbok 7’s talisman ‘’Fabian Juries’ will arrive Lagos on the 30st October 2014 for the Independence 7’s in Lagos in a bid to promote the game of rugby in Nigeria, the Ex-Springbok speed star is IRB Sevens highest try scorer in South Africa  and 13th in the world. He is expected to help with officiating in the tournament and prepare the national team ‘Black Stallion’ for the African Sevens Championship in Zimbabwe in November 2014.

According to CMB Building’ CEO, Mr Kelechukwu Mbagwu and also the chairman of Friends of rugby who has been a supporter and sponsor of independence rugby sevens from its inception in 2009, We are glad that one of the top rugby sevens player in the world  will be in Nigeria to support the development of the sport and the tournament, his presence will also help motivate the home based players, he further reported that preparations is ongoing to ensure we have a great tournament, and also to ensure we further harness the opportunities embedded therein.

Nigeria has a population of over 150 million; we are also naturally built for Rugby. If properly harnessed, Rugby can become our number one sport in the country”. The real estate veteran  who is an ex rugby player further stressed that the game of rugby is the greatest team sport ever, it teaches discipline, respect and he expects the game to spread fast into all schools in the country.

No Rugby in Kenya

Kenya has lost out on hosting the Confederation of Africa Rugby Sevens championships 2014 to Zimbabwe.

The Confederation of African Rugby has awarded Zimbabwe the right to host the 2014 CAR Men Sevens tournament which will take place on the 29th and 30th of November 2014 in Harare, Zimbabwe. The tournament will be held at the Harare Sports Club and is set to involve 12 countries, Kenya Uganda, Tunisia, Nigeria, Madagascar, Namibia, Botswana, Senegal, Zambia, Ivory Coast, South Africa and the hosts Zimbabwe.

CAR awarded Zimbabwe the rights as a unanimous decision after Africa’s governing body had expressed its approval of the union’s development and administration structures. CAR had its representative Jean Luc Barthes in the country a month ago and he said he was impressed with the progress that the country had made in its mandate of effectively run the game of rugby.

In view of this development, the Technical Director of the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation (Fasimoye Olatunji) declared that the country is going to do well in the championship this year, Nigeria is rated 6^th best  in 7’s in Africa and we are determined to raise the bar this time. We will be selecting players in the oncoming Independence Rugby 7’s scheduled to hold at the Onikan stadium Lagos on the 31^st October and 1^st of November 2014,  The tournament will feature both home and foreign based players.

The tournament started in the year 2009 and has since grown to be the biggest Rugby 7s party in Nigeria. Its 2013 edition had a wider International participation with clubs from the UK, Egypt and Ghana adding the much needed International flavour. However, clubs from every zones in Nigeria competed extremely well and we witnessed two local teams in last year’s final (Cowrie RFC Lagos vs Nigeria Police RFC). The Police team beat Cowrie RFC 12-7 to emerge 2013 champions.

This year the tournament will feature Teams from Egypt, UK, Botswana, South Africa, Ghana and eleven local teams from all the regions in Nigeria. 

Teams gear-up for Independence Rugby 7s tournament

After an highly contested play off in the Northern Region this weekend, Plateau Tigers RFC, Barewa RFC and Zaria RFC have secured a slot in this year’s Independence Rugby 7’s championship, Also, Royal Stallions RFC of Ilorin secured a slot after Marlins RFC of UK withdraw from the championship.

Following this development, the tournament manager Fasimoye Olatunji who is also the Technical Director of the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation confirmed that sixteen teams will be participating in this year’s edition: Alexander RFC of Egypt, Cosmos Buffalos of Ghana, Botswana Vultures, Nigerian Exile RFC of UK, Police Machine of Lagos (Defending Champions), Cowrie RFC of Lagos, Racing RFC of Lagos, Hawkster Athletics of Lagos, Gosar RFC of Lagos, Zaria RFC, Barewa RFC, Plateau Tigers RFC of Jos, Abuja RFC, Buffalos RFC of Abia, South South RFC and Royal Stallions of Ilorin. He further stated that the teams will be grouped into four groups consisting four teams each and will play for CUP, Plate, Bowl and Shield.
Exciting action, delicious meals, great crowds, that’s what best describes the Independence Rugby 7s tournament which is held annually by rugby community to commemorate Nigeria’s Independence anniversary.
This year’s edition will be held at the Onikan Stadium, Onika, Lagos on the 31^st of October and 1^st of November 2014.