LAGOS 7's RUGBY FESTIVAL SCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER

Speaking at a breakfast meeting at the Southern Sun Ikoyi, Lagos Thursday where the guest of honour was Kobus Wiese, South Africa 1995 World Cup winning team star, Tertius Strauss, the Regional Director of EXP, the agency driving the rugby festival, described Nigeria as a blessed country with an enormous pool of natural talent was capable of becoming a major power in the sport.

“Nigeria is blessed with an enormous pool of natural athletic talent. There are millions of kids running around with energy to burn and nothing to do, rugby and 7s is based on solid values of teamwork, camaraderie, playing by the rules and respecting opponents and referees. These are all good values to instil in youth as they aim to prosper in a society increasingly incorporating modern social values,” observed the EXP director.

He insisted that Nigeria has all the attributes that are key ingredients to the 7s rugby festival such as some of the biggest and fastest sprinters in the African continent.

“We believe that Sevens can begin to unleash some of that potential and given the right coaching and support, Nigeria can become a giant in the sport.”

According to the organisers of the rugby fiesta, “the Lagos 7s Festival is the kick off point. We plan to make the Lagos 7s a ‘Must Play’ tournament for players and a ‘Must Attend’ event for spectators. 7s festivals are fun and festive occasions. And if we know anything about Lagosians, we know they love spectacle and festivities. They love to dress up, to ginger their swagger and have fun. That’s what the Lagos 7s is all about.”

While planning to integrate the rugby festival to school, it is expected that Promasidor’s 1 Try Programme will be part of the show.

“Who knows where we may see the first glimpse of futures 7s Olympians,” stressed Straus

Earlier, Dr Richard Ajayi, the president of the Nigerian Rugby Football Federation (NRFF) had in his welcome message observed that Nigeria needs to kick start her development in the game after years in the doldrums.