THE Technical Director of the Nigeria Rugby Football
Federation, Fasimoye Olatunji has assured that the national rugby team, Black Stallions will not leave anything
to chance when they file out against Mauritius in the ongoing Africa Cup 1C
holding at the COC Stadium in Casablanca, Morocco.
Mauritius lost by 68 points to 3 against Morocco at the
ongoing 2019 pre-World Cup qualifiers. Nigeria must now defeat Mauritius before
they face Morocco in their last game.
“We already know that Morocco is a tough side, most of
their players play in France but that is not going to distract us.”
“Mauritius are not pushovers, we will not underestimate
them. We will make sure that we get that first victory before going back to the
drawing board to see how we can play against Morocco.”
With the battle against Morocco looming large, Fasimoye
explained that the team will take it a step at a time because a loss against
the supposed whipping boys in the team will make their last game against Morocco
difficult.
He stressed the need for maximum concentration against
Mauritius when they meet on Wednesday, 13th of July, 2016 as they battle for
the Cup 1B ticket.
In an interview with NRFF media, Fasimoye described the Moroccans
as a very tough side but however believes that if the Black Stallions stick to their game plan, they can snatch a win
against a formidable Moroccan team.
“We have come with our own game plan and we just hope the
boys will execute and we will come out victorious.”
“We have met them a couple of times and we lost against
them even in the 7’s and 15’s, but this time it will be quite different,”
Fasimoye said.
Also, Black Stallions center, Onoru Jatto says a win
against Mauritius on Wednesday is non-negotiable if they are to stand any
chance of advancing to the group stage.
He emphasized that the team had great prospects of
progressing from Cup 1C to 1B and book a place in the group stage of the 2019
Rugby World cup qualifier.
“First, I think we need to win the 1st game against
Mauritius on Wednesday.”
The utility player who plies his trade with Cowrie RFC of
Lagos believes a victory in their first match against Mauritius will give them a
sense of purpose against Morocco.
“It’s going to be a must win game against Morocco because
both teams need to win that game. So it is going to be a tough game.”
“I think if we do what we need to do, we will come out on
top with the result and we will be able to get up to 1B”, he concluded.
In the same vein, one of the 2 foreign professionals in
the team, Christian Ogar who plays for Belhar Rugby Football Club of South Africa
says the team mostly comprising new boys, will need to stick together and work
for a common purpose.
Ogar stated that after 2 weeks of intensive training in
Lagos before their departure to Morocco, their mission is to fight for the
division 1B ticket and brighten their world cup qualification chances.
“I am going to give my best to the team to ensure that we
move on to the next level.”
This division also doubles as the first qualification
phase for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the winner of 2016 Africa Cup Division
1C will win promotion to the 2017 Africa Cup Division 1B, the second phase of
the Rugby World Cup qualification process.
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