PRESIDENT and Board Chairman
of Ghana Rugby, Mr. Herbert Mensah has sent a letter to the President of the
Nigeria Rugby Football Federation (NRFF), Mr. Kelechukwu Mbagwu, in which he
congratulated the federation on the lifting of the suspension on the federation
by Rugby Africa.
Mensah said, “I would like
to congratulate you personally and on behalf of Ghana Rugby on the lifting of
the suspension and we welcome the NRFF back to participating in international
tournaments and matches.
“Ghana Rugby and the NRFF
have a long history of building the Game in the sub-region, and we are excited
to join hands with you and the NRFF to pick up on that history and positively
move forward to continue building character in West Africa, in Africa and the
greater world of Rugby.
 |
| Herbert Mensah |
“May your return to the
international Rugby scene write a story of great achievements that will bring
joy to the larger Rugby Family.”
Although the breaking news
has not been broken by Rugby Africa yet, it was announced in The Guardian in
Nigeria on Wednesday 30 May 2018.
According to The Guardian,
Nigeria was suspended from all international activities following a leadership
crisis that trailed last year’s election into the board of the federation. The
suspension stopped Nigeria from featuring in some international engagements in
2017.
The Guardian further
reported comments from the NRFF President as follows, “I am happy to see that
Nigeria is back to the international scene. On assuming office as the president
of (NRFF), I stated that it would not take too long for Nigeria to be back in
the international scene. The journey had not been easy, but I thank God Rugby
Afrique understood the need to develop rugby in Nigeria by lifting the ban.
 |
| Kelechukwu Mbagwu |
“We are grateful. This
recent development would make the NRFF redouble its efforts and keep working
hard to reposition the national rugby team (The Black Stallions), the female
team, Nigerian domestic clubs and grassroots development programmes.”
World Rugby’s member section
states that the NRFF was founded in 1998, five years before Ghana Rugby, and
affiliated to World Rugby in 2001.
Nigeria last played in the
2016 Africa Cup - Division 1C when it beat Mauritius 31 to 12 but was beaten by
Morocco 53 to 10.
According to official
statistics from World Rugby, Ghana and Nigeria have not faced each other in a
Men’s 15s competition since 2013. With Ghana Rugby’s promotion to the Rugby
Africa Silver Cup, it may be some time before the Ghana Eagles and Nigeria
Black Stallions face each other in an official Rugby Africa competition.
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