The Nigeria rugby national 7s team is back on the international scene like they never left, picking up a slot in the Paris 2024 Olympic qualifier in Mauritius.
Popularly called the black stallions, they delivered a 5-1 record to finish as the second-best team at the pre-Olympics qualifier.
The Nigerian rugby federation has been out of the international rugby scene as a result of government interference.
The interference led to a ban by the world rugby federation which lasted three years. Upon the lifting of the ban in May, the board appointed a new coach to lead the national team.
Meanwhile, the only loss Nigeria recorded at the pre-Olympics qualifier was a 5-20 loss to Algeria in the final.
Speaking on the team’s goals, general manager Azeez Ladipo revealed that the team wants to pick up a spot in the main qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe.
“We just want to pick one of the three qualifying spots and anything else is a bonus.”
A semi-final win over Cote D’Ivoire confirmed the achievement of the team’s objective.
Nigeria beat Ghana 24 -7 in the opening match before beating Burundi 43 -14, and in the last group match, blew apart Congo 43-0
In the quarter-final, coach Steve Lewis led the black stallions to beat Botswana 33-5.
Nigeria rugby joins Uganda, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Namibia, Madagascar, Tunisia, Kenya, and South Africa, to qualify for the final qualifying phase in Zimbabwe.
Algeria and Cote D’Ivoire also reached the final stage.
The 2024 Paris Olympic Rugby Event final qualifying phase will hold in Zimbabwe in September this year.