Steve Lewis, Nigeria’s senior men’s national rugby team coach, the Black Stallions, has emphasised the need for regular competitions to enhance the team’s performance in the Africa Rugby 7s Nations Cup.

This is contained in a statement released on Saturday by the Nigeria Rugby Federation.

It stated that Mr Lewis also highlighted the challenges faced by the team regarding the integration of eight new caps and the diverse origins of the players.

Mr Lewis said, ”The team is coming into the competition with eight new caps from different parts of the world.

”We have four players from Nigeria: Christopher John, Etim Gabriel, Sam Prince and Akpabio Samuel.

”We also have six players from the United Kingdom: Dodo Boluwatife, Richard Adeniyi-Jones, Olaboye Ayomide, Ilube Matthew, Obano Osereme, Kitto Oliver Lewis, and Anthony John-Oluwatobiloba.”

The statement added that the team also has a player from the United States, Henry-Ajudua Frederick, and another player from South Africa, Odunlami Oluwadara.

Mr Lewis said that though the diversity had affected team performance, with one more week together to build bonds, the second leg would be different.

Mr Lewis also acknowledged the difficulties faced due to the lack of time to blend the new players with the regulars.

”We are coming into this tournament with eight new caps, and we didn’t have enough time to blend because some flew in from Nigeria, some from the United Kingdom, one from the United States, and one from South Africa.

”Five of our regulars couldn’t make it to this tournament, which really affected our team chemistry. But we hope to get better, especially as we look forward to the second leg,” Mr Lewis said in the statement.

He also stressed the importance of regular competitions for the team’s development.

”Competitions like these are good for us; they help the team understand each other better, and we can leverage our performance to build something great going forward.”

Mr Lewis further stated the need to evolve a game plan that suits the resources available to the team for future games.

”We will develop a game plan that aligns with the resources at our disposal ahead of subsequent games,” the coach said.

Nigeria finished 10th in the first leg, a drop of two places from their previous eighth-place finish.

However, the team has been working on improving their performance by addressing the grey areas noticed in the first leg.

They have increased their training time to improve team cohesion and have been analysing match videos with the assistance of a video analyst to enhance their strategies.

With these efforts, the Black Stallions are aiming for a stronger performance in the second leg of the Africa Nations Cup. 

(NAN)