Two-tier African Cup Competition Lauded by Nigerian Coach Lewis
This week, Nigerian coach Steve Lewis joined the chorus of team coaches at Labourdonnais Sports Club in Mauritius in lauding the Africa Men’s Sevens concept of two legs to find the 2024 champion of the continent.
It gave his new-look team’s players not only the chance to find their feet, but perhaps more importantly to get the additional opportunity to play against top sides.
Nigeria is in the process of rebuilding after they finished runners-up at last year’s in the Olympic qualifiers which were also played in Mauritius. Last weekend, in the first leg of the challenge for the title of the 2024 top side in Africa, they finished a lowly 10th out the 12 competing sides, showing only flashes of what they are capable of.
"It was a challenging weekend for us," Lewis said about last weekend’ first leg. "We didn’t have a great deal in terms of resources and preparation for the tournament. We had eight new caps – six from the UK, four from Nigeria and one each from the US and South Africa and getting them together and ready for the tournament was tricky.”
"This week we had a lot more time for preparation and hopefully we will see a significant improvement.
"To compete regularly in tournaments is important for improvement," Lewis emphasised.
"We had two last year, in Zimbabwe and Mauritius. We had one this year, but it is over two weekends.
"That’s fantastic. When we go to a tournament, normally, it’s done and dusted and we don’t get together for another six months or so. For improvement, we need getting together on a regular basis.
"This two-legged competition is great. You have the guys together and they can bond. We went on a boat trip on Monday and we had the opportunity to gel and bond as a team – and I’m sure this will be reflected in our performances, " concluded Lewis.
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Winner of the 2024 Africa Seven’s tournament will be determined on Saturday July 6 and Sunday July 7 at Labourdonnais Sports Grounds in Mauritius. Matches will be available for free live stream and broadcast on the platforms below, kicking off at 9:00 AM (Local Mauritius Time) (08:00 EAT):
LIVE STREAM
SuperSport:https://www.youtube.com/@supersport/streams
LIVE BROADCAST
SuperSport OTT7:Channel 951
MBC 11
MBC HD
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About Rugby Africa:
Rugby Africa (www.RugbyAfrique.com) is the governing body of rugby in Africa and one of the regional associations under World Rugby. It unites all African countries that play rugby union, rugby sevens, and women’s rugby. Rugby Africa organizes various competitions, including the qualifying tournaments for the Rugby World Cup and the Africa Sevens, a qualifying competition for the Olympic Games. With 39 member unions, Rugby Africa is dedicated to promoting and developing rugby across the continent. World Rugby highlighted Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia as three of the six emerging nations experiencing strong growth in rugby.
