Captain of Lagos Rhinos Rugby Football Club,Nwabichiri Raphael said their victory against R2 Finesse Rugby Football Club was well deserved in the week one of the ongoing Nigeria Rugby League Season of Southern Conference.

Lagos Rhinos began their campaign on a winning note following their victory over R2 Finesse at the CMS Grammar School, Bariga, Lagos.

The pulsating tie which was played over the weekend saw Rhinos defeated R2 Finesse 32-30.The game was keenly contested as Lagos Rhinos managed to win with a slim margin.

Speaking after the enconter,Rapheal admitted that their opponents gave them a run for their money and thanked God for the team’s succes.

He also disclosed that the game was keenly contested and commended his colleagues for their doggedness amd resilience showed throughout the enconter.

“It was a tough game for us and at a point i thought we would lose the match but i must commend my colleagues for their fighting spirit and commitment to the game.We were resilient and dogged throughout the game and our victory was well deserved,”he said.

R2 Finesse Captain, Alex Odey expressed sadness that his team lost narrowly to their opponents and remained optimistic that the team would bounce back in their next game.

“We came here to win unfortunately it did not go the way we wanted it.Let me confess that our opponents were a good side and the better side won.It was a league quite alright and we would be stronger in our next game,”he said.

Match cordinator, Samson Okeowo expressed satisfaction with the performance of the two teams saying that the game was keenly contested and the better side won.

He said the purpose of the league was to develop the the game of rugby at the grassroots clubs and also gives players a platform to showcase their God given talents.

He disclosed that the league is also served as a preparatory ground to select players ahead of world cup qualifiers against Kenya sheduled for later in the year.

He however thanked First Dominion Insurance Brokers Limited for its finacial support given to the league and charged other bodies to contribute their own quota to the development of rugby football at the grassroots level.

Meanwhile a total of five teams involved in both men and women categories , while five teams also registered for the U-19 male category.

The Northern Conference and the Sothern Conference of the Nigeria Rugby League Association (NRLA) is set to kick off in July. Current title holders of the Northern and the Southern, Lagos Haven and Kano Lions are set to defend their title respectively in their different regions.

The Opener of the new league season in the North Conference will see defending champions, Kano Lions playing their first game against Jos Miners while in the South Conference, Lagos Haven will slug it out with Lagos Rhinos.

The female are not left out as Lagos Haven Female team will also kick off their league season facing Eko Trinity female team.

Chairman of the Nigeria Rugby League Association (NRLA), Abiodun Olawale Cole, noted: “I would like to thank all the executives, members and fans of NRLA for getting us this far and for looking forward to a new season come July, Our efforts locally and internationally shall see Nigeria take its place amongst the great nations of the international rugby league especially featuring at the forth coming MEA coming up in Ghana this September.”

Speaking with the NRLA Trustee, Martin Crawford (OBE) “We are very excited to kick off the season in the North come July which we are looking forward to alongside the MEA Championship coming up in Ghana this September.”

Mr. Martin also mentioned that the female team in the North will have their debut game this season.

ice-Chairman and General Manager, Nigeria Rugby League Association (NRLA), Ade Adebisi, added that it’s great to see all female teams getting expanded this year across the conferences. “We are certainly in for a hard-fought men’s competition this year with many players far more experienced than in the maiden season in 2019 and desperate to get back to playing especially in the MEA tournament.”

MEA CHAMPIONSHIP

The Middle East and Africa Championship to be hosted by Ghana is looking forward to witness the Nigerian national team also known as the Green Hawks.The defending champions, Nigeria Green Hawks will be looking forward to defend the its title which they won in 2019.

The Green Hawks cheered by a boisterous home crowd defeated West African rivals Ghana on their international Rugby League debut in 2019 to make the finals while the Atlas Lions of Morocco beat Morocco on their way to the final which also they won 38-10.

In the third place encounter between Ghana and Cameroon, it was Ghana who carried the day with a 10-4 victory over Cameroon who finished the championship without a win.

The tournament will kick off on Thursday 27th Sept – Sunday 2nd Oct 2022.

NORTHERN CONFERENCE FIXTURES

WEEK	HOME		AWAY	DATE	TIME
WK 1	Kano Lions	VS	Jos Miners	23-07-23	11:00am
	Zazzau Bulls	VS	Kano Gazelles	23-07-23	12:30pm
WK 2	Zazzau Bulls	VS	Kano Lions	30-07-23	11:00am
	Jos Miners	VS	Kano Gazelles	30-07-23	12:30pm
WK 3	Kano Lions	VS	Kano Gazelles	06-08-23	11:00am
	Jos Miners	VS	Zazzau Bulls	06-08-23	12:30pm

SOUTH-WEST CONFERENCE FIXTURES

WEEK	HOME		AWAY	DATE	TIME
WK 1	Lagos Haven	VS	Eko Trinity	02-07-23	11:00am
	R2 Finesse RL	VS	Lagos Rhino	02-07-23	12:30pm
WK 2	R2 Finesse RL	VS	Lagos Haven	09-07-23	11:00am
	Lagos Rhino	VS	Eko Trinity	09-07-23	12:30pm
WK 3	Lagos Haven	VS	Lagos Rhino	16-07-23	11:00am
	Eko Trinity	VS	R2 Finesse RL	16-07-23	12:30pm
WK 4	Eko Trinity	VS	Lagos Rhino	23-07-23	11:30am
	Lagos Haven	VS	R2 Finesse FA	23-07-23	12:30pm
	Lagos Haven(Women)	VS	Eko Trinity(Women)	23-07-23	14:00
WK 5	R2 Finesse RL	VS	Eko Trinity	30-07-23	11:30
	Lagos Rhino	VS	Lagos Haven	30-07-23	12:30
	Eko Trinity(women)	VS	Lagos Haven(women)	30-07-23	14:00
WK 6	Eko Trinity	VS	Lagos Haven	06-08-23	11:00
	Lagos Rhino	VS	R2 Finesse RL	06-08-23	12;30
	Lagos Haven(women)	VS	Eko Trinity(women)	06-08-23	14:00