Grassroots Schools Rugby Thrills Kids, Teachers In Badagry ...

?IT was one of the best days of my life Sir! When are you coming again, Oga?? These two sentences by 13 year-old Kola Onabanjo pretty much summed up the reaction of the eighty children and dozen teachers who were coached rugby for the first time in Badagry last weekend.

Most had never seen a rugby ball anywhere other than on an eaterie TV set in the small coastal town on the outreaches of Lagos, let alone ever touched, passed and kicked one.

Four schools, Badagry Grammar School, Lagos State Model Junior College ( Kankon), Methodist High School (Badagry) and State Junior High School (Ibereko) took part in the three-day Lagos State Rugby Association Under 13 Rugby Tournament, which was funded by the Lagos State Ministry of Sport and Recreation in conjunction with Let?s Play ? the Supersport?s initiative.

Day one consisted of a coaching the coaches session lead by Jide Afolabi, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Rugby Football Federation, who took the Physical Education (PE) teachers through the history of the game, the basics of play, the ethics and ethos of the oval ball game.

Like the kids who got to train and play later, the teachers were just as excited to be learning a new sport.? For them it was an opportunity to learn new skills, new disciplines and to be able to broaden their career horizons.

Having learned the basics, the teachers intend introducing rugby as part of the PE curriculum. Nothing could be better for the future of the game.

When boys and girls learn that while rugby is a physical contact sport, it is governed by a strict code of rules and laws, which are all designed to protect the players and make the game the fast flowing, free running spectacle that it is. Nigeria?s name will be up in the rugby heavens.

Rugby is growing faster in Africa than anywhere else in the world right now with 80 per cent of the players in Africa under the age of 20. And what is driving this sudden spurt of interest in the game? For one, Africans around the continent are watching with interest the meteoric rise of Kenya as a rugby nation. Ten years ago, they were unheard of, last year they received ?core? status as one of the automatic invitees to all IRB Sevens Rugby tournaments. Secondly, young Africans are eyeing a possible route to the Olympics through rugby.

Afolabi, commenting on the decision to take rugby to Badagry was keen to point out that it was a conscious decision to take rugby to the grassroots.

?The government, the Lagos State Rugby Association and Supersport?s Let?s Play? initiative wanted to start a bush fire for rugby and where better than those out of the way schools which are so often neglected by other bigger sports.?? He beamed, ? When the kids realised that we had come from Lagos to help them they were bowled over. The sheer enthusiasm was electrifying. Even the older kids in the main football team wanted to come and join in.?

On day two, the teachers who had been coached in theory and practical aspects of coaching put the kids through drills and training exercises? simple games and then on day three the real fun began when an eight team touch rugby tournament was held. BGS1, eventually were declared the winners and were presented with 15 rugby jerseys, while the top players were given scrum caps and the best player received a pair of Nike boots.

Let?s Play donated eight balls to each school while all the kids received Let?s Play and Cowbell flavoured mil T-shirts.

The LSRA plan to extend the programme to other schools across the state and with the level of excitement enthusiasm and talent in Lagos it?s only a matter of time before Lagos becomes known as the Centre of Rugby Excellence.

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SIN BINS AND BLOOD BINS

Every week in this section we explain the terms, rules, positions and strategies of rugby. Today we explore two phrases which refer to a player who has to leave the field, the first for a injury that causes bleeding and the second for a player who wilfully breaks a penalisable rule or for dangerous play.

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BLOOD BIN

A player who has a visible bleeding injury may be replaced for up to fifteen minutes (running time not game time), during which he or she may receive first-aid treatment to stop the flow of blood and dress the wound. The player may then to return to the pitch to continue playing.

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SIN BIN

The notional area where a player must remain for a minimum of ten minutes after being shown a yellow card and told to leave the field of play.? In high level games, the sin bin is monitored by the fourth official.

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