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Over a hundred students, male and female took part in the Nigerian Rugby League Association/Australia High Commission partnership training clinic at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena.
The one-day event had students from different schools in Lagos engaged in basic and high-performance training under the guidance of Luke Shearman, Director of High Performance, International Teams and Competitions at the Australian Rugby League, now Samoa women’s Rugby League star Lindsay Tui, and an official from the Australian High Commission in Nigeria.
Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Rugby League Association, Ade Adebisi revealed that the event is part of a weeklong program to deepen the roots of Rugby League in the country and to build on the success of the women’s national team, the Green Falcons.
“This is the elaboration between the Australian embassy, sports commission, Nigerian rugby league and Lagos state association. and the partnership is just to take it to the next level. The children have been playing and it’s already in school systems in Lagos.”
Speaking during the clinic, Shearman, who took the Nigerian Women’s National team to the World Series said they are trying to give the skills to the kids as early as possible.
“One thing I’ve always said is if we can give the skills to the kids now and keep developing our place internationally, the power and strength that people have in Nigeria is not matched anywhere in the world,” he said.
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“Getting these kids out and playing rugby league and learning the fundamentals from a young age means that in five to ten years they are going to be competing for positions in our national team.”
In her own words, Lindsay Tui, added that the kids have shown speed and talents which is good for the game. Speaking further, she said she is in Nigeria to develop Rugby League.
Tui said: “Basically I’m here to develop the game. In Australia rugby has grown so much for women especially. We are here in hopes of growing Nigerian rugby league as well with the Australian embassy, Nigerian Rugby League and Lagos Rugby Association.
“These kids look like lovely kids. Very bright and friendly and they came up to me and shook my hand. They are very nice and you can tell that they are very keen to learn and be a part of rugby.”
The Director General of the Lagos State Sports Commission, Lekan Fatodu, praised the Nigeria Rugby League Association and the Australian High Commission for putting in efforts to develop the game in the state.
He also said that they are not just after football, but every other sport, including cricket.
