Toyibat, Tincan Island Schools Emerge Winners In Cowbell iTry Rugby

Lagos. Thursday, August 22, 2013: Second season of Cowbell iTry Rugby league for Secondary schools in Lagos State has ended in style with Tincan Island girls and Toyibat School emerging winners in female and male categories respectively.

The league which is grouped into four clusters and have 32 schools participated marked the culmination of efforts of Promasidor, maker of Cowbell Milk who is sponsoring the game to ensure a resurgence of rugby games in Nigerian schools after many years of neglect.

Last year Promasidor in partnership with Nigeria Rugby Football Federation (NRFF) launched the coaching cluster with the aim of grooming rugby future rugby stars and to support the game of rugby in the country.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Managing Director, Promasidor, Chief Keith Richards said the company is driven by its dream to see the young stars it is grooming play for the Nigerian national rugby team.

“This year, we have seen a great deal of improvement in the skills and talents of these young ones and I affirm that if we continue so dedicatedly, we can achieve a lot,” he said.

Explaining why Promasidor through its brand, Cowbell is sponsoring rugby, he said as a company, Promasidor is known for its innovation and leading new initiatives in the Nigerian market.

“As a former active player of rugby, I can attest to the fact that it is a very physically enervating sport and this is one of the reasons why Cowbell, supports the NRFF to provide nourishment and vitality to young ones participating. It is heart warming to know that the spirit of the game remains relevant beyond the game to all spheres of life.”

Richards further said that, with the support of Promasidor the Cowbell iTry Rugby will hopefully carry on forever. With this support the team can develop to one of Africa's largest youth coaching programmes.

He expressed optimism that in near future, it will give a lot of children the opportunity to represent their country in a prestigious competition.

National Youth Development Coordinator, Nigeria Rugby Football Federation, Chukwudum Ejikeme noted that though the game is still relatively new in Nigeria the team has the potential of growing to be a force to reckon with in the future.

“The Cowbell iTry Rugby has not only created a great opportunity for these kids to play, and also given Nigeria prospects. It has also created opportunities for the coaches. Our coaches are now Level 2 coaches, there are only 3 levels of coaching in Nigeria and our coaches are in level 2 this is because we organize trainings for our coaches regularly,” Ejikeme said.

Captain Toyibat Schools Gbagada, Ibrahim Bako disclosing how his team felt at the end of the league said, the game has made him and his teammates more disciplined in everything they do.

He said they have become more popular in school unlike the before when only the football team received all the attention.