Rugby’s Chief Operating Officer Babatunde Deolu Flaunts Nigeria’s Growing Potential

The chief operating officer of Nigeria Rugby Football Federation (NRFF), Babatunde Adeolu Flaunts a positive verdict about what he believes is an upward swing being achieved by the country in the gritty sport.

Although many critics argue that Nigerian impact in the sport is still far from vibrant, Babatunde insists the country’s recent outing at the Africa Men’s Rugby 7s Championship showed huge improvements for the nation.

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Sports247 reports that the Stallions of Nigeria lost one of their games 5-17 against South Africa, but Babatunde pointed out that the margin of defeat was not as wide as it used to be at such a high level and against a very formidable opponent.

The operating officer also stated his delight with how the Stallions eventually placed seventh overall at the end of the competition, which he stressed was gained through a huge show of determination by the players, who were able to bounce back from their opening day loss to the South Africans.

He recounted, “We showed a lot of promise from the first match, which we played against the Boks, who are world champions in rugby 15s, and they are a very formidable side in 7s.

“Although we lost to South Africa by 5-17 points, we could see that the Nigerian squad had really improved from where we were a couple of years ago.”

The rugby guru then cast his eyes into the future and expressed optimism that, despite a recent suspension, Nigeria’s impact in the game continues growing in leaps and bounds, due to the presence of many emerging talents across the country.

“The performance of our team will be better appreciated when you take some other issues into consideration. For instance, we must not forget that we just returned from a lengthy ban.

“Despite the long absence, our efforts at this competition have seen us go from 11th to 5th in just two years. That shows there’s a lot of potential in the team and in Nigeria when it comes to the game of rugby,” Babatunde posited.