National rugby team begins training in Johannesburg

2016 RIO Olympic qualifiers

THE national rugby team, the Black Stallions, arrived in Johannesburg on Monday for a five-day training camp ahead of the qualifiers for the Rio 2016 Olympics Games billed to hold this weekend in South Africa.

Seven home—based players on arrival at the Tambo International Airport headed straight for their Southern Sun Hotel camp, where they were later joined by their foreign counterparts from the United States of America and the United Kingdom.

Considering the little time the players have to acclimatise to the high altitude in South Africa, the Black Stallions’ South African-born coach, Fabian Juries, is working hard to physically condition the players in the areas of recovery and game strategy.

Speaking after the training session yesterday, Juries commended the Nigerian Rugby Football Federation for the privilege given to the team to prepare early for the championship.

He also applauded NRFF Sponsors, CMB Building Maintenance & Inv. Co. Ltd, for their effort towards the development of rugby in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the federation’s Technical Adviser, Bandele Coker, has expressed optimism that the highly motivated team would pull a surprise at the tournament considering the quality of players selected for the tournament.