The national men’s rugby team will mark their return to the international scene with the Rugby World Cup Pre-Qualifiers scheduled to hold in Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso from June 5 to 13 this year.
The Black Stallions were shut-out of competitive rugby action due to the pandemic which altered sporting calendar globally in 2020.
In the latest calendar released by the continent’s ruling body, Rugby Africa for this year, Nigeria is scheduled to lock horns with Cameroun, Burundi and the host Burkina Faso in a round robin format in the fight for a place in the Rugby Africa Cup Pool D in July.
On June 5, the Black Stallions will begin their quest with an opening fixture against Burundi while host Burkina Faso will engage Cameroun in the second match of the day.
Four days later on June 9, the Nigerian lads will battle fellow West African neighbours and host Burkina Faso for points ahead of their final game against Cameroun which comes up on June 13.
The Stallions will try to gallop faster ahead of their
highly physical neighbours Cameroun in what many has tagged as an enticing encounter while Burkina Faso and Burundi will square off against each other.
Winner of this tournament will qualify for a spot in Pool D which already has host Tunisia and Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, The Black Stallions are expected to begin camping on May 24 in Lagos where a 31-man team will be announced.
South African coach Bronson Weir is expected to field an effective team at the repecharge which Incidentally, will see the team donning their new BLK kits for the first time.
The deal signed with the United Kingdom based company last year underlines the re-engineering efforts by the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation at re-positioning the national team as a global brand.
The BLK kits has been eliciting excitement among rugby enthusiasts around the the world, creating ripples in the entertainment sector.
Nigeria music superstar Davido became one of the first few to acquire the kit which many has described as a collector’s item.
