Toyibat, Tincan Island schools emerge winners in Cowbell iTry Rugby

The 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 the female and male categories respectively.
The league, grouped into four clusters and in which 32 schools participated, marked the culmination of efforts of Promasidor, maker of Cowbell Milk, the sponsor of the game, to ensure a resurgence of rugby games in Nigerian schools after many years of neglect.
Last year, Promasidor, in partnership with the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation 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, Richards said as a company, Promasidor is known for its innovation and leading new initiatives in the Nigerian market.
He said: “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, he said, 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.
The 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.
Ejikeme said: “The Cowbell iTry Rugby has not only created a great opportunity for these kids to play but also given Nigeria prospects. It has also created opportunities for the coaches. Our coaches are now Level 2 coaches. There are only three levels of coaching in Nigeria and our coaches are in Level 2. This is because we organize trainings for our coaches regularly.”
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.
Bako said they have become more popular in school unlike the before when only the football team received all the attention.