By Samuel Akpan
The Nigerian national rugby sevens team, the Stallions, experienced a day of mixed fortunes at the African Men’s Sevens Series in Kampala, opening with a 26–5 victory over Ghana before succumbing to a 36–5 defeat against Morocco.
Nigeria launched their campaign strongly against the Ghanaian Black Eagles, controlling the pace from the start and keeping Ghana pinned in their own half throughout the match.
Captain Oghenesuvwe Obano proved a constant attacking threat as Nigeria built a 14-5 advantage and then piled on more pressure until Ghana finally yielded.
Morocco presented a far tougher assignment. The North Africans seized command early and went into the break holding a 14-5 lead, contrary to hopes of a tight contest.
Nigeria could not find their rhythm after half-time. Morocco stepped up the intensity, pushed the score to 26-5 and closed out a 36-5 victory with continued dominance.
The Stallions now sit on one win and one defeat after two matches and turn to their last pool game against Zimbabwe on Sunday.
Zimbabwe, viewed as one of the competition’s highly rated teams, will offer another stiff test as Nigeria look to gather momentum before the quarter-finals.
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