Women's Rugby Meeting; Nigeria's 2016 Medal Target; South Africa's $46 Million Ask

IRB Meeting on Women’s Rugby

Thirteen national rugby unions gathered in Sydney last week to learn how to implement an effective high-performance plan for women’s rugby ahead of the 2016 Olympics.

A statement from the International Rugby Board says the three-day "IRB Accelerated High Performance Workshop" is part of a plan to increase competitiveness and performance in the women’s game for the Olympics in Rio.

"A key strategic goal of the ground-breaking IRB Women’s Rugby Plan is to deliver a world-class Rugby Sevens women’s event at the Olympic Games in four years’ time and thanks to IOC support and commitment from our Unions the hosting of these workshops mark a significant step in reaching that objective," said IRB Women’s Development Manager Susan Carty.

Cheryl Soon, captain of the Australian squad that won the first Women’s Rugby Sevens World Cup, said: "Women’s Rugby is going from strength to strength. We now have more women and girls playing Rugby than ever before and Unions are beginning to maximize the positive effects of Olympic inclusion, which is really exciting.

"The sheer level of enthusiasm towards Women’s Rugby and commitment displayed by Unions and National Olympic Committees underscores our belief that the sport will continue to grow and prosper as we count down to Rio."

Nigerian President Wants 36 Medals in Rio

Following an Olympics where Nigeria won zero medals, the country’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, wants 36 medals in Rio de Janeiro.

Speaking at a government-sponsored sport conference, Jonathan said the key is for each of Nigeria’s 36 states to deliver one medalist.

"Every state has some level of comparative advantage in one form of sports or the order and if each state promises to give Nigerians a medal in this area, and another medal in this area, that means we are expecting 36 medals.

"Out of these 36 medals, at least five will be gold."

Since 2000, the best showing from Nigeria at the Olympics came at the Beijing Games, with four medals, but no golds.

South Africa Asks for $46 Million for Rio

SASCOC, South Africa’s Olympic Committee, asked parliament for $46 million for Rio 2016 preparations.

SASCOC GM Ezera Shabangu said a portion of the funds would go to establish a training camp for South African athletes in Europe.

Gideon Sam, SASCOC president, stressed the urgency for the money.

"We don't have cash," he told a parliamentary committee. "We are battling. We are not cash-flush."

He added a "provisional squad" for the 2016 Olympics would be announced "at the end of this month."

"[The squad will include] those who were in the finals and semi-finals and the top 10, together with the youth we have been picking up from the Commonwealth Youth Games and the Youth Olympic Games."

Written by Ed Hula III

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