THE Nigeria Rugby Football Federation (NRFF) has invited 20 players to a training camp ahead of the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR) sevens tournament in Rabat, Morocco.The squad will be trimmed to a final travelling squad of 12 to compete for a berth at the IRB Sevens World Cup in Russia next year. While announcing the squad, national coach, Steve Lewis, explained that the only criteria for selection were quality and skill.The coach has spent the last three weekends assessing the players under consideration - both at home and abroad - in the most comprehensive rugby selection process ever undertaken by a Nigerian team.Three weeks ago, Lewis flew to the United Kingdom (UK) to watch two teams made up of Nigerian players on the fringe of national selection play in the Harpenden Pub Sevens in England.Both teams were knocked out at the quarter-final stage of the annual tourney (which was won by the England international team) but gave the coach the opportunity to see several players he had never seen before.A week later, he ran the rule over Northern Nigeria-based players at trials in Zaria. Last Sunday, players in the South, East and West of the country were put through their paces and given their chance to stake claims to a ticket to Morocco during trials at the National Institute of Sports in Lagos.The provisional squad comprises six forwards, 10 backs and four utility players. Several players in the squad are still involved in knockout rounds of competitions for their clubs in the UK, which may eliminate them from selection in the final squad.According to the federation, four players not named in the squad are nursing injuries and their fitness will be monitored by NRFF management in the UK before the final squad is announced.The NRFF said the 'coaching and trials sessions in Nigeria included a sevens coaching session, rigorous fitness tests and trial matches. Every rugby club in the country was invited to nominate and send its best sevens rugby players to attend the trials held within Nigeria.
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