The African Sevens Olympic qualifier in Harare, Zimbabwe might have come and gone but the camaraderie amongst players and coaches, euphoria around the competition, the close-shave misses, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat and tears of victory from the faces of individuals whose countries qualified for the Olympics or picked an Olympic playoffs tickets; cannot be forgotten, for a player Aristide Goualin who has expressed his views on the Black Stallions not too fruitful journey
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Ten years ago was the last time he played for the Nigerian senior men’s national team, the Black Stallions and for him to be invited and eventually made the team to the qualifiers in Zimbabwe, was no mean feat.
Sharing his feelings on the qualifiers on his Instagram handle @ar1stide after the tournament, Aristide Goualin described his return as an immeasurable honour adding that Nigeria rugby is on the right developmental track.
“After 10 years away, what an honour to put on Nigeria rugby 7s jersey again. This time at the Olympic qualifiers in Harare, Zimbabwe. There is no greater honour in sports than representing your country and I am so proud to do it again, this time with a new generation of talents. Safe to say Nigeria’s rugby is going places.
“We managed to finish 8th out of 12th teams at the tournament, which is great considering we started the year ranked 24th in Africa. On a personal level, it didn’t quite go to plan due to illness, but I am happy I got to contribute toward the end of the tournament,
“Looking forward to seeing what the future holds for Nigerian rugby and glad I can be a part of the journey,” he concluded
