The Green Falcons of Nigeria sealed a series sweep over the Leopardess of Ghana with a 24–8 win on Saturday in Lagos, www.aclsports.com reports.
It was a tighter contest this time, with Ghana showing improvement and defensive grit, but the Green Falcons’ strength and structure eventually shone through. Nigeria led 12–2 at halftime and extended their advantage after the break to seal another impressive victory.
Nigeria’s scoring was well shared, with six different players crossing the line, including early efforts from Blessing Aladeyelu and Lauretta Bayere, to secure the win. Ghana’s Jacqueline Ansah pulled one back in the second half, converted by Gracelove Hammond, while both sides saw players sin-binned in a physical contest that underlined Nigeria’s dominance despite some missed kicks.
Coach Luke Shearman praised the team’s progress and determination despite admitting there’s still work to be done ahead of the upcoming Women’s Rugby World Series in Canada later this month.
“It’s building slowly. It’s always going to take time when you bring players from overseas into a local environment, but we’ll get there,” Shearman said. “We made a lot of errors, but those things happen, we just have to fix them. Ghana came with a plan and they challenged us physically, so we must be a lot better if we want to compete on the world stage.”
Captain Blessing Aladeyelu commended her teammates’ commitment and expressed confidence in Nigeria’s readiness for the global challenge ahead.
“After our game in Kenya, we returned to Nigeria and kept training hard. Our foreign-based players joined us so we could sync and perfect our strategy,” Aladeyelu explained. “We did well in both games, but we know we can do even better. We’ll go back to the board, fix our mistakes, and come out stronger in Canada. I trust my team, the coaches, and the management, we’re 100% ready.”
She also lauded the facilities in Lagos, describing the international-standard pitch at Alaro City as a major boost for their preparations.
“Big shoutout to Alaro City. They gave us a standard pitch, and I’m super excited about it. I wasn’t expecting this, but it really helped us prepare properly.”
Faustina Akeje, who impressed across both fixtures, described the experience as special and an important learning curve for the relatively new squad.
“We’ve done really well. Many of us didn’t know what to expect from Ghana, but it’s been great playing together,” Akeje said. “It’s my first time representing Nigeria, and that’s really special to me. We fought hard to the end, Canada, we’re coming for you.”
Ghana’s head coach Riddick Alibah praised Nigeria’s technical superiority and expressed optimism about his side’s future.
“Congratulations to Nigeria, they were more technical and deserved the win,” Alibah said. “But I’m proud of our girls. We’ve made progress since the first match, and that shows rugby in Africa is growing. We’ll continue to build with our young players, and together with Nigeria, we’ll keep pushing the game forward on the continent.”
The result confirmed Nigeria’s dominance over their West African rivals, rounding off their preparation ahead of the Rugby League World Series in Canada, where they will face Ireland on October 21 in the semifinals for a chance to progress to the 2026 Rugby League World Cup.
