TRINIDAD and Tobago Rugby Football Union (TTRFU) president, Leslie Figaro, has big plans on the horizon after being re-elected unopposed at the elections recently.
Figaro, who will be at the helm for his third consecutive two-year term said “There are opportunities for local rugby both at the high performance end and the development and participation level.
Over the next two years, we have World Cups in the 7s and the 15s as well as CAC and Commonwealth Games. We have the International Rugby Board 7s World Series also and these events will afford the TTRFU the platforms to strategically market and promote the game,” he stated.
He highlighted a mandate for the national Men’s and Women’s teams which included the 2015 World Cup, the 2013 7s World Cup, Pan American Championships as well as the 2016 Olympics.
Figaro said the sport locally was overcoming its challenges and this showed with the 2015 Rugby World Cup Qualifier whipping of Barbados 32-3.
“The local rugby fraternity is small in number, passionate and everyone wants to have a say. That passion if properly channeled is a plus,” he added. Figaro also hailed the media for helping boost the sport’s profile locally. He added that while crowds flock to cricket or football, there were decent turnouts for rugby matches.
“Our aim is to be the best rugby nation in the region. And to do that we have to build a culture of excellence,” he concluded.
Source: www.newsday.co.tt