The defending champions in the ongoing Ghana Rugby Clubs Championship (GRCC), Cosmos Buffaloes, have been denied a place in the finals after a nerve-racking semi-final clash against Dansoman Hurricanes on Saturday 13 ^, February 2016 at the Accra Sports Stadium.

Dansoman Hurricanes RFC, who lost to Cosmos Buffaloes RFC during the round robin stage of the Championship, had the upper hand with a slim margin of 13-7 at the end of the match.

According to Mr. Amuzuloh Salim, Coach of Cosmos Buffaloes, he is very satisfied with the performance of his players adding that most of the players were suffering from various degrees of injuries.

“I really thank God for bringing us this far because what happened to my club this season was very tough and no club can survive after going through such a tough situation. I’m happy with the way my boys played because most of them were half-fit and we had to play them since there were no options”, he uttered.

The other semi-final game that was played on the day saw the unbeaten Conquerors Sporting Club qualifying for the finals with a 39-6 win against Idas Sports RFC.

Conquerors who happen to be a newly formed club and appearing in the GRCC for the first time is yet to see a defeat after playing seven matches in the championship.

Speaking to the press Mr. Abdul Rahman Salisu, captain of Conquerors SC, said that Idas gave them a tougher game than they expected but the team was able to win due to their tactical play that frustrated the opponents.

Mr. Salisu cited today’s match as a difficult one adding that beating Idas has boosted enthusiasm of the players to claim the trophy come next week.

He therefore encouraged supporters to come in their numbers to cheer their team up in the finals.

“Today’s game was very tough compared to our previous matches that we played but I’m happy at the end we won the game. We are going to train more for the final game and I know with hard work, we’ll win the trophy”, said Mr. Salisu.

The grand finale of the Ghana Rugby Club Championship will be between Dansoman Hurricanes RFC and Conquerors SC on Saturday 20 February 2016 at the Accra Sports Stadium.

In an extensive interview with the media Mr. Herbert Mensah, President of the Ghana Rugby Football Union, criticised the Ministry of Youth and Sports, NSA and government for their neglect of minority sports and said that they still owe Ghana Rugby more than 190,000 cedis dating back to 2013 and 2014.

“They can hardly spell Rugby and it is only a matter of time before we or someone take them to court,” Mr. Mensah said.

The President also hailed companies such as Interplast, the Gino brands and Accra Breweries for their contribution to support the development of Rugby in Ghana.

In spelling out some of the priorities for Ghana Rugby such as women’s Rugby and especially the Get Into Rugby youth development drive through schools Mr. Mensah emphasised that there are great opportunities for corporate Ghana to enjoy massive brand exposure and to build goodwill for their brands.

“It is not inconceivable that Rugby can fly Ghana’s flag high and proud at international level in World Rugby events, the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics in the foreseeable future,” he said.