21 Ghana Rugby Coaches presented International Rugby Board Level One Coaching Certificates in Accra Ghana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) Board has presented International Rugby Board (IRB) Level 1 Coaching Certificates to 21 Ghanaian coaches after the completion of the GRSF 2014. Presenting the certificates, President of GRFU Mr. Herbert Mensah says his administration is focussed on looking forward adding that mistakes from the past will not be repeated. This was contained in a statement issued in Accra. According to Mr. Mensah, “For the past 11 years Ghana Rugby proclaimed that there are 40 qualified coaches in Ghana. The sad truth is that Ghana does not have one qualified coach as a Level 1 training certificate does not qualify the trainee as a coach. It is only after having completed a Level 2 course that the IRB acknowledges the the coach as a coach.” The presentation of Level 1 certificates to prospective coaches in Ghana followed a training programme conducted by Mr. David Dobela from South Africa in July this year. Below is a statement issued by GRFU Ghana Rugby Coaches Make History Ghana Rugby coaches made history at the Ghana Rugby Stakeholder Forum 2014 (GRSF 2014) that was successfully completed at the Accra Sports Stadium Media Centre on Friday 29 August 2014. Members of the Ghana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) Board presented IRB (International Rugby Board) Level 1 Coaching certificates to 21 Ghanaian coaches after the completion of the GRSF 2014. Mr. Herbert Mensah, President of the GRFU, said, “This is indeed a historic moment as Ghana coaches for the first time ever qualified as both Level 1 15s and Level 1 7s coaches.” Mr. Mensah continued to say that his administration is focussed on looking forward and not to the past as it serves no purpose. He however said that one must learn from the past so that the mistakes of the past will not be repeated in future. “The reality is that IRB (International Rugby Board) nominated trainers have been sent to Ghana in the past and it seems as though the selection of coaches to be trained were made without regards to whether they will be actively involved in training in Ghana, and without regards of the fact that training should have been done for both Level 1 15s and Level 1 7s.” he said. Mr. Mensah continued to say, “For the past 11 years Ghana Rugby proclaimed that there are 40 qualified coaches in Ghana. The sad truth is that Ghana does not have one qualified coach as a Level 1 training certificate does not qualify the trainee as a coach. It is only after having completed a Level 2 course that the IRB acknowledges the the coach as a coach.” The presentation of Level 1 certificates to prospective coaches in Ghana followed a training programme conducted by Mr. David Dobela from South Africa in July this year. “When the Rugby Delegates Congress elected a new Board on 5 June we were surprised by an email forwarded to us that clearly showed that the previous President was organising an IRB coaches training course after the 5th of June without any consultation with the newly elected Board. As President I cancelled the training and that strained relationships between Ghana Rugby and the IRB,” Mr. Mensah said. Mr. Mensah also said, “After proper assessment the GRFU Board allowed the training to be rescheduled for July under the condition that the selection of trainees are controlled to those who are really involved in coaching, that the training for Level 1 coaches include training for both Level 1 15s and 7s, and that the training of Level 1 is followed by the training of Club coaches on Level 2 in both 15s and 7s Rugby.” Mr. George Nana Kojo Kumah VII Ladipo, the newly elected Technical Director on the GRFU Board, said that the intervention by the President in the July training sends a signal to the Rugby Family that it does not take a lot to to ensure that Ghana Rugby can and will soar to great heights in the foreseeable future. “We only need to sit back and do the right things instead of working hard to do the wrong things right,” he said. The prospective coaches who received their IRB Level 1 certificates for both 15s and 7s coaching included the following people: ABDUL SAMAD SAID Idas Sports RFC ABRAHAM AYITEY Shalom CHN Centre ABRAHAM NSESUNKPAH Accra Academy ABUBAKAR YALA ABDULRAHAMAN Oguaaman Ocean Warriors RFC / Kotokuraba All Stars RFC AMEVOR JULIUS Legon Titans RFC AMUZULOH KOMBLA ABDULSALIM Cosmos Buffaloes RFC BAMFI EMMANUEL LINFORD Dansoman Hurricanes RFC EBENEZER KOJO APPIAH Mfantsipim School Cape Coast EBENEZER ELIJAH ESHUN West Side Beach Academy Takoradi / West Side RFC EMMANUEL SOGLO West Africa SHS ERNEST KOFI AMEWU Abura Bombers RFC / Ghana Police EVANS DADZIE Faith Comm. Bap. School GEORGE NANA K. K LADIPO Mfantadisc RFC / CentWest RFC GIDEON DUKPLAH Presec SHS – Legon JAMES NANA AKWANDOH NUNOO Holy Child School JAMES ODOI WILSON Tema Anchors RFC, Tema SHS, Nugua SHS, Salvation Cluster of Schools KUDZORDZI GERSHON KWADZO Ngleshie Amanfro SHS NATHANIEL DARLINGTON ADDY Dansoman RFC NIZAR EL-ASCHKAR Accra Sharks RFC NOELLE YAA BOATENG Accra High School STEPHAN PENNAH Elmina Circuit Schools The 14 coaches who attended the Level 2 training course will be certified later this year after completion of a practical six week training diary. Coaches has been asked to give this high priority and to comply by latest 30 October 2014. ​Mr. Herbert Mensah, GRFU President, handing certificates to one of the 21 coaches that qualified for IRB L1 Coaching 15s and 7s END