ACCRA, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Ghana and Nigeria on Thursday announced the creation of an annual Rugby President's Cup between the two nations on a home-and-away basis.

The first edition will be played on April 27 in Accra and on May 4 in Lagos, according to a release issued in Accra.

The 2019 President's Cup will also be a warmup for the 2019 Rugby Africa Silver Cup in Nigeria from June 6 to July 17, which includes Botswana and Madagascar.

According to the president of the Ghana Rugby Football Union (GRFU), Herbert Mensah, a principle decision was reached between himself and his Nigerian counterpart Kelechi Mbagwu in Marrakech, Morocco, during the 13th General Assembly of Rugby Africa, to kick-start wider international cooperation with the President's Cup.

"Everybody knows that the tournament structure of Rugby Africa falls short to give Rugby nations in Africa enough match exposure to 'breed' the next Rugby World Cup participants besides for South Africa and Namibia. Even Rugby Africa has asked Members to seriously look at international friendlies between regional states," Mensah said.

The Rugby Africa Regional Development Manager Charles Yapo said that this is a very good initiative that will strengthen the relationship between these two nations in terms of rugby and allow players to have more play time. Enditem

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