THE 2018 National Rugby League that was supposed to get underway on February 17 has been postponed to February 25, according to the National Rugby Federation (RRF).

Speaking to Times Sport on Thursday, Tharcisse Kamanda the Secretary-General of RRF, said that the league was postponed because league fixtures have to be altered to include some new clubs.

"We are altering the fixtures because we have to include the Integrated Polytechnic Regional Centre (IPRC-Kigali) Club as the new team that will feature in this year’s competition.”

Kamanda said that the rugby league will now have nine teams including the newly registered IPRC-Kigali before the official kick off on February 25.

To allow flexibility, the league will continue to be played in two divisions, on the home and away format.

The Kigali/central division includes Remera Buffaloes, Kigali Sharks, Thousand Hills, IPRC-Kigali and Lion De Fer while the Southern division has Muhanga, Kamonyi Pumas, U.R Grizzlies and Resilience RFC.

The delayed start means the league will have to break off as the national team, Silverbacks prepare for this year’s Hong Kong cup set for early April and it should end before the Africa Rugby Division 2 Cup which takes place in Mid-May in Kigali, as well as the Safaricom 7’s due towards the end of the season.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw