The inaugural India Rugby Premier League was deemed a success after six teams battled it out in Mumbai over a span of two weeks in a tournament that is envisioned to redefine the future of sevens rugby.
Six teams including Bengaluru Bravehearts, Chennai Bulls, Delhi Redz, Hyderabad Heroes, Kalinga Black Tigers and the Mumbai Dreamers featured seasoned HSBC SVNS stars from Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, South Africa, Samoa, Argentina, Kenya, Great Britain and Spain.
Double Olympic gold and 2024 silver medallist Jerry Tuwai, Waisea Nacuqu, Joji Nasova, Filipe Sauturaga, Terio Tamani and Joseva Talacolo were part of the tournament.
Tuwai and Nacuqu played for the Mpumbai Dreamers, Tamani and Nasova for Hyderabad Heroes while Sauturaga and Talacolo featured prominently for the champion side Chennai Bulls.
Former India Rugby 7s coach and sevens wizard Waisale Serevi commended the organisers for a successful tournament.
“Last year I was in India, the talk was with Rugby India president, Rahul Bose, talking about what India can do to get rugby moving to the next level,” Serevi said.
“I believe the only thing was getting players from abroad mixed with players in India so that they gain experience, they learn and see how the professionals do it. Things like what professionals eat, how they train and how they interact with all players in team,” he said.
The Rugby Premier League (RPL) was the world’s first franchise-based rugby sevens league.
The RPL was the world’s first franchise-based rugby sevens league. It saw 34 matches played over 15 days.
“At one stage, they nearly couldn’t do it but for them to create a tournament that they played and trained for the last couple of weeks, I can say that it is a positive step for a country that is big on cricket and football. Rugby came first to India then it came to Fiji, and I believe they are in the right direction in getting the sport to the next level,” Serevi said.
Champion Chennai Bulls was coached by former Fiji 7s coach Ben Gollings.
All Blacks 7s legends Tomasi Cama and DJ Forbes, Mike Friday, Tim Walsh and Paco Hernandez coached the other teams.
