Rugby Premier League looks to revive Indian game through sevens league
Chennai Bulls' Vaafauese Apelu Maliko and Hyderabad Blues' Manuel Moreno during their match at the Rugby Premier League in Mumbai, India.
– Rugby is not normally associated with India, but a new sevens league was launched in June with the aim of reviving the gladiatorial sport in the country.
The Rugby Premier League (RPL) has recruited top internationals from the World Sevens circuit to play alongside locals in six franchises under broadcast-friendly rule variations.
Organisers aim to revive local rugby enough for India to qualify for the Olympics while revolutionising the global future of the game.
'Rugby in India is not so popular and not because it's not played – it's played in more than 250 districts in India and there's a lot of talent pool available – but because people have not seen it,' said Satyam Trivedi, chief executive of co-organisers GMR Sports.
'I'm sure with the league getting commercials, going on broadcast, and some of the finest athletes of the world coming and participating, the audiences will see it and the sport will catch up.'
The launch of the RPL comes at a time when sevens, which took off after its inclusion for the 2016 Olympics, is facing challenges.
Financial pressures have led to cutbacks in some programmes, with Ireland ending its men's programme and Britain's men's and women's going part-time at the end of July.
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Unlike World Sevens tournaments, organised on national lines, each RPL squad features five top-level 'marquee' players, five from India, and three more internationals, dubbed 'bridge' players.
Scott Curry, who played 321 times for New Zealand's All Blacks sevens team and represents the Bengaluru Bravehearts in the RPL, believes the franchise model could be a peek into the sport's global future.
'The World Series has been changing a lot and there's a little bit of uncertainty there but to see something like this, a franchise league... I think it could be the future of the game going forward for sure,' he said.
'Having franchises where players from all over the world can come and play together along with local Indian players is really exciting for our sport.'
Rugby India is another co-organiser of the RPL and its president Rahul Bose senses a major opportunity to get the eyes of 1.4 billion people on the game through the country's potential bid for the 2036 Olympics.
Spaniard Manuel Moreno, who was named in the World Sevens series dream team last season and has been playing for the Hyderabad Heroes in the RPL, thinks India might not have to wait as long as 2036 given the Olympics has regional qualifiers.
'They (India) can do it in the next Olympic cycle. There are only two or three big teams in Asia. So I think they have a real possibility to be in the Los Angeles Games in 2028,' he said. REUTERS
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