by Ireland Sevens national player Terry Kennedy Half Chennai Bulls, India’s first rugby Premier League (RPL) title to win on Sunday when the sport in a country obsessed by Cricket took his first young steps.
Kennedy achieved two of Chennai’s seven attempts when she closed the Six team Rugby Sevens Franchise League with a 41:0-strap by Delhi Redz in Mumbai.
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The Indian Olympia Gold Medal Specificor Abhinav Bindra was one of the many stars that adorned the final, although the crowd understandably was not a match for the hordes that appeared to see how Virat Kohlis Bengaluru won the T20 Indian Premier League at the beginning of this month.
RPL’s reporting on satellite television, however, has hope that rugby in India could act as the main sport.
“No matter how big a sport may be, there is always space when you work hard enough if you create a product that is good enough,” Rahul Bose, President of Rugby India, told AFP.
“In this regard, we are very happy and very sure about knowing that there is space for this game and does not have to come by eating away in the room of another.”
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Just as the IPL focused on the shortest form of cricket, the RPL chose the shortest form of rugby, with the seven-year-old format lasting 16 minutes in this tournament four quarters of four minutes and with the hard Grunz of the 15-man game for the pace of the slick handling and the bladder capacity.
Kennedy is not the only top Sevens player who was moved into the RPL.
His team -mate Joseva Talacolo, who also attempted in the final on Sunday, won silver with Fiji at the Olympic Games of last year in Paris, while Scott Curry, whose Bengaluru Bravehearts took fourth place after the loss of the bronze medal match against Hyderabad Heroes for New Zealand’s All Blacks Sevens team.
The American Perry Baker, now 39 and a two-time rugby rugby Sevens player of the year, came out of retirement to play for Kalinga Black Tigers.
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According to Bose, this first iteration of the tournament has decreased well among the public.
“What we have heard is that the game is easy to follow, has very quickly, very exciting and enormous liicability,” said Bose, who is also a successful Bollywood actor.
“At the same time, the sporting skills of these men came for a lot of attention. We are satisfied with the connection we have established.”
– ‘bigger and better’ – –
The RPL is seen as a way for India to strengthen its dreams of organizing the Olympic Games in 2036. In view of the continental qualification system for the Olympic Games, India even has a men’s or women’s team in mind.
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But it is more than an ideal. The RPL, which combines Indian players with international stars, is managed by GMR Sports, who, as the owner of the IPL team Delhi Capitals, knows one or two things about Franchise competitions in India.
“The first season went very well for us,” Satyam Trivedi, Chief Executive Officer from GMR, told AFP.
“The sponsors are satisfied with what they see on the ground and on TV.
“However, this is only the beginning for us. We consider the first season as a showcase event and take a lot of knowledge from here.
“This league gets bigger and better every season.”
FK/BSP/MW
