Rugby gets a shot in the arm

A smile appeared on tense faces of the players and a round of applause followed when Jagga Singh’s name was announced. Jagga,the youngest in the squad at just 16,will be key to the health of rugby in the country over the next few years.

On Wednesday,the Nasser Hussain-led side will play China in the opening game of the Asian 5Nations. If India beat China and then win the final match against either Philippines or Thailand,they will progress to Division-I for the first time.

Hussain,playing for India since 1998,is bullish about the future of the sport in India. In the run-up to the Commonwealth Games this October,where rugby 7s will feature,Hussain’s side have had a choc-a-block schedule.

Their camp has extended more than six months and they travelled to New Zealand for a clinic,and also played in the biggest 7s tournament in Fiji.

Rugby: day in and day out
“We have played more rugby in the past 15 months than we have done over the last three or four years,” Hussain told Newsline on Monday. “It is a boon for us that the Commonwealth Games is being hosted in India. I would say this period,with the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games,is a stepping stone for us.”

Hussain said the players have worked hard on their skills,interacted with some of the best coaches and “trained like there is no tomorrow”.

He said: “We may not see immediate results at the Commonwealth Games but the next generation of players will benefit immensely.”

From losing to Singapore 85-0 in the country’s first international to beating Pakistan 92-0 recently,Hussain has seen it all. “We have grown in confidence as a team,” he said. “International sides do take India seriously these days. We are no longer pushovers but that said,we still hope to only pull off an upset or two rather than win a medal at the Commonwealth Games or the Asian Games.”

Non-veg on the platter
Coach Biumaiwai is seeing a change in the ‘rugby culture’ of the side. “I had to convince some of these boys that they must,from time to time,eat non-vegetarian food,” he said. “They were vegetarians in this team but when we travel abroad I have noticed that they are ordering chicken and mutton.

“Non-vegetarian food and protein shakes are a must to build muscles. You must have noticed that these boys are bigger,stronger and fitter now.”

Biumaiwai is pleased that people are aware that India also plays rugby. “When we landed in New Zealand the immigration officials were rather surprised that India had a rugby team,” he said.

Numbers also point to the game steadily growing in India. While there were just eight under-20 teams in 2007,the figure now stands at 31.

The coach believes that a rugby revolution is around the corner in India. “In five years,rugby will be as big as football in his country,” Biumaiwai said.