Rugby: city team ends sixth in tally

The Pune team lost to the Chennai Bisons in the Plate final to end up in sixth in the All India rugby sevens division 2 tournament held at the Daulat Ram College ground,Delhi,recently.

After cruising past Delhi Shers and Chennai Irish in the initial matches,Pune faced stiff opposition against the eventual division 2 champions Mumbai Magicians.

They were off to a good start with Varad Datar giving them a good lead in the first five minutes. The Magicians,however,came back strongly to win the game 22-12. this loss relegated the Pune team to the Plate Semifinal. In the semis,they beat Kolkata Police 17-5 and made their way into the final against the Chennai Bisons. The Bisons proved to be too strong for Pune as they beat them 17-0.

Surhud Khare,coach of Pune rugby,was satisfied with his teams performance,as they finished in sixth place out of a total of 20 teams. We did not get enough match practice before this tournament and have been leaning slightly towards the 15-a-side style of practice. Im happy with the result,he said.

The team will now be taking part in the City sevens rugby tournament which will be held at the same venue.

Results:

Cup quarterfinal: Mumbai magicians 22 bt Pune rugby 12.

Plate semifinal: Pune Rugby 17 bt Kolkata Police 5.

Plate final: Chennai Bisons 17 bt Pune Rugby 0.

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