Pershore President’s XV 71India XV 3The soil could so easily have been the turf at Kolkata — rich, loamy, a thick bed of grass. The sky could so easily have been Mumbai’s — blue, clear, cloudless. The only difference was the temperature. It wasn’t in the mid-30s, it was 8C. And windy. The cold bit into you and made you dimly aware of your outer extremities.At the first bite of the West Midlands wind you knew you were in England in the winter — playing rugby union in its motherland. Around you were boys from Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore and even one Sri Lankan who has made India his home. Opposite were an English team assembled from the English Midlands — the Pershore President’s XV.At kick-off I couldn’t help but think of the Indian team’s debut international versus Singapore in Singapore at the Asian Rugby Championships in 1998.Then, we were like ducklings out of water. Rugby union had begun its drastic change with major influences of Rugby league changing the very nature of the game — both in offence and defence. Scoring patterns were changing, rules were made more lax to encourage open play and the physically of the game was now right there, in the forefront. So we were blanked out, shut out, and the door closed.So what has changed after today’s 3-71 loss to Pershore? On the face of it, nothing. And yet, to anybody who knows the game, everything.Today the Indian team dominated the first 20 minutes of the 80. We took the lead (3-0) early on and almost made it 13-0, if it hadn’t been for the stiff crosswind. Not only that, I, as did all the Pershore players (as I gathered after talking to them post-game), found our team’s skills, organisation at the back of the scrum, the ball handling to be at par with the Pershore standard, if not better. The only thing that separated them from us was size. Bulk sheer mass — modern rugby doesn’t forgive a team that cannot keep the momentum going for a full eighty minutes (physics will tell you that momentum = mass x velocity.) And, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that it’s the mass factor that let us down.Honestly I have never seen such meticulous preparation among the forwards in the lineouts and the same coupled with pretty nifty ball-handling among the backs. So please, ignore the scoreline and focus on this. Indian rugby now has the coaching knowledge, the fundamentals, the will, and the fitness to match most teams. But we need bigger, stronger men. Men who will push people like me out of the side. But let me return to the larger picture. This is a historic tour. The people we meet, the goodwill we garner, the places we travel to in England will set the stage for many tours to come. Companies like S Sports, who have sponsored this trip, will find it is not only financially feasible to invite the Indian team to the UK but will also realise they are the builders of a unique relationship between these two countries.So, as I finished the game and walked off today, I looked at the setting sun (4.30 pm!), looked around at the hills silhouetted far away on the horizon, watched a flock of birds ‘V’ their way home and realised, it’s not the 6 weeks taken off from shooting that matter, it’s not the risk of injury, it’s not the temptation of triumph that makes it worth it. It’s the India crest on your chest, and the pride in your heart that tells you nothing in the world can match the feeling.(The writer will cover India’s tour of England exclusively for The Indian Express)
