Indian Women Rugby Team made history when they won their first-ever international Rugby 15s match defeating Singapore 21-19 at the Asia Rugby's Women's Championship in Manila, Philippines. With the win, India ended the tournament with a bronze medal.
How did these ladies pick up the sport in a cricket-crazy nation? Who were their inspirations and what was the driving factor? TNIE finds out from Team India hooker Neha Sinandi.
Why did you pick up rugby?
I was into athletics during my school days and one of my friends introduced me to rugby in 2010.
So, what you do for a living? Do you play rugby full time or do you work at some other place?
I am a fitness coach and I am also a gym trainer. I only play rugby on weekends.
Who was your inspiration for playing rugby?
There was no inspiration as such as I just started playing rugby for fun but never imagined that it would take me so far ahead.
How was the feeling notching up that first win in Rugby 15s?
The feeling is indescribable in words - it was just amazing. Last year, we came close to beating Singapore but ended up losing by just five points. But this time around, we got over the line.
Former Springboks, Naas Botha, has joined your team as the coach. How much impact has that made?
It has made a lot of difference, and led to a lot of changes and development among the players in both 7-a-side and 15-a-side. Along with him Ludwiche van Deventer and Jannie Brooks, the fitness coach have helped the team. From fitness routine to our gameplan, it has been very positive.
How was the support in the Philippines?
It was mostly from the locals and our support staff. No Indian support of course, except ourselves as a unit.
Where does the team train in India?
We used to earlier train in Mumbai but now our training sessions take place in Odisha. Even, the Men's training sessions have been moved to Odisha from Haryana.
Where are most of your teammates from?
In the Rugby 15s team, most of the girls are from Delhi, specifically from the Hurricanes team. We have all been coached by Kuldeep Singh Bist at the Delhi Hurricanes.
Our captain Vahbiz Bharucha is from Pune.
What about the future of rugby in the country?
I want to see it grow. The effort we have put in, we want to see the girls who come in to benefit from it.
How much support do you get from the government?
Nothing. We manage everything on our own. We only get covered for tournaments, like stay and tickets. Everything else, from diet to training, we have to take care of it on our own. Cricketers get diet, coaches and all facilities, but here we have to deal with everything on our own.
But wouldn't that affect a lot of players?
It does for sure, but some of us, who are doing good financially, support the talented players as much as we can.
How is rugby's expansion going on in India?
When we started off, we used to wait for only one tournament in the year, i.e, All India 7-a-side Nationals. Now, the game has grown with age divisions starting from U-14, U-18 to U-20 - every category has an event.
The youngsters don't have to wait to play in the senior team and can start their the game early. These are all organised by Rugby India.