Justin M. Fitzpatrick
Mumbai steamed under June’s heat as anticipation built in the stands. Drums pounded from the east side, weaving through the scent of sizzling street food drifting in from outside the gates. Under the glare of floodlights, two squads lined up, not for cricket, but for something faster, rougher, and almost entirely unfamiliar to the 10,000-strong crowd.
On one side, the Chennai Bulls, their jerseys a flash of red and gold, led by a Fijian sevens star whose sidestep had already been clipped into thousands of Instagram reels. On the other, the Mumbai Marauders, captained by a former All Black with a smile as sharp as his tackling. The whistle shrilled, the ball flew wide, and within 15 seconds a local winger streaked down the touchline to score the league’s first try.
The stadium erupted, part roar, part curious cheer, as fans tried to make sense of this strange, beautiful chaos.
Welcome to the Rugby Premier League, India’s audacious bid to carve out space for the oval ball in a country where cricket is not just a sport but a religion. If it catches on here, rugby could tap into a potential fan base of 1.4 billion people.
The Birth of the RPL — From Niche to Bold Experiment
For decades, rugby in India has been a niche pursuit, a colonial relic kept alive in pockets of the military, private schools, and expat clubs. The national men’s team sits outside the world’s top 70. Yet beneath that obscurity lay untapped potential: a young, sports-mad population, a growing appetite for fast-paced entertainment, and a domestic sports industry hungry for its next breakout act.
The Rugby Premier League emerged from that opportunity. Backed by private investors and strategic partnerships with the Indian Rugby Football Union, its founders took cues from the IPL’s commercial playbook and the global appeal of sevens rugby.
Timing mattered. With the Rugby World Cups of 2031 (USA) and 2033 (women’s) approaching, World Rugby has been pushing into new markets. India’s booming digital audience, more than 700 million smartphone users, was too big to ignore.
The Format & The Franchise Model — Sevens as a Trojan Horse
The RPL launched with six city franchises: Mumbai Marauders, Chennai Bulls, Delhi Rhinos, Bengaluru Chargers, Kolkata Krakens, and Hyderabad Hurricanes.
Matches are seven-a-side, split into two seven-minute halves, perfect for a generation raised on short-form, high-impact content.
Each squad blends domestic talent with three marquee international signings, drafted from a mix of Pacific Island flair, South African power, and European precision. The privately owned franchises operate under a centralised league structure for scheduling, player welfare, and broadcast rights.
“Sevens is our Trojan horse,” says league commissioner Raj Malhotra. “It’s quick, it’s spectacular, and it fits a cricket-loving audience’s attention span. We are not trying to replace cricket, we are offering something different.”
Star Power & Cultural Hooks — Bollywood Meets the Breakdown
The league’s international recruits include Olympic medallists from Fiji, Springbok sevens veterans, and HSBC SVNS regulars. Bollywood has added its muscle too. The Chennai Bulls are part-owned by actor Hrithik Roshan, while the Kolkata Krakens boast a celebrity DJ as brand ambassador.
The entertainment is unapologetically loud. Fireworks after every try, DJs between matches, and WWE-style player introductions keep the energy high. Social media clips, slick, subtitled, and optimised for reels, flood Instagram and YouTube within hours.
For Indian players like Priya Patel, a schoolteacher from Pune now turning out for the Bengaluru Chargers, the shift is life-changing:
“Before this, I played in front of 50 people. Now my students are watching me on TV. It’s surreal.”
The Challenges Ahead — Beyond the Fireworks
For all the spectacle, the RPL still faces its toughest opponent: time.
- Rugby literacy: Many spectators still do not fully understand the rules. The league has built “Rugby 101” segments into broadcasts and produced animated explainers to speed up education.
- Infrastructure gaps: Outside a handful of urban hubs, suitable pitches and facilities are scarce. Training grounds are often converted cricket or football fields.
- Sponsor competition: Cricket swallows most of India’s sports marketing budget. Convincing brands to invest in an unproven product will take consistent, growing audiences.
- Player pipeline: While the RPL gives Indian players exposure, grassroots coaching and school programmes must scale if the sport is to sustain itself.
Lessons from Abroad — Successes and Warnings
India’s RPL is not the first to try building rugby in a non-traditional market.
The USA’s Major League Rugby has proven that a domestic league can grow in a crowded sports ecosystem but has also shown the risks of over-expansion and underfunding.
Japan’s League One demonstrates the power of mixing foreign stars with local heroes, investing in broadcast quality, and linking the league to national team success.
India’s choice of sevens over fifteens mirrors Kenya’s strategy, using the faster, more accessible format to build national pride and international recognition.
Global Implications — The Asia Pivot
If the RPL works, it could reshape Asia’s rugby landscape. India’s population dwarfs that of most rugby nations. Even a modest market share could add millions of fans worldwide. For World Rugby, it is a live experiment: can a slick, celebrity-powered domestic league ignite a sport in a cricket-first nation?
Foreign investors are paying attention. Red Bull’s recent purchase of Newcastle Falcons suggests that big brands are ready to move into rugby when they see clear commercial upside.
Forward Look — The First Step of a Long Run
Back in Mumbai, the opening night ended with the Marauders winning 24–19. Fireworks lit the night sky, drowning out the final whistle as a crowd chanted a team name many had only heard for the first time hours earlier.
It is far too soon to say whether the Rugby Premier League will become a fixture or fade as a novelty. But for the first time, rugby in India is playing under bright lights, with cameras rolling and fans leaning forward in their seats.
And if there is one thing Indian sport has shown the world, it is this: when the country falls for a game, it does not just watch, it turns it into a phenomenon.
If India could turn cricket into one of the world’s most lucrative sports leagues, what happens if they fall in love with rugby?
India has taken its first big swing at making rugby a mainstream sport. Can the Rugby Premier League really win hearts in a cricket-mad nation? 🏉🇮🇳
We want to hear from you:
💬 Could this be the start of rugby’s next big frontier?
📈 What lessons should the RPL take from other emerging leagues?
🔥 If you were running it, what would you do differently?