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The curtains have been drawn on the inaugural edition of the Rugby Premier League in India, as six franchises came together for the Player Draft and Auction in Mumbai. The Rugby Premier League is the first ever franchise-based league in the world, and will have six founding franchises in the opening edition.
The franchises, Bengaluru Bravehearts, Chennai Bulls, Delhi Redz, Hyderabad Heroes, Kalinga Black Tigers, and the Mumbai Dreamers, went through the Player Draft and Auction which saw a few intense bidding wars, as they went onto pick their squad of 13.
Each team had 8 slots to fill from the draft and another 5 in the auction, with the pool in the latter comprising Indian players only. The RPL, which will be a Rugby Sevens format tournament, commences on June 1, with a grand final on the 15th at the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai. Across the 34 matches, the RPL offers Indian players with a great platform to rub shoulders and work alongside the most elite rugby players and coaches from across the world.
The RPL will welcome 30 marquee international players from powerhouse Rugby 7s nations, including New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Fiji, Argentina, Great Britain, Ireland, USA and Spain. Additionally, 18 international players from Canada, Hong Kong, and Germany will feature, enhancing the league’s competitive depth. The league will also feature 30 Indian players selected from an auction pool of 71, providing them with a historic platform to compete alongside international legends.
Rugby Premier League: Squads after player draft and auction
Owned by the consortium of Manipal Education & Medical Group, InCred, Soham Energy, the Bengaluru Bravehearts picked Kyle Tremblay, Ethan Turner, James Thiel, Rosko Specman, Lucas Lacamp, Perry Baker, Harry Mcnulty, and Maurice Longbottom in the draft round. During the auction, they acquired Mohit Khatri (INR 4.75 Lakhs), Karan Rajbhar (INR 80,000), Arpan Chhetri (INR 60,000), Suresh Kumar (INR 50,000), and Prashant Singh (INR 50,000).
AVIDSYS Sports owned Chennai Bulls went for Hannes Adler, Haakon Oeß, Nikias Lohe, Terry Kennedy, Joseva Talacolo, Ratu Sauturaga, Joaquin Pellandini, and Alexander Davis in the draft. At the auction, they cherry picked the likes of Vallabh Patil (INR 1 Lakh), Shanawaz Ahmed (INR 80,000), Vinayak Hariraj (INR 50,000), Muhammed Jasim EP (INR 50,000), and Vinay A (INR 50,000).
RMZ’s Delhi Redz drafted in Thomas Richards, Michael Coverdale, Moritz Noll, Osadczuk Lucas, Matteo Graziano, Alejandro Castro, Patrick Odongo, and Jordan Conroy in the first round. After that, the team signed on the services of Rajdeep Saha (INR 2.75 Lakhs), Deepak Punia (INR 2.50 Lakhs), Mohit (INR 50,000), Sunil Chawan (INR 50,000), and Raj Kumar (INR 50,000).
KLO Sports’ Hyderabad Heroes hand-picked James Christie, Max Roddick, Fong Fung, Luciano Rizzoni, Joji Nasova, Manuel Asensi, Terio Veilawa, and Regan Ware at the draft. And later on, went shopping for Prince Khatri (INR 3.75 Lakh), Sumit Roy (INR 1.25 Lakh), Javed Hussein (INR 90,000), Sukumar Hembrom (INR 60,000), and Sambit Pradhan (INR 50,000).
The Kalinga Black Tigers, who are owned by Hutch Ventures, wasted no time in the giving the nod for Kyle Tremblay, Ethan Turner, James Thiel, Rosko Specman, Lucas Lacamp, Perry Baker, Harry Mcnulty, and Maurice Longbottom in the draft. Once at the auction, they prised out the services of Ajay Deswal (INR 2.75 Lakh), Asis Sabar (INR 1.50 Lakh), Pappu Todkar (INR 60,000), Pardeep Singh (INR 50,000), and Arjun Mahato (INR 50,000).
The Mumbai Dreamers, who come under the Dream 11 umbrella, bagged Elias Hancock, Rhys James, Briar Barron, James Turner, Waisea Nacuqu, Henry Hutchison, Aaron Cummings, and Santiago Mare in the draft. Joining them in the squad from the auction round were Neeraj (INR 2.75 Lakh), Devendra Padir (INR 1.25 Lakh), Akash Balmiki (INR 90,000), Nayan K (INR 50,000), and Ganesh Majhi (INR 50,000).
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