As the Rugby Premier League (RPL) is well underway, the impact of international experience on Indian players is becoming increasingly evident not just on the scoreboard but in locker rooms, training sessions, and team camaraderie.
For Bengaluru Bravehearts’ Prashant Singh, who won the Player of the Match award in their 12-7 win over Mumbai Dreamers, the biggest learnings from international players have been beyond the tactics, tries and tackles.
"Motivation, discipline and how to keep the team together both on and off the field. I have learnt all this from the international players. They find the perfect balance between working hard and having fun, which I feel is very crucial in terms of the energy in the locker room.
There is no age limit to learn. The older we get, the more we learn. I believe we Indians need to learn from the foreign players and keep moving forward,” he said. Although the statistics are dominated by the international stars, Prashant has had a brilliant campaign so far and is fifth in terms of overall tackles with 10 to his name.
He is also the second-highest Indian behind Muhammed Jasim of Chennai Bulls, who has made 12 tackles so far. Prashant is also delighted with the cultural shift around the sport in India and believes rugby will be famous in almost the entire country with the upcoming seasons.
He shared, "Before RPL, people didn’t even know what rugby was, they used to call it 'rabdi' or 'ragdi'! Now, half the country knows what it is, and the rest will know soon. The more you support us, the more this game will grow."
On the other side, Hyderabad Heroes captain Manu Moreno, a seasoned international star, is equally upbeat about what he’s seeing from his Indian teammates."All of them are very motivated. They are all giving their 100%, so it’s been an easy job for me as captain.
We are building really good relationships here," Manu said. Hyderabad Heroes’ young defender Javed Hussain has been in the spotlight amongst Indians for his valuable contributions. He is joint-fourth with three tries scored and has registered fifteen points for his side, the highest by any Indian so far in the tournament.
"I am particularly impressed by Javed. He’s small, but he’s tackling everyone; he’s making tries; it’s good for him and for us," he highlighted.