A week into the Rugby Premier League (RPL) season, the Hyderabad Heroes have won all four of their matches and stand on top of the standings with 15 points and at the heart of their success is Javed Hussain, a player whose journey has been anything but ordinary.
With four tries and 20 points to his name, Javed is not only the league’s best performing Indian but also ranks seventh overall in the points tally. “I am very happy with my team. We understand and support each other.
We trust each other and are united as a team.” That unity has been key in the big wins including their last victory over the Mumbai Dreamers where Javed was named as ‘Player of the Match’. Although he is on top of his game at the moment, Javed recalled his pre-match jitters ahead of his first game at the RPL.
“When I played my first match, I was a little hopeless. I didn't know how I was going to play against such big names. But everything changed after that first game and the first try I scored. When the match ended, my coach selected me as the Hero of the Day and gave me a jersey.
I started crying when I got the jersey,” he shared. Javed hails from a very humble background in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi and has a peculiar story of how he got into a sport like rugby. On how his journey started, he shared, “ We used to live in Juggis (makeshift houses).
There was a jungle behind where we used to go to relieve ourselves since we didn't have a bathroom. Slowly an NGO (Earth Foundation) came, cleared the jungle and made a ground.” “The coaches from Delhi Hurricanes rugby club came in collaboration with the NGO and used to train kids there.
I was standing there and watching as my friends used to play but I didn’t understand the sport and I was scared of the older kids and hence didn’t want to play. I started playing because the coaches told me they would give me a ‘Tiger’ biscuit packet after training and for those biscuits I got greedy and started playing,” he explained.
Despite his humble beginnings, Javed made it clear that he isn’t playing the RPL for the money or fame, but for the experience and exposure. He stated, “When I joined the league, I didn't care about money or anything else.
I just wanted to play with the people I used to watch on TV. I wanted to learn from them. It doesn't matter if I play well or not. I just wanted to experience playing with and against them.” Javed is surrounded by world-class players in the Hyderabad Heroes camp.
Olympic medallists like Joji Nasova and Terio Tamani from Fiji and global stars like his Spanish Captain Manu Moreno share a locker room with him which is the kind of exposure invaluable for a budding rugby player.
Javed is enjoying training under one of the biggest names in world rugby DJ Forbes who is also a former captain of the All Blacks Sevens team. About Forbes, Javed expressed, “I don't have any pressure from my coach and he is the best person that I could train under.
He knows my potential and strengths and directs me very well on the field. Even our captain Manu Moreno is very supportive. Whenever I make mistakes, he helps me a lot and he is very insightful.” Javed plays every match with his hand taped with ‘Mom’ ‘and Dad’ and a heart drawn on it.
When asked about this gesture, he replied, “When I used to play earlier, my family didn’t have much money but my dad still used to support me the best he could. Despite everything, whatever I asked for, if they had the facilities, they would give that to me and I am very grateful for them.”
RPL matches on June 21:
The first match of the evening features Chennai Bulls as they will look to avenge their loss from last night against Bengaluru Bravehearts. With both teams a point away from each other in the standings, this will be a crucial match in terms of the race to playoffs.
In the second fixture, the Hyderabad Heroes go up against the Mumbai Dreamers. The Heroes have been the standout team of the tournament so far as they have a perfect record. They face the dreamers who are still searching for their first victory of the season.
Closing out the evening are the Delhi Redz and Kalinga Black Tigers. The Redz will aim to win more points as they did in their last match against the same opponents to close in on the top three teams in the leaderboard.
The Black Tigers on the other hand have only one draw to their name and will be hoping to turn it around as we approach the halfway point of the season.