 | |||
| Union | Rugby India | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Waisale Serevi[1] | ||
| Captain | Vikas Khatri | ||
| |||
| World Rugby ranking | |||
| Current | 86 (as of August 2025) | ||
| First international | |||
 Singapore 85–0India  (26 October 1998) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
India 92–0Pakistan  (14 June 2008) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
| Singapore 85–0India (26 October 1998) | |||
TheIndia national rugby union team is the national team representing Indian men in the international rugby championships. The team is governed byRugby India and recognised byWorld Rugby.[2]
Rugby union in India dates back to a scratch match or two played inCalcutta andMadras during the visit of MS Galatea in 1871. The first recorded match was played on Christmas Day 1872, at CFC in Kolkata, it was played betweenEngland and a combined team of Scotland, Ireland and Wales.[3]
The national team was not started until 1998 however when the India national team playedSingapore in Singapore, they lost 85–0. The team were then admitted into theInternational Rugby Board in 2001 and then in 2003 the team undertook its first UK tour. This consisted of playing three sides from the Midlands which all resulted in large defeats, including a staggering 153–0 defeat from a Leicester Tigers XV at Welford Road.[4] They also failed to score a single try during their visit. Despite the sheer lack of success, the head did have some positive words, stating: "It's all a learning process for us. The difference in size and body weight between the two teams was huge, but when we get back to Asia we'll be playing against teams roughly our own size." In 2007 India attempted to qualify for the2007 Rugby World Cup in France,Scotland, andWales. They were placed inAsian Division 3, Pool B for the qualifiers in which India finished second of four teams with 1 win, 1 tie, and 1 loss. As only the first place team moved on to the second qualification round India was officially knocked out of the 2007 World Cup.[5]
In 2005, they started their attempt to qualify for the2007 Rugby World Cup, but a 22–36 loss toKazakhstan sent them out of the running for that tournament. They also were disappointed with an 8–8 tie inGuam, but still managed to finish second in their group of four teams thanks to beatingMalaysia 48–12. However, as only the top team in the group qualified for the next stage, India were out.[6]
In 2008 the India Rugby Union Team attempted to qualify for the Rugby World Cup again. This time though qualification was different as instead of the group stage India had to play in the2008 Asian Five Nations and win it in order to move on to Round 2 in qualification. India though lost their first match againstThailand and had to settle for 3rd place after a 2nd place match win againstPakistan in which India achieved their biggest ever victory as they beat Pakistan 92–0.[7]
In 2019, South Africa legend and formerSouth Africa national rugby union team playerNaas Botha became the head coach of Indian men's and women's national teams. Under his supervision Rugby India held practice sessions, tryouts in different part of the India. As per Botha,India have to play at least 10-12 matches per year per season. India have 1.3 billion people, the country can form a competitive national team. 800 schools in the country have rugby 7 teams, these schools also have to make 15 players teams, It will increase talent pool. Even if 50-100 started their 15 player side.[8]
India does not have its own personal stadium to use. When they play they usually do on localuniversity fields throughout India.[9]
India have worn dark blue and black for all of their Rugby Union games since 2011 and prior to that, from 1998 to 2010, they used the traditional Indian sports colours of light blue and white. At present, the shirt and socks are dark blue and the shorts are black.[10]
India has never played in theRugby World Cup but they have attempted to qualify a number of times.
| Year | Host | Qualification | Record (W–L–D) | Finish | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 to1995 | Various | Did not exist | |||
| 1999 | Various | Asian Qualifiers | – | Did not participate | |
| 2003 | Various | Asian Qualifiers | – | Did not participate | |
| 2007 | Various | Asian Qualifiers | 1–1–1 | 2nd in Round 1 Division 3 | Did not qualify |
| 2011 |  Thailand | Asian Qualifiers | 1–1–0 | 3rd in Round 1 | Did not qualify |
| 2015 | Various | Asian Qualifiers | 2–1–0 | 2nd in Division 2/3 promotion | Did not qualify |
| 2019 | Various | Asian Qualifiers | – | Did not participate | |
| 2023 | Various | Asian Qualifiers | – | Not eligible for main tournament | Did not qualify |
| 2027 |  Sri Lanka | Asian Qualifiers | 0–2–0 | 4th in Division 1 | Did not qualify |
India competes annually in theAsia Rugby Championship, which is arugby union competition held amongst national rugby sides within theAsia Rugby region. India participated in the inaugural2008 Asian Five Nations (as it was then known) competing in theSecond Division, finishing in third place, and missing out on being promoted. During the2009 Asian Five Nations India again finished in 3rd place in theSecond Division but then during the2010 Asian Five Nations India just lost out on promotion to Division 1 when they were beaten 34–12 by thePhilippines in the final game. They then suffered a setback in2011 Asian Five Nations as they were relegated to Division 3 after losing both their matches inSecond Division tournament. In 2012 India were successful in winning theThird Division tournament earning a promotion back to Division 2 the following year. In 2013 they finished fourth in theSecond Division tournament, relegating them back to the third division. In 2014 theDivision 3 tournament was split into an East and West competition, with four teams in each. India finished in fourth place in the Division 3 West tournament. In 2015 theDivision 3 tournament was split into three brackets, East, West and Central, with three teams in each. India competed in the Central tournament, however due to the withdrawal ofPakistan the remaining teams India andUzbekistan played two matches against each other. As both team scored respective victories India was declared the winner on points difference. In 2016 theDivision 3 tournament was split into four competitions, East, Central, West and West-Central. India plays in the South-Central bracket where it is scheduled to compete against Pakistan.[11]
| Year | Host | Division Champion | India Record (W–L) | India Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Singapore | Singapore | 0–3 | 6th Place in Division 2 |
| 2002 | Thailand | Thailand | 0–3 | 7th Place in Division 2 |
| 2004 |  Hong Kong |  China | 1–1 | 3rd Place in Division 3 |
| 2007 | Sri Lanka |  Iran | 1–1 | 2nd Place in Division 3 |
| 2008 | Thailand | Thailand | 1–1 | 3rd Place in Division 2 |
| 2009 |  Malaysia | Malaysia | 1–1 | 3rd Place in Division 2 |
| 2010 | India |  Philippines | 1–1 | 2nd Place in Division 2 |
| 2011 | Thailand |  Chinese Taipei | 0–2 | 4th Place in Division 2 |
| 2012 |  Indonesia | India | 2–0 | 1st Place in Division 3 |
| 2013 | Malaysia | Singapore | 0–2 | 4th Place in Division 2 |
| 2014 | Pakistan |  Lebanon | 1–1 | 3rd Place in Division 3 West |
| 2015 |  Uzbekistan | India | 1–1 | 1st Place in Division 3 Central |
| 2017 | Chinese Taipei | Singapore | 0–2 | 4th Place in Division 2 |
| 2018 | Thailand | Chinese Taipei | 0–2 | 3rd Place in Division 2 |
| 2019 | Indonesia | China | 1–1 | 2nd Place in Division 3 East-South |
| 2022 | India | India | 2–0 | 1st Place in Division 3 South |
| 2023 |  Qatar | Qatar | 0–2 | 3rd Place in Division 2 |
| 2024 | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka | 0–2 | 4th Place in Division 1 |
The Test match record against all nations, updated to 4 May 2024, is as follows:[12][13][14][15]
| Opponent | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Win percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Arabian Gulf | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Bangladesh | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| China | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 25% |
| Chinese Taipei | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0% |
 Guam | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 66.67% |
| Indonesia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Iran | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0% |
 Kazakhstan | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0% |
| Malaysia | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 25% |
 Nepal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Pakistan | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Philippines | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% |
| Qatar | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| Singapore | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0% |
| Sri Lanka | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0% |
| Thailand | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0% |
| Uzbekistan | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.33% |
| Total | 54 | 16 | 37 | 1 | 29.63% |
The squad selected for2024 Asia Rugby Championship Division 1.[16]
| No. | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sanket Patil | Bombay Gymkhana |
| 2 | Vallabh Patil | Bombay Gymkhana |
| 3 | Suraj Prasad | CCFC |
| 4 | Harvinder Singh | CCFC |
| 5 | Devendra Padir | CCFC |
| 6 | Bhupinder Singh | CCFC |
| 7 | Hitesh Dagar (vc) | Delhi Hurricanes |
| 8 | Javed Hussain | Delhi Hurricanes |
| 9 | Shivam Shukla | Delhi Hurricanes |
| 10 | Bhupendra Bokan | Delhi Hurricanes |
| 11 | Deepak Punia (c) | Delhi Hurricanes |
| 12 | Mohit Khatri | Delhi Hurricanes |
| 13 | Neeraj Khatri | Delhi Hurricanes |
| 14 | Prince Khatri | Delhi Hurricanes |
| 15 | Bharat Dagar | Delhi Hurricanes |
| 16 | Mannu Tanwar | Delhi Hurricanes |
| 17 | Pradeep Tanwar | Delhi Hurricanes |
| 18 | Joginder | Delhi Hurricanes |
| 19 | Abhishek Shukla | Delhi Hurricanes |
| 20 | Prabal Giri | Delhi Rebels |
| 21 | Sukumar Hembrom | FH Harlequins |
| 22 | Rajdeep Saha | FH Harlequins |
| 23 | Sakti Nag | FH Harlequins |
| 24 | Asis Sabar | KISS |
| 25 | Ajit Hansdah | KISS |
| 26 | Suresh Kumar | Services |
Cited sources
Further reading
| National Governing Body | |
|---|---|
| Teams | |
| Zonal Bodies | |
| Zonal Teams | |
| Club Teams | |
| Tournaments | |
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