Seven months after Australia demolished New Zealand in the finals of the Cricket World Cup this year, the trans-Tasman rivals will cross swords again on Saturday at the Twickenham Stadium in London to decide the winner of the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Here in India, Nasser Hussain, the former captain of the Indian rugby team and general manager of the Indian Rugby Football Union, will be following the proceedings with interest. In this interview with Scroll.in, he shares his thoughts on the ongoing tournament and about how rugby is spreading in India.
It’s been an action-packed World Cup with Japan upsetting South Africa in the early stages, the hosts (England) being eliminated. What are your thoughts?
Japan’s win over SA was impressive and very, very good. They have really stepped up. It was a very positive note for Asian rugby and an eye-opener for the prominent rugby nations. Having said that, the tier two nations like Namibia and Tonga have been playing very well and showing the world that they can actually compete.
It’s unfortunate that the hosts got knocked out. Wales played really well against them. England was not expected to lose, but it was a very tough group. I’m sure there are a lot of people in England who are very disappointed, but they have done a great job with hosting the tournament. Wales were also very consistent – they had quite a few injuries but have shown that they have the bench strength.
Is there any particular rugby team that you admire?
Well, anyone who is a fan of rugby or watches the game admires the All Blacks – New Zealand. In this tournament, I’ve admired the way Ireland have played.
In India, has there been a spike of interest in rugby? Is the game becoming more popular?
There has been an increase in popularity and development in the grassroots programme. We have been included in the School Games Federation in both the Under-19 and Under-14 categories (both boys and girls). Grassroots development is important. In the next five years, we are hopefully looking at a major shift with other sports (including rugby) coming up and kids getting more opportunities.
Random people come up to me at times who don’t even know the difference between rugby and American football. A lot of it comes down to visibility and marketing. We made a choice earlier about choosing development over marketing and getting kids involved, but now we are at a stage where we need to split that. Some of the funds go to development and some towards marketing. People are now getting more aware of the sport and by the next World Cup, hopefully we should have a good portfolio. By 2019 or 2020, we should have more eyeballs for rugby and more visibility.
Nowadays, every sport seems to have its own Indian Premier League-like tournament. Will rugby also have something similar?
It is something we have discussed but we don’t just want to be another sport in a premier league format. You need to really think about it long-term and do something unique. It would have to last long. A few leagues that have come up have struggled. Infrastructure, visibility, and awareness are important. We are probably the only nation with sport- specific stadiums. It’s an obstacle for growth of a sport. We need to get that sports culture and media and visibility play a role in developing that. We are glad that Sony Six is broadcasting the Rugby World Cup and there’s been quite a buzz in Asia over it now.
At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the Indian national rugby team had the opportunity to play against top teams like Wales and South Africa? How helpful was that experience?
It was massive in terms of the exposure the national team got. We got a lot of support from the government in terms of finance, resources and infrastructure. The build-up was very good, there was an injection of professionalism and we were training for 300 out of 365 days. We had multiple tours abroad. Our performance levels were higher during the Games. Of course, the gap between us and the other teams was huge, but we had a close contest at times – against Tonga, scores were level for a while. This was at a time when Tonga were among the top 15 rugby nations in the world, while we were probably among the bottom 15. It shows that resources and facilities can make a big difference. Despite Indian sportsmen not getting a lot of support, they still perform admirably.
Rugby is making a comeback to the Olympic stage in 2016 after more than 90 years. How much does inclusion in the Olympics help a sport?
The fact that it is an Olympic sport goes a long way, in terms of help from the government. They look at you differently – which is a major boost for countries where it was not considered a priority sport and not being given due recognition. We have ticked the boxes in terms of recognition, but the inclusion of it in the Games definitely helps as it opens doors.
Hrishikesh Pendse became one of the first few rugby players from India to play in Japan’s top rugby league. That must have been a proud moment.
It automatically increases the profile of our game in Asia .After France, Japan is probably the second biggest club competition. Two of our players are playing in Scotland while a girl who’s in a university in New Zealand now plays rugby for that university. It brings a lot of recognition.
It’s been an action-packed World Cup with Japan upsetting South Africa in the early stages, the hosts (England) being eliminated. What are your thoughts?
Japan’s win over SA was impressive and very, very good. They have really stepped up. It was a very positive note for Asian rugby and an eye-opener for the prominent rugby nations. Having said that, the tier two nations like Namibia and Tonga have been playing very well and showing the world that they can actually compete.
It’s unfortunate that the hosts got knocked out. Wales played really well against them. England was not expected to lose, but it was a very tough group. I’m sure there are a lot of people in England who are very disappointed, but they have done a great job with hosting the tournament. Wales were also very consistent – they had quite a few injuries but have shown that they have the bench strength.
Is there any particular rugby team that you admire?
Well, anyone who is a fan of rugby or watches the game admires the All Blacks – New Zealand. In this tournament, I’ve admired the way Ireland have played.
In India, has there been a spike of interest in rugby? Is the game becoming more popular?
There has been an increase in popularity and development in the grassroots programme. We have been included in the School Games Federation in both the Under-19 and Under-14 categories (both boys and girls). Grassroots development is important. In the next five years, we are hopefully looking at a major shift with other sports (including rugby) coming up and kids getting more opportunities.
Random people come up to me at times who don’t even know the difference between rugby and American football. A lot of it comes down to visibility and marketing. We made a choice earlier about choosing development over marketing and getting kids involved, but now we are at a stage where we need to split that. Some of the funds go to development and some towards marketing. People are now getting more aware of the sport and by the next World Cup, hopefully we should have a good portfolio. By 2019 or 2020, we should have more eyeballs for rugby and more visibility.
Nowadays, every sport seems to have its own Indian Premier League-like tournament. Will rugby also have something similar?
It is something we have discussed but we don’t just want to be another sport in a premier league format. You need to really think about it long-term and do something unique. It would have to last long. A few leagues that have come up have struggled. Infrastructure, visibility, and awareness are important. We are probably the only nation with sport- specific stadiums. It’s an obstacle for growth of a sport. We need to get that sports culture and media and visibility play a role in developing that. We are glad that Sony Six is broadcasting the Rugby World Cup and there’s been quite a buzz in Asia over it now.
At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the Indian national rugby team had the opportunity to play against top teams like Wales and South Africa? How helpful was that experience?
It was massive in terms of the exposure the national team got. We got a lot of support from the government in terms of finance, resources and infrastructure. The build-up was very good, there was an injection of professionalism and we were training for 300 out of 365 days. We had multiple tours abroad. Our performance levels were higher during the Games. Of course, the gap between us and the other teams was huge, but we had a close contest at times – against Tonga, scores were level for a while. This was at a time when Tonga were among the top 15 rugby nations in the world, while we were probably among the bottom 15. It shows that resources and facilities can make a big difference. Despite Indian sportsmen not getting a lot of support, they still perform admirably.
Rugby is making a comeback to the Olympic stage in 2016 after more than 90 years. How much does inclusion in the Olympics help a sport?
The fact that it is an Olympic sport goes a long way, in terms of help from the government. They look at you differently – which is a major boost for countries where it was not considered a priority sport and not being given due recognition. We have ticked the boxes in terms of recognition, but the inclusion of it in the Games definitely helps as it opens doors.
Hrishikesh Pendse became one of the first few rugby players from India to play in Japan’s top rugby league. That must have been a proud moment.
It automatically increases the profile of our game in Asia .After France, Japan is probably the second biggest club competition. Two of our players are playing in Scotland while a girl who’s in a university in New Zealand now plays rugby for that university. It brings a lot of recognition.
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