"Created something special": Chennai Bulls head coach Ben Gollings on RPL's transformative impact in India

India Gazette

a day ago

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 30 (ANI): Chennai Bulls head coach Ben Gollings, who guided the franchise to the Rugby Premier League title in the inaugural edition of the tournament, was full of praise, not just for his team, but for what the league has achieved in just a few weeks.
Under the bright lights and roaring energy of the Rugby Premier League (RPL) final, the Chennai Bulls rose to the occasion with a dominant 41-0 win over the Delhi Redz, sealing the inaugural title in style.
The Bulls, who had grown stronger with each passing match, saved their best for last as they outplayed the Redz in every facet of the game in front of a passionate crowd.
'I credit GMR and Rugby India in terms of the vision they had and how it's played out over the last two weeks. It has been absolutely fantastic and I think for the sport, it's huge. We have such opportunities in 15s but in sevens, this was much needed since the players can now play with the world's best and ply their trade in the Olympics as well. The opportunity to earn well in the sports they love to play is fantastic. For the corporates, I think this is a great opportunity to get on board and I hope this grows and I look forward to seeing it again in the future,' Gollings said as quoted from a press release by RPL.
'They have created something special here and the exposure it's given to rugby in India. Now is the time to harness this and strike while the iron's hot, get the word out, get young people playing rugby. We've been here throwing rugby balls in the crowd, it would be lovely to see these balls thrown in the streets like they play cricket in the streets. That's where it starts, it starts in the backyard with kids just having fun and then it starts to get more important as you start to get into the high performance but the lesson is, let's keep it going and I think rugby is going to be a big game here on the map in India,' Gollings added.
The Bulls' campaign was not only defined by their tries and points score, but also their unity in the locker room, with players from different cultures bonding over the game. Star player Terry Kennedy, who brought his international experience to the Indian stage, reflected on the journey with pride.
'I loved embracing and experiencing all the different cultures and characters within our team, how different people were but how much we embraced each other for everyone's individuality and the personality traits that they bring. Despite the language barriers, rugby brought us all together and we had that connection all the way through,' Kennedy expressed.
He also spoke on the standard of rugby played in the league and said, 'The competitiveness was unbelievable, I think all six teams were really good on their day and we had a ton of really close matches. I think it's probably going to grow over time and from next season the teams will probably develop that cohesiveness quicker because they'll have this year to reflect, so the competitiveness and the quality is only going to go up over the years.'
Shahnawaz Ahmed, one of India's renowned rugby players, echoed the sentiment as he spoke about the impact of the league, on not just the Indians participating in the league, but also the ones watching from their homes.
'Without RPL, we would have to go through a lot of stages before competing amongst such big international stars. But because of this league, we have had the exposure of playing with the world's best. The learnings and observations from this league is going to have a huge benefit for the domestic clubs and the national team of India,' Ahmed said.
'Because of RPL our juniors, our teammates will get hope that they can also play at this level. They will now be more motivated since because of RPL, rugby is becoming a household name and its popularity in India has increased a lot,' he added. (ANI)