Rugby Premier League

Last updated

Rugby Premier League
Current season, competition or edition:
Rugby football current event.svg 2025 Rugby Premier League
Rugby Premier League.png
Sport Rugby sevens
Founded2024;1 year ago (2024)
First season 2025
Administrator Rugby India
GMR Sports
No. of teams6
CountryFlag of India.svg  India
Headquarters Mumbai, Maharashtra
TV partner(s) Star Sports
JioHotstar
Tournament format

Rugby Premier League, also known as RPL, is a professional rugby sevens league based in India. [1] It is organized by Rugby India, the governing body for the sport in the nation. [2] [3] It was founded in 2024 to boost the growth and popularity of rugby sevens. It debuted in 2025 with 6 city-based teams. [4]

Contents

History

Rugby Premier League was first announced in early 2024 as a league with six teams and a mix of Indian as well as overseas players. [5] Baseline Ventures, who has worked with Pro Volleyball League, was supposed to be the partner for the league. In December, Rugby India announced a 10-year partnership with GMR Sports to launch the league in 2025. [6]

In April 2025, the six teams were announced: Bengaluru Bravehearts, Chennai Bulls, Delhi Redz, Hyderabad Heroes, Kalinga Black Tigers and Mumbai Dreamers. The dates and venue were unveiled with the league being held from 1 June to 15 June at the Mumbai Football Arena. World Rugby granted RPL a 15-day window, ensuring no other rugby sevens tournaments took place during this period. This allowed the participation of some of the biggest names in the sport. [7]

A lineup of 30 marquee international players from rugby powerhouse nations were bought during the auction. The broadcasting and streaming rights were sold to Star Sports and JioHotstar. Renowned coaches Mike Friday, Ben Gollings, DJ Forbes, Tomasi Cama, Francisco Hernández, and Tim Walsh were roped in for the league. [8]

From the domestic circuit, 30 Indian players were selected from an auction pool of 71. [9] The 2025 season will debut with the men's league and the 2026 season will feature both the men's and the women's league. [10] Dream11 chief marketing officer Vikrant Mudaliar revealed that the platform, which has 240 million users, will launch a rugby fantasy sports category to coincide with the RPL.

Format and draft

Format

All six teams will compete against each other during a 34-match schedule over 15 days. [11] The first edition will be held from 1-15 June, 2025, at the Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. [12]

The format is as follows:

Draft

Each RPL franchise will consist of a 13 player squad with the main attraction being 5 active and former international marquee players from tier-one nations, 3 bridge players and 5 local Indian players. [13] [14]

Teams

India location map 3.png
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
class=notpageimage|
Locations of the Rugby Premier League teams
TeamCityCoachOwner
Bengaluru Bravehearts Bengaluru Flag of Spain.svg Francisco Hernández MEMG
InCred
Soham Infrastructure
Chennai Bulls Chennai Flag of England.svg Ben Gollings AVID Sports
Delhi Redz Delhi Flag of New Zealand.svg Tomasi Cama RMZ Corp
Hyderabad Heroes Hyderabad Flag of New Zealand.svg DJ Forbes KLO Sports
Kalinga Black Tigers Bhubaneswar Flag of England.svg Mike Friday Hunch Ventures
Mumbai Dreamers Mumbai Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tim Walsh Dream Sports

Editions and results

SeasonWinnerScoreRunner UpVenueTeamsPlayer Of The Tournament
2025 TBA6

Broadcasting

YearsNetworkStreaming Platform
2025–present Star Sports JioHotstar

See also

References

  1. ↑ PTI. "Rugby India set to launch Rugby Premier League". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  2. ↑ "Rugby India set to launch Rugby Premier League". ANI News. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  3. ↑ "Rugby Premier League set to start next year". Hindustan Times.
  4. ↑ "Rugby Premier League Set to Start Next Year, Rahul Bose Calls It 'Game-Changer' For India". News18. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  5. ↑ Bhattacharyya, Gautam (13 February 2024). "Rugby Premier League: How actor Rahul Bose is close to achieving a pet project". National Herald. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  6. ↑ News, India TV; Malik, Varun (23 December 2024). "GMR Sports announces 10-year partnership with Rugby India to launch Rugby Premier League | Other News – India TV". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 23 December 2024.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  7. ↑ "Rugby Premier League Set To Revolutionise Rugby 7s In India | Sports News". News18. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  8. ↑ "Franchise-based Rugby Premier League launched in Mumbai, set to take place in June 2025 - CNBC TV18". CNBCTV18. 4 April 2025. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  9. ↑ "Six years, one dream: Rahul Bose kickstarts India's own Rugby Premier League". English.Mathrubhumi. 5 April 2025. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  10. ↑ "The Bollywood star behind rugby's bold IPL comp". Nine. 5 April 2025. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  11. ↑ "Rugby Premier League to debut with six teams - The Economic Times". m.economictimes.com. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  12. ↑ "A New Era For Rugby 7s In India: Franchise-Based League Set To Launch In Mumbai On June 1, 2025 | Rugby Sevens News". NDTVSports.com. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  13. 1 2 rugbyasia247 (5 April 2025). "Indian Rugby Premier League - Will The New Professional 7s Francise Tournament Match The Hype?". RugbyAsia247. Retrieved 5 April 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ "'Redefine the future': India unveils revolutionary Rugby Premier League". www.rugbypass.com. 5 April 2025. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.