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 Logo.svg
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
Most recent
champion(s)		 Chennai Bulls
(2025)
Broadcaster(s)India:
Star Sports
JioHotstar
Others:
RugbyPass TV
Tournament format
Official website RPL

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] It is the first franchise-based sevens rugby league in the world. [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 rugby sevens tournaments took place during this period. [7] This allowed the participation of some of the biggest names in the sport. [8]

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. [9]

From the domestic circuit, 30 Indian players were selected from an auction pool of 71. [10] The 2025 season will debut with the men's league and the 2026 season is expected to feature both men's and women's league. [11] Dream11 CMO Vikrant Mudaliar revealed that the platform, which has 240 million users, will launch a rugby fantasy sports category to coincide with the rugby league. [12]

Organisation

Rahul Bose, the president of Rugby India, revealed the league brings massive changes in infrastructure and scouting with it. The six owners send scouts across the country, find the best players and bring them back to the cities. They take care of infrastructure, from grounds to physical therapists to masseurs and nutrition coaches. [13] The league has the best players in the world, best broadcasters plus World Rugby match referees, medical commissioners, commentators and match commissioners. [14] The first edition was held from 15 to 29 June 2025 at the Mumbai Football Arena, Maharashtra, India. [15]

Format

The teams compete against each other during a 34-match schedule over 15 days. [16]

Auction and 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. [17] [18]

Teams

India location map 3.png
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Locations of the Rugby Premier League teams
ColorsTeamCityCoachCaptain(s)
   Bengaluru Bravehearts Bengaluru, Karnataka Flag of Spain.svg Francisco Hernández Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Curry
Flag of Spain.svg Pol Pla
   Chennai Bulls Chennai, Tamil Nadu Flag of England.svg Ben Gollings Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alex Davis
   Delhi Redz New Delhi, Delhi Flag of New Zealand.svg Tomasi Cama Flag of Argentina.svg Matías Osadczuk
   Hyderabad Heroes Hyderabad, Telangana Flag of New Zealand.svg DJ Forbes Flag of Spain.svg Manu Moreno
   Kalinga Black Tigers Bhubaneswar, Odisha Flag of England.svg Mike Friday Flag of Ireland.svg Harry McNulty
   Mumbai Dreamers Mumbai, Maharashtra Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tim Walsh Flag of India.svg Akash Balmiki

Editions and results

SeasonWinnerScoreRunner UpVenueTeamsPlayer Of The Tournament
2025 Chennai Bulls 41–0 Delhi Redz Mumbai Football Arena 6 Va'a Apelu Maliko

Performance by teams

By season

Team 2025 2026
Bengaluru Bravehearts 4th
Chennai Bulls C
Delhi Redz RU
Hyderabad Heroes 3rd
Kalinga Black Tigers 5th
Mumbai Dreamers 6th

League positions

Season1st2nd3rd4th5th6th
2025 HH CB BB DR KBT MD
2026
Key
Champions
Runners Up
Third Place
Playoffs

Broadcasting

India:

Others:

Sponsorship

PeriodSponsorTournament Name
2025–present GMR Sports GMR Rugby Premier League

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. ↑ Kaushik, Suramya (4 April 2025). "Rugby Sevens-World's first franchise-based league to start in Mumbai in June". Reuters. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  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. ↑ "From Olympics gold medallists to World Cup winners: Meet the teams, best players, coaches in Rugby Premier League". ESPN. 14 June 2025. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  8. ↑ "Rugby Premier League Set To Revolutionise Rugby 7s In India | Sports News". News18. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  9. ↑ "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.
  10. ↑ "Six years, one dream: Rahul Bose kickstarts India's own Rugby Premier League". English.Mathrubhumi. 5 April 2025. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  11. ↑ "The Bollywood star behind rugby's bold IPL comp". Nine. 5 April 2025. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  12. ↑ Laghate, Gaurav (1 June 2025). "IPL giant GMR tackles rugby with India League, aims to build Olympic-aligned IP | Mint". mint. Archived from the original on 9 June 2025. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  13. ↑ "Rugby Premier League: World's best on board, new league could be gamechanger". ESPN. 15 June 2025. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  14. ↑ Acharya, Shayan (14 June 2025). "Rugby Premier League will transform the sport both on-field and off-field, says Rugby India President Rahul Bose". sportstar.thehindu.com. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  15. ↑ "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.
  16. ↑ "Rugby Premier League to debut with six teams - The Economic Times". m.economictimes.com. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
  17. 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)
  18. ↑ "'Redefine the future': India unveils revolutionary Rugby Premier League". www.rugbypass.com. 5 April 2025. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  19. ↑ rugbyasia247 (8 April 2025). "Indian Rugby Premier League (RPL) - Will The New Professional 7s Franchise Tournament Match The Hype?". RugbyAsia247. Retrieved 2 July 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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