

Bengaluru’s sports buffs have reason to cheer. The city’s rugby team just won the Division 2 championships and qualified back into Division 1 league. The team is back from Jaipur, where they clinched the trophy. “The city’s rugby team has been in Division 1 before, but in the past few years there was a slump owing to many reasons, such as a lack of proper infrastructure. We are delighted that we have now overcome all of that and have a good young team that has brought us back to the fore,” says Tarun Appanna from the team.

The team is ensuring that they stay on top of the game for the championships next year, which will be held in Mumbai. “That will be held in September, so we have almost an entire year to practice. The teams there will be tough; some of them are professional rugby players. These teams include those from the armed services and police. Since the Division 1 is a South Asia championship, there are also international teams that partake in the same. We hope to be ready and equipped to take on all of that,” says Tarun.

Bengaluru’s rugby boys have finally found themselves a space to practice and they usually head to the Turf Park in Koramangala . “There are around 60 people who practice with us on a regular basis. There are some who try it out of curiosity, and they come on and off on Sundays. The actual team practices on Wednesdays and more frequently we have tournaments and other important matches coming up,” says Tarun.

