2025 Rugby Premier League
| 2025 Rugby Premier League | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  India |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| Date | 1 June – 15 June 2025 |
| Matches played | 34 |
The 2025 Rugby Premier League is the first season of the Rugby Premier League.[1] It was held from 1 June to 15 June 2025 with 6 city-based teams.[2]
History
[edit]In April 2025, the six teams were announced: Bengaluru Bravehearts, Chennai Bulls, Delhi Redz, Hyderabad Heroes, Kalinga Black Tigers and Mumbai Dreamers. World Rugby granted RPL a 15-day window, ensuring no other rugby sevens tournaments took place during this period. This allowed participation of some of the biggest names in the sport.[3]
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.[4]
From the domestic circuit, 30 Indian players were selected from an auction pool of 71.[5] Mohit Khatri, captain of the national rugby 7s team went for ₹4.5 lakh.[6] 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.[7]
Format and venue
[edit]Format
[edit]The teams will compete against each other during a 34-match schedule over 15 days.
- Rugby Premier League will feature 2 matches per night on weekdays and 3 matches per night on weekends.
- Matches will be 4 minutes a quarter + 2 minutes break between each quarter which means 22 minutes per match.
- A round-robin format will see 30 pool games with each team playing 10 pool matches. There will be two semi-finals, a bronze medal match and the finale for a total of 34 matches.
- Teams will play a maximum of 10 pool games + 2 playoff matches over 15 days.[8]
Venue
[edit]The matches were held at the Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai, Maharashtra.[9]
| Mumbai |
|---|
| Mumbai Football Arena |
| Capacity: 7,000 |
|
Teams
[edit]| Franchise | Location | Owners |
|---|---|---|
| Bengaluru Bravehearts | Bengaluru | MEMG, InCred, Soham Infrastructure |
| Chennai Bulls | Chennai | AVID Sports |
| Delhi Redz | Delhi | RMZ Corp |
| Hyderabad Heroes | Hyderabad | KLO Sports |
| Kalinga Black Tigers | Bhubaneswar | Hunch Ventures |
| Mumbai Dreamers | Mumbai | Dream Sports |
Squads
[edit]The following marquee players were picked up at the draft with the Bridge and Indian players being bought at the auction.[10]
| Bengaluru Bravehearts | Chennai Bulls | Delhi Redz | Hyderabad Heroes | Kalinga Black Tigers | Mumbai Dreamers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
League stage
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bengaluru Bravehearts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Play-offs |
| 2 | Chennai Bulls | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Delhi Redz | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Hyderabad Heroes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | Kalinga Black Tigers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | Mumbai Dreamers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers for teams tied on points: 1) Number of matches won; 2) Difference between points for and against; 3) Total number of points for; 4) Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams; 5) Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled.
Playoffs
[edit]| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
Semi-finals
[edit]| June 2025 | TBD | v | TBD | Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai | |
| June 2025 | TBD | v | TBD | Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai | |
Bronze medal match
[edit]| June 2025 | TBD | v | TBD | Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai | |
Final
[edit]| 15 June 2025 | TBD | v | TBD | Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai | |
Broadcasting
[edit]India:
Online:
References
[edit]- ^ "Rugby Premier League set to start next year". Hindustan Times.
- ^ "Rugby Premier League Set to Start Next Year, Rahul Bose Calls It 'Game-Changer' For India". News18. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
- ^ "Rugby Premier League Set To Revolutionise Rugby 7s In India | Sports News". News18. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Six years, one dream: Rahul Bose kickstarts India's own Rugby Premier League". English.Mathrubhumi. 5 April 2025. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- ^ IANS (5 April 2025). "Rugby Premier League to start on June 1 with six teams, 30 foreign players". The Statesman. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
- ^ "Rugby Premier League to debut with six teams - The Economic Times". m.economictimes.com. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ^ 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) - ^ Sportstar, Team (4 April 2025). "Rugby 7s franchise-based league set to launch in Mumbai in June". sportstar.thehindu.com. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ^ "Mohit Khatri Becomes India's Most Expensive Rugby Player After Rugby Premier League Season 1 Auctions | Sports News". News18. Retrieved 5 April 2025.