New Delhi: As per the World Rugby’s Get Into Rugby (GIR) Statistic report 2016, India now stands at 2nd position in Asia to have seen highest participation in the GIR programs and holds the 5th position globally. Japan maintained it’s first position in Asia and Worldwide.

The Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU), aka Rugby India, introduced the ‘Get into Rugby’ program in 2012- a World Rugby initiative, to promote and grow the sport globally. The program is focused on introducing Rugby, the sport to enthusiasts and throw light on the values of the game - Integrity, Respect, Solidarity, Passion and Discipline, which inspire millions of kids to choose and play the game globally.

As per the World Rugby Get Into Rugby (GIR) Statistic 2016, India has seen a tremendous growth in the number of players playing Rugby from 2012 to 2016. The total numbers of Male Players have grown from 13,135 in 2012 to 61,194 in 2016. That represents a 350% increase over 5 years. The total numbers of Female Players have grown from 5,355 in 2012 to 42, 032 in 2016. This represents a 600 % increase over the last 4 years. The total numbers of players in India have increased from 18,490 in 2012 to 1,03,226 in 2016. Increase is 450 % over 5 years.

Mr. Mahesh Mathai, Secretary General, Indian Rugby Football Union said, “The GIR initiative has given Rugby the much needed push in India. We are extremely positive and ambitious about seeing huge growth of Rugby in India through the GIR platform. When it comes to growing rugby nationally, resource and fund allocation remains to be a deterrent. Thanks to Societe Generale and their cooperation, we can now participate in international Age grade rugby tournaments which will ultimately help us popularize the sport and build a strong national team to compete at a global level.”

Mr. Nasser Hussain, General Manager, Rugby India said, “We have received overwhelming response to GIR in the Age grade categories across the country. This initiative has also helped us find some very talented and passionate players, who are making us proud by competing and achieving accolades at international levels. In the month of August, Indian U18 Boys team participated in the 2nd Asian School Rugby Sevens Championship 2016 at Hong Kong, China under the aegis of School Games Federation of India (SGFI). And again in month of November the Indian National U18 Girl’s Team participated in the Asian U18 Girls Sevens tournament in Dubai and they secured 3rd position”.

In India, Rugby has seen some overwhelming support from various partnerships that have materialized over the last few years. Recently, Societe Generale, one of the largest European financial services groups announced their partnership with Rugby India. Through this partnership Societe Generale aims to train, develop and groom national level players. The financial services groups is also assertively supporting the ‘Get Into Rugby’ program, an initiative aimed to harness the potential sports talent from the grassroots in the country, especially at locations where resources are limited. Through this initiative, Societe Generale is committed to make Rugby accessible to everyone and build a strong national team to compete at the global level.

The GIR initiative is in line with the inclusion of the sport in the National School Games. Rugby is a permanent discipline in the School Games Federation of India (SGFI) and was part of 60th, 61st and 62nd National School Games for U19 & U17 Boys and Girls. The GIR initiative represents a major breakthrough for India Rugby. Through the 3 stages of Get Into Rugby program implemented across India, schools have been able to gradually progress to 7-a-side rugby in the last few years. The players who represented their schools in the first two phases (TRY and PLAY phases of the GIR program) can then move to the third phase and get selected to play for their district and their state (STAY phase of the program).

Key Highlights of World Rugby’s Get Into Rugby (GIR) Statistic report 2016

Asia Rugby Unions in 2016