Rugby India

Rugby India
Sport	Rugby union
Jurisdiction	National
Membership	26
Abbreviation	RI
Founded	1995; 29 years ago
Affiliation	World Rugby
Affiliation date	1999
Regional affiliation	Asia Rugby
Affiliation date	1998
Headquarters	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
President	Rahul Bose
Vice president(s)	Sanya Mehta; Parvinder Kumar;
Men's coach	Naas Botha
Women's coach	Sandeep Mosamkar
Official website
	www.rugbyindia.in

Rugby India is the governing body for sport of rugby union in India.^[2] It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The federation was founded in 1995 and it became affiliated to World Rugby in 1999.^[3]

Rugby India administers all India national teams: India national rugby union team, India women's national rugby union team, India national rugby sevens team and India women's national rugby sevens team. It also manages both U-20 national teams.

History

Rugby Union in India dates back to a scratch match or two played in Kolkata and Madras during the visit of MS Galatea in 1871. The first recorded match was played on Christmas Day 1872, at CFC Ground in Kolkata, it was played between England and a combined team of Scotland, Ireland and Wales.^[4]

In 1995 the India Rugby Football Union was founded and in 1999 the IFRU gained association from the International Rugby Board. In March 2019, former South African player Naas Botha became coach of national team. He accepted the job for short term.^[5]

Rugby India (RI) organised Asian under 18 tournament in 2018 at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar. In the tournament 14 nations participated and India finished on 4th position.^[6] Rugby India was founded in 1998. It is sole governing body for rugby in India. It is recognized by Sports ministry of India and affiliated to the World Rugby, the international governing body of the sport in the world.^[7]