Thaindian News

New Delhi, April 2 (IANS) Unmindful of the scorching heat and the lack of spectator support, the Indian rugby team won all its three matches on the opening day of the Asian Rugby Sevens Invitational tournament at Delhi University here Friday.
India, ranked two in the eight-nation tournament, did not allow the unfamiliar surroundings dampen their spirits, as they swamped Uzbekistan (41-0), Iran (28-0) and Brunei (45-0). With nine points from three games, they top Pool B and in the quarterfinals Saturday they play Pakistan who finished at the bottom of Pool A.

The Indians, fresh from their three weeks stint in New Zealand, played an attacking game and showed the speed and agility to outlast their opponents.

Though defence appeared to be an area of concern for captain Nasser Hussain, who said he did not expect such easy outings.

“Since, we had just returned from New Zealand, we were a little short on match practice. Though we had matches against the club sides there, they were more of a warm-up matches. We had not played Uzbekistan in sevens format before but our army team had beaten them last year in 15s. We were expecting a tough fight, but we surprised ourselves with our performance,” Hussain said at the half-complete stadium smelling of fresh paint.

Against Iran, Hussain said they stuck to a game plan and it came off.

“We had seen Iran playing against Brunei and we realised that they are big in size and strong in tackle. So, we decided to spread out the game and make then run from end to end and I guess that worked for us. Brunei was never a threat.”

Hussain felt the competititon is going to get tougher Saturday, though he felt the rankings are not the true index of a team’s performance or potential. Here Malaysia are top-ranked.

“The rankings are not a true reflection of a team’s potential. It is like the more tests you play, more you go up in the rankings. Sri Lanka is a very strong team but they are ranked below us is in the rankings as they did not play in the recent tests,” he said.

“We got a good start here and we are definitely looking to win the title but at the same time we know that we cannot afford to take it easy.”

Hussain also expressed satisfaction over the way the new stadium is coming up here.

“The stadium is looking fantastic and it is going to be one of the best in Asia.”