Rugby World Cup qualifiers will provide vital international exposure
MUMBAI: India appear all set for the Rugby World Cup qualifiers to be held in Hong Kong from October 4. However, except getting some first hand experience, the aim is really not that high.
Indian skipper Nasser Hussain, 28, is gung ho about the big event that will provide some much-needed international exposure.
“Realistically, I don’t think we will qualify for the next stage. But I feel it will be a good learning curve for my players,” he said before leaving for Hong Kong. However, the Indian team is focusing more on the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. “Our main focus is the Commonwealth Games and we have already started preparing for it,” said Hussain.
India will play four matches in all, first against Hong Kong, followed by Sri Lanka. The next two opponents will be decided later. The top two teams out of 12 will qualify for the main draw,” he added.
Hussain said his team is all set. “Our preparations have gone well so far. The only thing we lacked was match practice but we got it as we played a tournament last week. It was organised by the Western India Rugby Football Union at Bombay Gymkhana,” he said.
He is happy with the composition of the side and believes this tournament will serve to groom the talent.
“We have three players each from Mumbai and six from the Army. We will be battling against Asia’s best and I think this will only make us more competitive,” he said.
Hussain is a bit worried as the conditions there would be different.
“We will be playing on soft grass which is quite different from what we play here. It will be a bit difficult to adjust but we will have two days to do that. I hope we adapt the conditions soon,” he stated.
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