Rahul Bose's four-decade journey culminates in the transformative Rugby Premier League

Rugby veteran Rahul Bose's connection with the sport wasn't initially about creating history. It was about simply playing a game he loved.

That passion, sustained and nurtured for over four decades, has now culminated in India's most ambitious rugby venture yet - the Rugby Premier League (RPL).

As the President of Rugby India, Bose is now working overtime to transform the sport in India through the RPL.

A television product

The RPL, debuting in 2025 with six city-based franchises, represents the world's first franchise-based rugby 7s league. For Bose, who played on India's first national rugby team in 1998, this moment has been years in the making.

"Every team owner we've approached hasn't heard about the Rugby Premier League or the best players in the world. They've heard the story of Indian rugby," says Bose, in an exclusive interview with The Bridge.

He tells us of how when he met with international players at Perth to talk about the league, he was met with apprehension.

"They asked me four questions: When is it? Where is it? How much are they being paid? And who are the coaches?" Bose recalls. It was only when the six coaches were named that the international players recognised that Bose and his team "were not messing around."

At the very heart of Bose's proposition is his unwavering conviction of rugby 7s potential as a television product.

"When you're watching something on television, especially sport, it has to grab you in the first 30 seconds. Otherwise, you're not going to stay with it," he says emphatically.

Accordingly to Bose, rugby 7s is the "most gripping, eventful outdoor sport on television that exists." He likes to keep things simple and explains this further.

"There is a score in 7s rugby every one and a half to two minutes. Which means in a 16-minute game like ours, there'll be eight to 10 scores. Every two minutes there is a dopamine hit."

Bose compares rugby to other sports and opines that the ones involving individual players don't necessarily translate to great television.

And after years of interactions with World Ruby, an exclusive window was eventually granted.

"When we spoke to World Rugby about giving us a window, it took them a couple of years to finally give us this time where no top-flight 7s rugby is being played anywhere in the world," says Bose.

Nurturing an Olympic dream

Integral to any franchise league is the composition of the teams.

The RPL's team composition has been carefully calibrated - five international marquee players, five Indian players, and three international "bridge" players per team.

"On the field at every given time, there'll be two bridge players, two marquee players, and two Indian players," Bose explains. This formula, he believes, balances competitive quality with development opportunities.

While the league is vital, Bose nurtures a deeper ambition - a desire to see Indian rugby at the Olympics some day.

"Our women are ranked 10th in Asia out of 36 countries. Our men are ranked 15th. If you make the top two, you make the Olympics," he explains.

Bose asks a pertinent question - "Is it too much to expect the women to move eight places in seven years or in 11 years? Is it too much to expect the men to be there in 11 years time?"

The answer, he believes, lies not in talent or infrastructure, but in funding. He shares a story that illustrates the problem.

"Our under-18 girls at the Asian Championships beat the best teams on the first day - Hong Kong, UAE. We thought the next day they'd win the tournament, get our first gold ever," he recalled.

As it turns out, the very next day, they lost all of their games.

"They lost not because they didn't have the skill or structure or knowledge or coaching or passion. They were just physically tired. They had enough nutrition for one day of rugby."

Emphasis on resources, therefore, is his solution.

"You need to make sure that strength, conditioning, and nutrition doesn't happen just in a camp for one and a half months but happens all year long. The answer is to keep them in camp with these fantastic meals. That is where the money will come in after the league."

With the league around the corner, Bose is now mobilizing support from all corners.

Having spent over three-decades in the film industry, Bose is more that willing to invite friends from the movie business to partake in the celebration of Indian rugby.

"Why would I not call people from all the industries that I've worked in? Bengal, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam. I'll call everybody to celebrate this," he says.

"Friends I've built over the last 32 years will not say no. They'll all come," he said.

"Some of them like Abhishek, like Farhan, like Tiger are bred into sport. Siddharth Malhotra has played rugby for Delhi in the past."

That said, he is quick to emphasizes that this isn't a "Bollywood-backed project."

While RPL is all set to begin on the 1st of June at the Brihanmumbai Kreeda Ani Lalitkala Prarthisthan Andheri Sports Complex (Mumbai Football Arena, MFA), Bose confesses to still being asked if the league is going to be a success.

To the naysayers, his answer is always a resounding yes.

"Of course! Do I think it's going to be a success? 100%. If it was even 95%, I would not dare to do it," he says.

And that steadfast belief comes from the sport itself.

"It comes from the fact that the sport is so attractive and magnetic to watch. We're just creating the best conditions."

Bose swears by his 'perfection' mantra and while challenges do exist, he has no reason to believe that the 'conduct of the tournament' can be perfect.

With the RPL poised to kick off in under a month, Bose's four-decade journey in the sport might just be entering its most impactful chapter yet.