Goreswar: The buffer stock of rugby in Assam

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 23

Can you imagine a state team being represented by the players from just one particular area? Well, it is a reality. All the players in the Assam rugby team participating in the sixth Rugby Sevens Senior National Championship here belong to Goreswar town in Baksa district.   

“The entire squad belongs to Goreswar town. A club formed by some senior players in 2007 introduced rugby to the area,” revealed Shantanu, the manager of the squad.

Rugby is very popular in the area and is played on the banks of the Brahmaputra river, the manager informed.  

Assam finished runner-up in the sub-junior circuit last year, which was a turning point for the state, pointed Shantanu. He, however, lamented the lack of opportunities for rugby players and cited it as a reason for a low participation. “Rugby is not a lucrative sport. We have to convince our players, especially from rural areas, to adopt it. With no financial assistance from the government, we are not in a position to offer decent returns to our wards. There are no jobs and this is one of the most injury prone sports. All these things push the youngsters away from the game,” he said. 

Assam lost 33-5 to West Bengal on Saturday and Shantanu admitted that his boys needed to improve. 

“The first national championship for rugby was held in Guwahati and many of our wards were recruited in the state police. They were transferred to different areas of the state and we were never able to form a decent team. Even in this team, we have some players from other sports. We also have one footballer in our team. They are doing well, but technically speaking, we are still lacking,” he said.