Aspiration and opportunity: Kalinga Black Tigers' vision for Indian rugby

“It's a game and you want to be part of the game, not necessarily win it.”

While the Kalinga Black Tigers’ campaigns in the inaugural season of the Rugby Premier League (RPL) might have drawn to a close on the back of two victories and two draws, franchise owner Karanpal Singh is a content man.

“We've had an amazing one month working with these guys. So, if you ask me if there are any regrets, absolutely none,” he tells this publication over the phone.

On the flip side, however, he looks back on a season where the learning has been tremendous.

Building a squad, mobilizing fans

“If you really notice in the auction, we didn't even have our main coach there. He was on the phone,” Singh recalls, with a chuckle.

And yet, Kalinga Black Tigers (KBT) mobilized the requisite resources – research and meetings included – to put together a resilient team comprising of Olympic players, seasoned marquee campaigners and handpicked Indian talents. And this shone though in their victorious performances against the Delhi Redz and the Mumbai Dreamers.

For Singh, these triumphs on the turf were complemented by on-ground activations off the pitch as well.

“The Black Tigers, the branding, the name, the mascot, I think our activation was better than most of the other people,” he opines.

Taking a leaf out of the branding and marketing books from the world of business, Singh and his team created District High, a recreational center where fans gathered on match days and collectively cheered for the team in Bhubaneshwar.

And this is the space where Singh wants to be: “I want to get out of this cricket madness because there's enough people doing that already.”

Rugby and the 7s format, therefore, resonate immensely with his philosophy for sport.

Where sport meets entertainment

In present day India, where sport as a culture is slowly but surely on the ascendency and leagues contribute to fan following, rugby, according to Singh, fits in seamlessly.

“In today's world, one is the sports side of it, one is the entertainment quotient of it. These two things are very important. And how you balance these two is really where the trick is. And I think this is a great sport.”

With its fast-paced nature, physical display of raw power and numerous slam-bang moments, the RPL caught on with sport fans who live streamed the games from across the country.

“I think the 7s is a great format. If I was to sit with my family and watch for two hours, I would love it,” he says.

What is needed now, as per Singh, is the ‘building of aspiration’ which is vital to creating a market for investments to trickle into RPL and the sport in the country. For this, he cites the example of cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“If there is no aspiration, if cricket did not have IPL, it would not have had so much talent search, now we have local level leagues happening,” he reflects, while adding that is precisely what he has been intending to do since the very beginning when he began working in grassroot development.

Creating aspiration

For Singh, sport has always held a special place in his heart. Having represented his state in swimming and with his children now playing competitive sport, he has a front row seat to professional sport and its demands. And that was the very reason behind his founding of a school in Odisha, which incidentally has a passionate rugby program.

Development at the grassroot is an important aspect for Singh and he feels that skills acquired at that level bear fruits when players turn professional. This, he explains while citing the example of how marquee players like KBT’s Harry McNulty handled the pressure - of expectations and the fans - once the season began.

“They know how to handle it. They know how to play in front of big crowds. I think the Indian players need a lot more exposure into the international scene to be able to match up. They have the skill, the talent, but they just simply don't have the experience and the wisdom yet.”

That, as per Singh, is the impact that a league like RPL can have. And through relentless grassroots initiatives, he wants to ensure that there is an endless pipeline of talent coming through.

“The schools that we run are absolutely free. They're mostly really poor tribal sort of children who come and study there. Food, education, everything (is provided). In fact, this year our school had a 100% pass result, which is unheard of,” he says.

But a lot more still needs to be done, he reflects.

“We need to create aspiration and then if the kids want to play, then the government will wake up and say, listen, my citizens want to play it, let's create infrastructure. Schools will say, listen, my kids want to play it, let's get a rugby program in the school. I think it has to come from both ends.”

And this, according to Singh, is how rugby can grow and flourish in India.

As for KBT, he is already looking forward to the next season: “We are planning a proper sustained effort on rugby now leading up to the next tournament.”