Chennai Bulls win: Historic start for India GMR Rugby Premier League 2025

Image Source: Rugby Premier League - X

Chennai Bulls win: Historic start for India GMR Rugby Premier League 2025: A new and exciting era has begun in the Indian sporting landscape! The first season of the GMR Rugby Premier League (RPL) 2025, India’s first franchise-based rugby sevens league, has recently concluded successfully. The league is a historic step for Indian rugby, aimed at taking the growth and popularity of rugby sevens to new heights in the country.

Chennai Bulls won the first season of the Rugby Premier League

Chennai Bulls have won the inaugural title of GMR Rugby Premier League (RPL) 2025. They achieved this historic feat by defeating Delhi Redzz by a huge margin of 41-0 in the final. The league was India's first franchise-based rugby sevens league, which aims to promote rugby in the country. This victory of Chennai Bulls is a significant moment for Indian rugby and it proved their superiority in this new format.

GMR RPL 2025 Winner & Runnerup

Champion: Chennai Bulls won the inaugural title!

In the final, Chennai Bulls put up a brilliant and one-sided performance to beat Delhi Redzz by a huge margin of 41-0 and win the historic first RPL title. This win reflects the dominance of Chennai Bulls throughout the tournament.

Image Source: Chennai Bulls - X

Runner-up: Delhi Redzz

Delhi Redzz performed brilliantly throughout the tournament and made it to the final. Although they could not stand up to the challenge of Chennai Bulls in the title match, their performance as runner-up was also commendable.

Third Place: Hyderabad Heroes

Also Read: Rugby Explained: How is Rugby Played, Key Rules, and Different Types

GMR Rugby Premier League First Season: 2025 Highlights

Dates: The inaugural season ran from 15 June to 29 June 2025.

Venue: All matches were played at the Mumbai Football Arena (also known as Shahaji Raje Bhosale Sports Complex) in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

Format: The league featured 6 city-based teams competing in a double round-robin format in the league stage. After the league stage (30 matches), the top four teams advanced to the semi-finals, followed by a third-place playoff and a final. Each match had a unique format: four quarters of four minutes each, with a two-minute break in between. This made each match 22 minutes long.

Players: The league saw a mix of international and Indian talent. Each team had 13 players:

• 5 Active/former international marquee players from top rugby sevens nations (e.g., New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Fiji, Argentina, Great Britain, Ireland, USA, Spain).
• 3 international 'bridge' players from mid-level rugby nations (e.g. Canada, Hong Kong, Germany).
• 5 Indian players selected from the domestic auction.
• The starting seven players in a match were to include two international players, two international bridge players and two Indian players, while the seventh player was the coach's choice

GMR RPL Teams

The inaugural season featured six city-based franchises:

• Bengaluru Bravehearts
• Chennai Bulls
• Delhi Redzz
• Hyderabad Heroes
• Kalinga Black Tigers (Representing Bhubaneswar)
• Mumbai Dreamers

Also Read: Most centuries in T20 cricket as a captain

---