Fourie’s flock gets wings

Kolkata: "I have a lot of belief in this group of girls. They are the future of Indian women's rugby!"These words of India rugby coach Kiano Fourie, during an online interaction with TOI, exuded his confidence in the team that scripted a historic continental medal for India on Sunday at the Asia Rugby U20 Championship 2025 in Rajgir, Bihar.The U20 Indian women beat Kazakhstan 17-10 and the UAE 31-7 while losing 7-31 to Hong Kong and finishing second from Pool B. They lost 7-28 to China in the semifinal, but came back with a purpose to beat Uzbekistan 12-5 in the bronze medal match.While the feat put the team in the limelight, away from it, this bunch of girls was climbing the rungs of success in age-group tournaments."I came in contact with this group in 2023," narrated Fourie. "Before that, I was the head coach of the U18 women's team that won silver at the Asian meet in Taiwan. We beat the UAE in the group stage and then lost narrowly to them 7-10 in a well-contested final."The South African came to India in 2022 as a mentor to the Bihar rugby teams and then worked at Rugby India's High Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar."I knew that this group was special back then," Fourie said of the U18 tournament in Taiwan. "It's actually a mixture of the top 12 from the U18 continental meets of 2023 & '24."Contrary to the current rhetoric around "homogeneity" in the country, the diversity in their regional identities — from their captain in Bhumika Shukla, hailing from a slum in Rajasthan to the four players from across Bihar or two state-mates from western Odisha — posed no threat to their developing as a unit."It's the communication among ourselves that gives our team the edge," explained Ritu Majhi, an integral part of India's attacking lineup, who saw her dream of an Indian medal come true on Sunday.But a woman close-contact sportsperson is an antithesis to the society's expectation of a woman being submissive and meek, and in tune with the image of "the weaker sex".As a soft-spoken Majhi reiterates, "I always liked to fight! Not in the way that people do unnecessarily, but to be able to display my strength and stamina in a rule-based competition."While the Odisha girl had watched other members of her family pursue rugby in her childhood, for her state-mate cum teammate, 18-year-old Mamali Singh, it was a more amusing reason to choose a sport that's still in its nascent stage in India."I just loved the shape of the ball when I first saw it. And I told myself, ‘I have to play that game with the egg-shaped ball'," the promising Singh, who is also in line to be part of the U18 women's team for the upcoming Asia Rugby U18 Championship in Hohhot, China, conceded.Both of them were drawn to rugby when sent to study at KIITS International School and soon, like a number of their teammates, found themselves in the radar of Rugby India and coach Fourie."There were no U20 tournaments in the last two years. But with the event hosted in India, we were excited to do really well," said Fourie, whose players did not disappoint after a three-week camp hosted by SAI Kolkata "with the best training facilities", and inclusion of a stipend from Rugby India for every player.Meanwhile, the senior women's rugby team qualified this year for the top-tier league in Asia by claiming silver at Asia Rugby 7s Trophy and a place among the top-eight Asian women's teams.They will start the campaign with October's Asia Rugby 7s Series Round 2 in Colombo and stay on course with their South African coach's belief that, "These girls can take India to the heights in rugby that will inspire the next generation of rugby players."

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