Chennai Bulls Create History; Claim Maiden GMR Rugby Premier League Title With Stylish Win in Final

Hyderabad Heroes clinched third place

Rakesh Thapliyal

Mumbai: It was a belligerent, brilliant, and breathtaking performance from the Chennai Bulls, who were crowned the first ever champions of the GMR Rugby Premier League, here in Mumbai, at the Shahaji Raje Bhosale Sports Complex. The Chennai Bulls thrashed the Delhi Redz by a scoreline of 41-0 in the final, to clinch the title. In fact, the margin of victory is the biggest across Season 1 of the GMR RPL. Meanwhile, the Hyderabad Heroes, who had finished top of the table in the league stage, came away with a third-place finish, after they won 17-12 against the Bengaluru Bravehearts.

The Chennai Bulls picked up from where they had left off in the semi-finals, and hit the Delhi Redz hard in the opening exchanges. Vaafauese Maliko got the opening try of the final and Filipe Sauturaga was on hand to convert. Moments later, the Redz felt the full force of the Bulls’ attack as Joseva Talacolo rounded off a superb move with five more points to the cause.

Before the end of the first half, the Bulls had further extended their lead – Terry Kennedy outpaced the Redz for two more tries, and Gaurav Kumar added two more from the kick. At half-time, the Bulls were in complete control, and led 24-0.

After the break, the domination continued, and the Redz were finding it hard to break down the Bulls. Meanwhile, the Bulls were doing their bit to pile on the pressure, as Shanawaz Ahmed went over the line after Kennedy set him up. And Filipe Sauturaga added two more points to the tall.

With 4 minutes to go, the very dominant Bulls had a 31-0 lead in their favour. The Bulls did not let up, and went onto add a couple of more tries by Mohammed Ashique, to put the seal on what was a comprehensive win.

Earlier in the day, the Hyderabad Heroes clinched third place in the inaugural season of the GMR Rugby Premier League, as they saw off a spirited challenge from the Bengaluru Bravehearts. The Heroes, who were trailing in the early stages, fought back with full force. The Heroes defeated the Bravehearts 17-12.

For the Bravehearts, Tone Shiu and Philip Wokorach scored tries, while Akuila Rokolisoa converted one kick, all in the first half. The Heroes, who had begun the fightback through Joji Nasova’s try and Manuel Moreno’s conversion in the first half, had Kevin Wekesa and Bhupinder Singh adding game-changing tries to the cause.