A rugby match being played at Kalinga stadium in Bhubaneswar.

The few people who turned up at Kalinga Stadium to watch the All-India Under-19 Rugby Tournament had a good time watching the youngsters engaged in a tussle over the egg-shaped ball.

Organised by Indian Rugby Football Union and Odisha Rugby Football Association, the tournament is being held in Bhubaneswar for the second time since its inception in 2005.

About 300 players from 12 teams across the country are taking part in the 15-players-a-side tournament that began on Wednesday. Two teams are representing Odisha. While the KISS rugby team is known for its technical brilliance, the Bhubaneswar Rugby team is also eager to prove its mettle. Future Hope of Calcutta is defending the title. Some teams include foreign players. The rules say the teams are allowed to accommodate a maximum of four foreign players.

Nasser Hussain, caption of the national team, who is a veteran now with 18 years of experience, is keeping a keen eye on the tournament.

“A lot of important rugby events have been hosted by Bhubaneswar earlier. In terms of infrastructure, it is excellent. This time, many relatively new teams are participating who lack experience and thus the group stages are expected to be one-sided games. But the knockouts promise to be cliff-hangers,” said Hussain.

Some of these young players will get a chance to represent India in the U-19 Asian games to be held in October and Hussain’s sharp eyes will be scouting for them. Between four and six games are taking place every day. The final will be held on Sunday.

Text by Pratyush Patra, picture by Sanjib Mukherjee