2019 was a great year to “Get Into Rugby” indeed, as Rugby India, ranked first globally for participation numbers through GIR! As per the World Rugby’s Get Into Rugby (GIR) Statistic report 2019, India finished in 1st position in the world to have seen highest participation in the GIR programs.

The Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU), aka Rugby India, introduced the ‘Get into Rugby’ program in 2012- a World Rugby initiative, to promote and grow the sport globally. The program is focused on introducing Rugby, the sport to enthusiasts and throw light on the values of the game – Integrity, Respect, Solidarity, Passion and Discipline, which inspire millions of kids to choose and play the game globally.

As per the World Rugby Get Into Rugby (GIR) Statistic 2019, India has seen a tremendous growth in the number of players playing Rugby from 2012 to 2019. The total numbers of players have grown from 13,135 in 2012 to 2,14,053 in 2019. That represents a 16 times increase over 8 years. Through the 3 stages of Get Into Rugby program implemented across India, schools have been able to gradually progress to 7-a-side rugby in the last few years. The players who represented their schools in the first two phases (TRY and PLAY phases of the GIR program) can then move to the third phase and get selected to play for their district and their state (STAY phase of the program).

-TIN Bureau