A unique collaboration of rugby associations in Maharashtra and Japan took off in Feb to explore cross-cultural exchange, youth leadership and sustainability in sports.
The programme, titled RUCK’ed, stands for ‘Rugby Uniting Changemakers for Knowledge, Empowerment, and Development’. Organisers called it a “first-of-its-kind sports partnership between a state body and international powerhouse”, bringing together the Rugby Association of Maharashtra (RAM) and the Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU). The initiative was marked with week-long series of events from Feb 3-9, with the Japanese contingent invited to Pune.
Six participants were handpicked from each country to attend offline sessions and online webinars by global experts, covering team building, rugby cultures in Japan and India, and effective leadership and management.
All 12 participants were tasked with designing a sustainable tournament together with a dedicated budget to empower emerging leaders.
“Sport is uniquely placed — it is affected by climate change but can also tackle it. RAM is pleased to collaborate with JRFU in a first to enable change by upskilling the youth with a focus on leadership, governance, development and sustainability for a better future,” said Nasser Hussain, former captain of the Indian National Rugby Team and RAM secretary.
Saif Ullah Khan, partnerships and social impact programmes manager at RAM, said, “Working with different cultures, coupled with the essence of rugby, deepens players’ understanding of global perspectives and enhances their journey from self-improvement to societal impact. Now, participants are creating their own small projects, fostering a ripple effect of positive change across communities.”
RUCK’ed was open to all between the ages of 18 and 30. From India, three men and three women were selected from Maharashtra, Delhi, and Odisha; from Japan, participants came from Kyoto, Kanagawa, Aichi, Okinawa, and Tokyo. Each was picked based on commitment to using rugby, other sports, or other mediums to address social disorganization.
Programme participants were tasked to manage all aspects of organizing a ‘green’ Rugby Sevens Cup in India, from financing to event coordination, putting all their learnings into practice. By ensuring a sustainable outlook, the activities aimed at cultivate a balance between social and personal development and the urgency of ecological preservation.
Indian participants Pankaj Singh and Ruchi Shetty have been invited to Japan this month to speak about their experience in the programme. Organisers said other Indian participants will also be given the opportunity when funding is secured.
Mai Sakaguchi, international cooperation, rugby development for JRFU, said after being in the sport for over a decade, RUCK’ed was crucial for her to give back what she had learned. “There is a lot that we can teach our next generations by taking from what we have been taught. Through such programmes, we want to create an ecosystem around tackling social issues through sports in Asia and forge a bigger collective impact together. Some of the participants from Japan are working on issues like homelessness and immigrants’ rights,” Sakaguchi said.
Considering that both countries have different ways of tackling these issues, Sakaguchi said there was a lot the Japan contingent learnt during their time in Pune — the most important being how to work with limited resources in an uncommon environment. “As interest in rugby grows in Japan, we need more collaborations like these not just to make space for the youth to grow, but also to create an ecosystem where they can thrive. This association has allowed us to appreciate the differences in individuals and find ways to integrate the value of the sports in our long-term social missions,” she explained.
Other than RAM and JRFU, RUCK’ed has been organised in collaboration with ComMutiny – The Youth Collective and the Kofi Annan Changemakers: An Intergenerational Dialogue for Impact.
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I was introduced to rugby at 15. After representing India in several games, I had to give up because of an injury. However, I wanted to continue to be associated with it. So, I became a referee and camp coordinator — yet it never felt enough. So, being a part of RUCK’ed was the next logical step. The fact that I could experience what it meant to step into leadership roles with the value of the sport at its core had me hooked. It has been a great experience — Pankaj Singh | Participant, Mumbai
The programme, titled RUCK’ed, stands for ‘Rugby Uniting Changemakers for Knowledge, Empowerment, and Development’. Organisers called it a “first-of-its-kind sports partnership between a state body and international powerhouse”, bringing together the Rugby Association of Maharashtra (RAM) and the Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU). The initiative was marked with week-long series of events from Feb 3-9, with the Japanese contingent invited to Pune.
Six participants were handpicked from each country to attend offline sessions and online webinars by global experts, covering team building, rugby cultures in Japan and India, and effective leadership and management.
All 12 participants were tasked with designing a sustainable tournament together with a dedicated budget to empower emerging leaders.
“Sport is uniquely placed — it is affected by climate change but can also tackle it. RAM is pleased to collaborate with JRFU in a first to enable change by upskilling the youth with a focus on leadership, governance, development and sustainability for a better future,” said Nasser Hussain, former captain of the Indian National Rugby Team and RAM secretary.
Saif Ullah Khan, partnerships and social impact programmes manager at RAM, said, “Working with different cultures, coupled with the essence of rugby, deepens players’ understanding of global perspectives and enhances their journey from self-improvement to societal impact. Now, participants are creating their own small projects, fostering a ripple effect of positive change across communities.”
RUCK’ed was open to all between the ages of 18 and 30. From India, three men and three women were selected from Maharashtra, Delhi, and Odisha; from Japan, participants came from Kyoto, Kanagawa, Aichi, Okinawa, and Tokyo. Each was picked based on commitment to using rugby, other sports, or other mediums to address social disorganization.
Programme participants were tasked to manage all aspects of organizing a ‘green’ Rugby Sevens Cup in India, from financing to event coordination, putting all their learnings into practice. By ensuring a sustainable outlook, the activities aimed at cultivate a balance between social and personal development and the urgency of ecological preservation.
Indian participants Pankaj Singh and Ruchi Shetty have been invited to Japan this month to speak about their experience in the programme. Organisers said other Indian participants will also be given the opportunity when funding is secured.
Mai Sakaguchi, international cooperation, rugby development for JRFU, said after being in the sport for over a decade, RUCK’ed was crucial for her to give back what she had learned. “There is a lot that we can teach our next generations by taking from what we have been taught. Through such programmes, we want to create an ecosystem around tackling social issues through sports in Asia and forge a bigger collective impact together. Some of the participants from Japan are working on issues like homelessness and immigrants’ rights,” Sakaguchi said.
Considering that both countries have different ways of tackling these issues, Sakaguchi said there was a lot the Japan contingent learnt during their time in Pune — the most important being how to work with limited resources in an uncommon environment. “As interest in rugby grows in Japan, we need more collaborations like these not just to make space for the youth to grow, but also to create an ecosystem where they can thrive. This association has allowed us to appreciate the differences in individuals and find ways to integrate the value of the sports in our long-term social missions,” she explained.
Other than RAM and JRFU, RUCK’ed has been organised in collaboration with ComMutiny – The Youth Collective and the Kofi Annan Changemakers: An Intergenerational Dialogue for Impact.
________________________
I was introduced to rugby at 15. After representing India in several games, I had to give up because of an injury. However, I wanted to continue to be associated with it. So, I became a referee and camp coordinator — yet it never felt enough. So, being a part of RUCK’ed was the next logical step. The fact that I could experience what it meant to step into leadership roles with the value of the sport at its core had me hooked. It has been a great experience — Pankaj Singh | Participant, Mumbai
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