The Indian Men’s Rugby 7s team stands at a defining crossroads. After a historic run at the 2025 Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Trophy (AREST) in Muscat, where India finished runners-up, the team has secured promotion to the Asia Rugby Sevens Series (ARESS) 2026, the continent’s elite tier of competition.
This promotion marks one of the most important milestones in Indian rugby history but it also opens the door to a far tougher challenge. The 2026 Series will test not just the team’s skill and endurance, but the very structure of Indian rugby’s high-performance program. For the first time, India will face a 12-team elite field, competing against established Asian powerhouses like Hong Kong China, Japan, South Korea, and UAE, alongside fellow newcomers Kazakhstan the same team that thrashed India 27-0 in the Trophy final.
The goal for 2026 is no longer promotion; it’s survival.
India’s second-place finish in Muscat was a breakthrough. Under coach Ben Gollings, the team showcased discipline, teamwork, and resilience defeating Iran 21-7 and Saudi Arabia 17-0 in the knockout rounds before falling short to Kazakhstan in the final. That final, though, exposed the gulf between India’s current level and what’s required to compete with Asia’s best.
Kazakhstan’s 27-0 win was comprehensive built on superior speed, power, and tournament endurance. It was a stark reminder that while India’s tactical progress is real, its physical conditioning and defensive stamina are not yet at par with regional elites. As India prepares for the ARESS, that deficit could define its season. The Series will feature 12 nations, with two or more likely to face relegation back to the Trophy division in 2027. The uncertainty around how many teams will drop potentially as many as four makes survival a moving target.
The benchmark is clear: India must finish at least 8th overall to ensure its place in the 2027 Series.
The 2026 ARESS arrives at a critical moment for Asian rugby. Following World Rugby’s restructuring of the global SVNS system, the top team in the Series will now earn a direct spot in the HSBC SVNS Division 3, a new global competition. This change has intensified the stakes: top-tier nations like Hong Kong, Japan, and China will push harder than ever for the title and that means fewer soft matches and little margin for error for lower-tier teams like India.
In a two-leg series format, points differentials and consistency matter as much as wins. Even close defeats can make or break survival. Every minute on the pitch, every restart, and every breakdown counts.
The New Structure: Opportunity and Threat
The 12-team field is expected to include:
Tier 1: Hong Kong, Japan, China
Tier 2: South Korea, UAE
Tier 3 (Survival Zone): Kazakhstan, Philippines, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, and India
For India, the roadmap is simple beat your peers in Tier 3. Kazakhstan remains the immediate rival and psychological hurdle, while teams like the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore present realistic opportunities for points. A strategic analysis of the 2025 results highlights that several mid-tier nations struggled to compete with the elites: Hong Kong beat Malaysia 38-10 and the Philippines 33-12.
These results reveal the wide performance spectrum within the Series and underline where India must strike securing 4-6 wins across the two legs could be the difference between staying up or dropping out. If India stands a fighting chance, it’s because the foundations are being built correctly. The appointments of Waisale Serevi, the Fijian legend known as the “King of Sevens,” and Ben Gollings, former Fiji coach and England international, have given Indian rugby a rare blend of vision and structure.
Serevi’s arrival signals long-term intent. His philosophy rooted in speed, structure, and mental composure has transformed programs in the U.S. and is now being replicated in India. Gollings, meanwhile, brings the tactical discipline and clarity needed for survival. Together, they offer India the balance of high-performance vision and practical, game-level execution. Complementing their work is the Rugby Premier League (RPL), launched in 2025. This domestic professional league is India’s single most important performance accelerator. Featuring 34 matches over two weeks, it pairs Indian players with global stars such as Perry Baker and Maurice Longbottom and exposes them to international-standard play.
The RPL offers something India has never had before a sustained, high-intensity environment that mirrors the physical and tactical demands of elite Sevens rugby. The league’s success will directly influence India’s readiness for the ARESS. The faster Indian players can adapt to the pace, recovery demands, and spatial dynamics of world-class 7s, the better their survival prospects.
To remain in the ARESS, India must maximize every possession and minimize unforced errors. There are three non-negotiable tactical priorities:
1. Mastering the Kick-Off Phase: In Rugby 7s, restarts are everything. The team that controls kick-offs controls the match. Global benchmarks show teams like Argentina achieving 59% restart recovery rates a decisive factor in their Olympic success. For India, structured kick execution, disciplined chases, and effective clean-ups must become a daily training ritual.
2. Defensive Conditioning: The 0-27 loss to Kazakhstan highlighted a familiar issue, defensive breakdowns under fatigue. Sevens defense is built on line integrity, not just tackles. Specialized endurance training must simulate tournament fatigue, ensuring players can maintain shape even in the second halves of back-to-back matches.
3. Breakdown Discipline: Possession is life in Sevens. India must reduce penalties at the ruck and improve technical breakdown efficiency both in securing their own ball and disrupting opposition play. Small errors here can turn evenly matched contests into runaway losses.
Realistically, India’s survival odds sit around 50–60%. The difference between success and relegation will come down to execution, conditioning, and mental toughness. The structure is in place: world-class coaches, the RPL, and administrative backing from Rugby India President Rahul Bose. But the transition from Trophy contenders to Series survivors will require the kind of focus and physicality Indian rugby has never before demonstrated. The task ahead isn’t glamorous it’s about grit, adaptation, and efficiency.
The 2026 Asia Rugby Sevens Series won’t be about lifting a trophy; it will be about proving that India belongs at the top table. For the players and coaches, the message is clear: the climb to the elite tier was hard. Staying there will be harder still but it’s the fight that defines the future of Indian rugby.
