Baptism by fire for Indians

The Indian ruggerites had their international baptism by fire. But their captain reckons that the beating they got in their first two matches in the Dubai Sevens International Rugby tournament was needed to know how much ground they need to recover.

"The experience of playing on an international stage was awesome," their captain Chaitanya Sinh said. "It is good to get a spanking and come back better the next time," the 31-year-old from Mumbai said after their team was thrashed 56-0 by Russia. They had a slightly better show in their first game against Georgia when they conceded 36 points.