Nisha Sharma’s interest in rugby piqued when she saw boys her age play the game. That was two years ago, when Nisha, then 15 years old, was forced to discontinue studies and her mother wanted to take her to Rajasthan to do menial jobs.

The teenager had sought help from a local councillor, who took her to Future Hope school. Nisha is now a student of Class X at the school and a member of the Under-18 Bengal rugby team (girls).

Rajdeep Saha, 18, who stayed at a home in Howrah, had no interest in rugby but the lure of chocolates and sweets would draw him to the practice sessions.

The boy, whose father is a mason in Murshidabad, is now the captain of the Under-18 Bengal boys’ team.

Twenty-four girls and boys, with their team managers and coaches, will travel to Chandigarh to represent Bengal in the Society Generale Junior National Rugby Sevens Championships for Under-18 Boys and Girls next week.

The seven-a-side tournament will be held on the Punjab University campus from June 14 to 16.

Bengal was the champion in the girls’ category last year and in the boys’ category in 2017.

The Bengal Rugby Union announced the teams, most of whose members are from underprivileged backgrounds, at Calcutta Cricket & Football Club on Friday morning.

Rajdeep Saha and Rushmita Oraon, captains of the boys’ and girls’ rugby teams, at the Calcutta Cricket & Football Club on Friday morning.

The boys’ rugby team

The girl’ rugby team

The girls’ team play a game of rugby on Friday morning. Pictures by Gautam Bose

The Bengal Rugby Union, an affiliate of the Indian Rugby Football Union, is working on spreading the sport to schools in the districts of Bengal.

For many of the young players, rugby is a ticket to a better life, education and more opportunities, which otherwise they would have been deprived of.

The captain of the girls’ team, Rushmita Oraon, was introduced to rugby in 2013 by Paul Walsh, a former British diplomat. She has since been playing for the Jungle Crows team, founded by Walsh.

“The organisation (Jungle Crows) pays for my tuition and has also given me a cycle so that I can commute the 7km between my school and my home at the Saraswatipur tea estate in Jalpaiguri. Had it not been for rugby, I would not have been able to continue with my studies,” said the Class XI student, whose father drives an ambulance and mother plucks tea leaves at the estate.

Shaw sisters Sonam and Rinki get up at 5 in the morning, travel to their school near Girish Park, return home by 1.30pm and then head for the Maidan for two hours of rugby practice. From there they go to their tuition class. “Since taking up rugby we have become extrovert and gained the confidence to travel alone,” said Sonam, a student of Class XI.

Nisha said the game had taught her to control her anger. “I have noticed the change in myself. I don’t lose my temper so easily. Rugby has also taught me how to smile,” she said.

“A couple of decades back a lot of young people from very difficult and unprivileged backgrounds were encouraged to play. It is a very good development tool, it teaches teamwork and makes them tough,” said Sujata Sen, treasurer of the Bengal Rugby Union.

The teams from Bengal will leave for Chandigarh on June 11. The boys’ team is being coached by Sanjay Patra and the girls’ team by Roshan Xaxa.

“The effort that has gone in is because of the passion for the sport that these youngsters have and the love for the sport,” said Lav Jhingan, the president of the Bengal Rugby Union.