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Leeds Met sponsors British Asian Rugby Tour to India
04/10/05
BARA 27 - 3 Bangalore, Saturday 1 October
The British Asian Rugby Association team (BARA), sponsored by Leeds Met, has won the final of the Hutch All India and South Asia Rugby Union Tournament, beating Bangalore Rugby Football Club 27-3.
Wearing red, white and blue Leeds Met South Asia branded shirts BARA captain Jug Johal and BARA co-founder Ikram Butt led the British Asian Rugby Association to a glorious victory in front of national television in the grand final of the 72 Orange All India and South Asia Cup. The final score 27-3 reflected the team’s dominance of the game but opponents Bangalore fought hard throughout the 80 minutes and contributed fully towards this successful finale. The game was played in a competitive yet good natured spirit which has prevailed throughout the tournament. In winning the cup the BARA founders have fulfilled personal ambitions and in the process made many new friends in South Asia. The whole BARA team including two former Leeds Met students with event support from THE School master’s student, Gaurav Garg, have been excellent ambassadors both for Leeds Metropolitan University and the game of rugby.
Sportingly joining in the victory celebrations were players from
other teams including the Indian army, Chennai and the touring
team from Lahore, Pakistan who won a special award. British Council’s
Manjula Rao who has supported rugby development in schools in
India was pictured on the the pitch with the exuberant winning
team whose ‘BARA, BARA’ chant soon gave way to a
very loud rendition of ‘Yorkshire, Yorkshire’ heard
so many times at Headingley.
BARA 29 -17 Chennai, 29 September
The team made it through to the final of the tournament with
a win against favourites Chennai 29-17 on Thursday 29 September.
It was a hard fought match, the scores were level at half time and the feeling in the camp was that BARA who had played an extra game may tire in the second half. In the event BARA pulled away with a couple of tries and despite having to endure 15 minutes of added time came out worthy winners and proceeded with a lap of honour around the pitch to acknowledge the support of large sections the crowd who were taking up in larger numbers the 'BARA BARA' chant first heard at the previous match.
There was a suprise in the other semi-final with Bangalore beating Bombay Gymkhana which led to BARA meet Bangalore in the final.
BARA 68 - 5 Mumbai State Police
In the game against Mumbai State Police, BARA brushed them aside 68 - 5, to cries of “BARA, BARA” from an enthusiastic crowd sitting on a banking overlooking the pitch.
BARA 37 - 0 Indian Army
In their first game against the Indian Army, the team proved that they are strong contenders after a convincing 37 – 0 win over their first opponents. The players found their best form to date in the second half and carried this into their next match with the Mumbai State Police.
A great deal of publicity has been generated by the tournament which has been carried through in the visits made to Symbiosis International Educational centre and Podar International School.
The BARA team have been training on the beach where they were joined by fascinated onlookers.
Leeds Met sponsors BARA
The BARA squad, which includes three Leeds Met students, comprises players whose origins are in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. BARA is the brainchild of Ikram Butt, a Leeds Met graduate and one of the first Asian rugby players to represent England. Supported by the Youth Charter, BARA aims to promote community integration, personal development and healthy living amongst British Asians, encouraging participation in sport in general and rugby in particular.
The link is the latest in a series of Leeds Met sporting partnerships and follows sponsorship of the 2005 World Club Challenge under the Carnegie banner and support for both the Leeds Rhinos and Tykes. The connection with BARA was originally established through another of Leeds Met’s sporting partnerships with Bradford City Football Club.
Elspeth Jones, Dean of the Leslie Silver International Faculty said:
“Leeds Met aspires to be a world-class regional University with world- wide horizons, using all our talents to the full. BARA will help us to convey this message, to encourage the communities to come together and break down cultural and religious barriers through participation in sport.”
Ikram said: “At BARA we are absolutely delighted to have Leeds Met as a sponsor for our development tour to India as we know the university is 100% committed to the ideals of bridge-building and celebrating diversity, goals that have made BARA such a success so far.
“Sport is an incredible tool for breaking down the barriers between people and their cultures and we know that our India trip will help us form vital connections with the Indian people that will set firm foundations for the future - we are already looking forward to hosting the Indian teams over here at a later date."
Wearing Britain’s colours and sporting the University’s logo and Leeds Met South Asia branding, the team goes into the tournament confident of progressing to the later stages.
In addition to BARA’s participation, the tournament will feature a showcase celebrity match with a team likely to include Bollywood stars such as Raul Bose.
As mentioned in International Reflections - 23 September 2005.
