An international rugby series between Nepal and Bangladesh is scheduled to be held at a stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It will be played on Mangsir 20 and 21. The Nepali team has left for Dhaka on Thursday for that.

The first rugby series between the two teams was held in Dhaka in 2022. The series, which was scheduled to be held at the Dashrath Stadium on Bhadra 30 and 31, was postponed due to the Genji movement. 26 players, 1 manager, 1 physio and 2 rugby coaches from the Nepal national fifteens and sevens men's rugby teams will participate in the international level rugby competition.  

The team consists of captain Shreeram Shrestha, vice-captain Birat Shrestha, Bivas Basu, Bikram Puri, Naveen Marhajan, Kapil Sapkota, Saroj Kapali, Rohan Dangol, Sandeep Rai, Ganesh Baniya, Roshan Bamjan, Navin Bahadur Magar, Pramesh Chaudhary, Suraj Rana Magar, Pujan Fewali, Milan Thapa, Sher Bahadur Wali, Sanjay Adhikari, Mohammad Irshad Hussain, Anil Majhi, Anish Shrestha, Bishnu Khadka, Ramit Bahadur Mal, Niroj Karki, Dipendra Chaudhary and Mashesh Sunar. The team will be attended by coaches Krishna Thapa and Binod Tamang, Devan Thapa (physio) and Gopal Chhetri (team manager).

The Nepal Rugby Association has stated that it is giving exposure to the Nepali team by organizing an international rugby series between Nepal and Bangladesh. The association's general secretary Govinda Ghimire said that it is participating in rugby sevens and fifteens to facilitate participation in international competitions. The Nepali rugby team had received training from Krishna Thapa and Binod Tamad for the match against Bangladesh.

Nabin Bahadur Malla, 22, of Udayapur Katahari Municipality, has been playing rugby since 2079 BS. He plays both rugby sevens and fifteens. He said, ‘Many people call rugby bad because they don’t understand the game. Due to which many sponsors don’t come and the government gets less budget.’

He says that this time, we should win the series at any cost. ‘We will not let this opportunity of victory go to waste, we are all enthusiastic to raise the standard of rugby and give medals to the nation,’ he expressed his determination.

He has been playing in district, state, U-18, U-20 competitions. He sees the need for rugby to develop from the district level along with the international level. 

Pramesh Chaudhary, 26, from Attariya in Godavari Municipality of Kailali, is a player playing for both the Fifteens and Sevens teams. He has been associated with the APF Club for two years. He previously played ARST for Sevens. ‘Players should be exposed and if we get to play in both disciplines with other nations, our level will increase,’ he said. He also requests his supporters to come to the field to cheer and support when rugby is being played in Nepal.  

General Secretary Ghimire argues that he is participating in the international rugby series with the aim of introducing Nepalis to rugby. It is said that rugby has been played in Nepal since the Rana era. But rugby has been developing for 12 years. Earlier, there was a need to find players, but now there are many players playing rugby. The Nepal Rugby Association has been participating in rugby competitions with Bangladesh since 2022 and other Asian nations since 2015.

Nepal has played two sevens matches with Bangladesh and one series match in the five-a-side.  

Nepal has played two rugby matches in the sevens in Chennai in 2015. It has played one with Singapore in 2016 and one series with Qatar in 2017. Nepal failed to win in all these matches. Nepal was only able to win one match in the U-20 men's tournament in 2022.

A Nepal-India-Bangladesh rugby five-a-side was held in India in 2023.  ‘Earlier, Nepal did not have experienced players. But now we have selected and brought in good players from clubs, districts and states across the country,’ said former captain and coach Krishna Thapa, ‘This game is important not only physically but also tactically. We are ahead of Bangladesh in tactics.’

He claims that Nepal can become a powerhouse in Asia within 10 years. ‘Earlier and now, the game of rugby and the players themselves have been developing a lot. The players have the mentality of being in the audience's mind,' he said, 'Nepali people seem to have less interest in rugby. There are fewer spectators watching rugby games like cricket and football. But we also attract spectators to rugby.'

Nepal became a full member of Asia Rugby two years ago. It is believed that this will help develop rugby. 

'The main challenge in developing rugby is the field,' Thapa said. Nepal had prepared for this series at the NSF Sports Complex in Venpa-14, Lalitpur, and the field in Madhyapur Thimi. General Secretary Ghimire says that the Rugby Association is actively working to fill the gaps in the field, budget, facilities and security for players in case of injuries. 'This game is very easy to understand because it is similar to football. Our efforts are ongoing to reach the common people,' Ghimire said.