What U-17 girls consultant Mike Friday thinks about women's rugby in India

Indian U-17 girls consultant Mike Friday believes that embracing women playing rugby is a good thing for patriarchal India.

Mike Friday, head coach of USA Men's Rugby Sevens team, and consultant of Indian U-17 girls, believes that embracing women playing rugby is a good thing for a patriarchal country like India.

"Women playing rugby is fantastic. As a sport, rubgy is one built around values. The beauty of the game is that it is a gentleman's sport, but now is played by women as well. They say it is a gentleman's sport played by thugs. We don't want to lose the physical part of the game in the women's form; the confrontational part needs to stay. Embracing the game of rugby and all that it stands for is a good thing for a country as patriarchal as India, which is progressive as well. In the women's game, there is not a lot of legacy, which means that for a country of India's status, and with the sheer volume of players available, there should be a talent pool to nurture to become very successful in the game. The girls are very resilient and have a great work ethic, which will work in their favour in the upcoming Youth Olympic Games Rugby Sevens qualifiers in Dubai [on Nov 29-30]."

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