USA Sevens legend Perry Baker ends retirement to join India's new Rugby Premier League

America’s Perry Baker, Great Britain’s Alex Davies, and New Zealand’s Scott Curry are among the names set for action. Players from other nations include Argentina, Australia, Ireland, Spain, Kenya and Fiji, will make up six city-based franchise teams. The competition will span 15 days, with a total of 34 matches scheduled.

Players like Perry Baker will be coming out of retirement to compete but to make sure they continue to move in the right direction for domestic rugby in India all RPL teams must include 5 Indian players. These were taken from an auction pool of 71, which was then reduced to 30. 18 Players from Germany, Canada, Hong Kong and China will also be included in the six teams.

In April, the six teams were announced; Bengaluru Bravehearts, Chennai Bulls, Delhi Redz, Hyderabad Heroes, Kalinga Black Tigers and Mumbai Dreamers. All teams will play at the Mumbai Football Arena. With support from World Rugby who granted the RPL a 15-day window which means that no other sevens tournament will take place in that timeframe.

In a statement made by the President of Indian Rugby, Rahul Bose said: “This is a league that’s been six years in the making, but we wanted to do everything right.

“The first extraordinary development came thanks to World Rugby, who gave a 15-day window in which no international rugby sevens would be played anywhere in the world.

“This made the best global rugby players available to us. From there to be partnering with GMR Sports and creating the best conditions for both the international players as well as our Indian players; choosing some of the most intelligent, committed team owners and getting a top-class broadcast partner in JiaStar, it’s been a helluva ride.

“Rugby sevens is one of the most attractive television sports in modern history. Welcome, India and the world, to the Rugby Premier League.”

Complete list of Teams with Players

Ethan Turner (Canada) Kyle Tremblay (Canada) James Thiel (Canada) Perry Baker (USA) Lucas Lacamp (USA) Rosko Speckman (South Africa) Harry McNulty (Ireland) Maurice Longbottom (Australia) Ajay Deswal (India) Asis Sabar (India) Pardeep Singh (India) Pappu Balasaheb Todkar (India) Arjun Mahato (India)

Head coach - Mike Friday

Akuila Rokolisoa (NZ) Iowane Teba (Fiji) Scott Curry (NZ) Tone Ng Shiu (NZ) Pol Pla (Spain) Henry Kirwan (Canada) Liam Poulton (Canada) Mak Kwai Chung (HKCR) Mohit Khatri (India) Suresh Kumar (India) Prashant Singh (India) Karan Rajbhar (India) Arpan Chhetri (India)

Head coach - Paco Hernandez

Terry Kennedy (Ireland) Joseva Talacolo (Fiji) Ratu Sauturaga (Fiji) Joaquin Pellandini (Argentina) Alexander Davis (GB) Hannes Adler (Germany) Haakon OeB (Germany) Nikias Lohe (Germany) Vallabh Patil (India) Muhammad Jasim EP (India) Vinay A (India) Shanawaz Ahmed (India) Vinayak Hariraj (India)

Head coach - Ben Gollings

Luciano Gonzalez Rizzoni (Argentina) Joji Nasova (Fiji) Terio Veilawa (Fiji) Manuel Moreno (Spain) Regan Ware (NZ) James Christie (HKCR) Fong Fung (HKCR) Max Roddick (Germany) Prince Khatri (India) Sambit Pradhan (India) Sukumar Hembrom (India) Javed Hussein (India) Sumit Kumar Boy (India)

Head coach- DJ Forbes

Alejandro Castro (Spain) Matias Osadczuk (Argentina) Matteo Graziano (Argentina) Alejandro Laforga (Spain) Patrick Odongo (Kenya) Jordan Conroy (Ireland) Thomas Richards (Canada) Michael Coverdale (HKCR) Moritz Noll (Germany) Rajdeep Saha (India) Sunil Ramu Chawan (India) Raj Kumar (India) Deepak Punia (India) Mohit (India)

Head coach- Jnr Tomasi Cama

Henry Hutchinson (Australia) James Turner (Australia) Waisea Nacuqu (Fiji) Aaron Cummings (USA) Santiago Mare (Argentina) Elias Hancock (Canada) Rhys James (Canada) Briar Barron (Canada) Neeraj (India) Devendra Raju Padir (India) Akash Balmiki (India) Ganesh Dhangada Majhi (India) Nayan Kumar K (India)

Head coach- Tim Walsh

More will be announced for international audiences, but the RPL will be broadcasted live on Star Sports and JioHotstar in India.