Kolkata Jungle Crows

Introduction

The Jungle Crows rugby club was founded in 2004 by three friends living in Kolkata.  The initial aim was simply to provide an alternative club option in Kolkata from the traditional long established clubs.  The club would have no official positions other than Coach and Captain and would welcome players from every community and with any level of rugby knowledge.  The first players we trained included chefs, taxi drivers, carpenters, corporate executives, security guards, accountants, drivers and diplomats.  We set out to have fun playing and coaching rugby and this is still very much our ethos!

Jungle Crows has a Vision

As the Jungle Crows developed we found that coaching and playing rugby was effective at instilling positive values such as teamwork, leadership, fair-play and confidence. We have found this especially rewarding with young people as they have matured and developed these and other important personal attributes.  

The Jungle Crows still draws in participants, young and old, from every community, whether corporate executives, carpenters, IT professionals or taxi drivers – they all have a place with the Jungle Crows team.  But we are now very focused on developing our work with the young and disadvantaged.

The Jungle Crows has become a rugby club recognised and acknowledged in India and around the world as having a successful development focus.  Though our main work remains committed to coaching and training rugby we find that more and more our work helps youngsters as they grow and mature.  For most of our young players the Jungle Crows is the only access they have to organised sport.  The benefits for young players from disadvantaged communities in terms of health, fitness and self esteem can be tremendous.      

Our work with the former street children of the NGO Don Bosco Ashalayam has proven particularly rewarding.  Being part of the Jungle Crows has seen the children develop a real sense of identity and pride in themselves and their rugby.  The confidence of those that have played and trained with the Jungle Crows is significantly boosted.  We have seen real results, whether enabling a young person to cope better with the challenge of board exams to dealing with family difficulties in a responsible way.  We believe the ‘passion’, ‘discipline’ and ‘courage’ instilled through training and playing with the Jungle Crows have a significant effect.

Come Volunteer

We have welcomed volunteer coaches and players from all over the world; New Zealand, Australia, France, England, Fiji, Samoa.  Why not come and join us to play and coach and make a small difference, jungle.crows@gmail.com

2008: A Year of Mighty Achievements

Since our formation in 2004 the Jungle Crows have achieved a great deal.  In 2008, some of these achievements were:

• Jungle Crows win the Calcutta and Centenary Cups comprehensively beating CCFC (Calcutta Cricket and Football Club) on both occasions.  These are the two premier rugby tournaments of Kolkata.

• Jungle Crows under 20 team runners up in India’s National Tournament.  Four players selected for the Indian National side to play in the Asian Championships, Seoul (sadly the tour was cancelled)

• Over 100 children train and play in the Crows annual 2 week winter camp on Kolkata’s Maidan during the school winter holiday.

• Jungle Crows runners up in the Callaghan Cup, India’s Division 2 competition losing out in the final to the Army team.  

• Jungle Crows are the first rugby team in India to be officially supported by an international sportswear brand. Le Coq Sportif of France become the official supplier of the Jungle Crows jersey.  The jersey is designed in France and manufactured in Italy in a unique sublimated style.

• Sailen Tudu one of the Jungle Crows first players and Vice Captain of the India Under 20 team is awarded a scholarship to study a BTEC Diploma in Rugby from Hartpury College, Gloucester.

• Jungle Crows win the Bronze Medal at the West Bengal State Games.

• Jungle Crows under 13s invited to the Bishop’s Stortford International Rugby Festival in England.  The team christened the “Tiger Cubs” finish a creditable fourth and are the first under 13 rugby team to ever tour from India.  Players come from Don Bosco Ashalayam, Manipur and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences.  Personal support from Indian Foreign Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee makes tour possible.

• Ashalayam boys invited to represent Asia at the Rugby City Festival in the French city of Marseilles.  Play against teams from South Africa, England, France and Madagascar.

• Jungle Crows under 16s reach the semi final of the first U16 National Championships in Bhubaneswar.  

• Jungle Crows developed tribal team KISS (Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences) win the National U16s, lay the foundation stone for their own rugby academy and tour Australia.

• Jungle Crows feature on Transworld Sports TV, the most watched sports magazine programme in the world.

 Text and images courtesy: Paul Walsh