Mumbai, June 29 (IANS) After two weeks of intense tackles and spectacular tries, it all comes down to the inaugural Rugby Premier League (RPL) grand finale as the Chennai Bulls take on the Delhi Redz in what promises to be a fiery battle.

Chennai Bulls enjoyed a dominant 31-12 win over Bengaluru Bravehearts in the semi-final but it wasn’t so straightforward for the Delhi Redz side. They managed to defeat table-toppers Hyderabad Heroes 14-7 in a match that went right down to the wire, before Patrick Odongo scored a last-second try for the Redz.

Chennai Bulls are in an incredible vein of form with the likes of Terry Kennedy, Joseva Talacolo and Va’aufauese Apelu-Maliko playing an exceptional brand of rugby. Indian players such as Aryan Dixit, Muhammad Jasim EP, and Shahnawaz Ahmed too have made their presence felt.

Statistically, the Bulls are overall second in the league when it comes to tries, conversions, points scored and tackles made with 37, 25, 235 and 181 respectively.

Delhi Redz have had an incredible arc in the GMR RPL. Despite finishing fourth in the league with three wins, two draws and five losses, the Redz have beaten the strongest team of the tournament in their last game to seal a spot in the final.

Matias Osadczuk, Matteo Graziano, Patrick Odongo and Jordon Conroy have made stand-out contributions to the Redz. Indian players like Rajdeep Saha, Deepak Punia and Sunil Chawan too have had a memorable season so far.

Delhi Redz will look to cause another upset in the final as they face a tough challenge in Chennai Bulls who have already beaten them twice in the tournament so far.

Ahead of the big day, Chennai Bulls marquee player Terry Kennedy stated, “ This was our goal from the start to get to the final and hopefully get the job done tomorrow. Our performance in the semi-final was probably our best one of the tournament and something we’re really proud of.”

“We were forcing things in matches before but now we are back to the basics and are just trying to control the ball and tempo of the game. It’s something we’ve managed to do over the last few games and it has really helped. The accuracy is there but we need to work on our discipline on the field and that will be our focus in the final game” he added.

Assessing his opposition, the Captain of the Delhi Redz, Matias Osadczuk said, “ I look at Chennai Bulls, I see aggressive and talented international players. So we need to keep the ball all game and play out from the defence. We need to be in control and go up the field and add pressure. We need to stay concentrated and keep an eye on players like Apelu, Terry Kennedy and the other marquee players.”

–IANS

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