Bhubaneswar: The third day of the National Rugby 15s Championship 2026 – Division 1 at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar, saw defending champions Delhi Hurricanes and Future Hope Harlequins secure their places in the men’s semi-finals after convincing victories in their respective quarter-final clashes.
Hurricanes dominated Quarter-final 3, defeating Bangalore Rugby Club 48–6 to continue their title defence. Shivam Shukla, Abhishek Shukla (two), Pradeep Kumar Tanwar, Neeraj Khatri, Mohit Khatri, Vikas Khatri and Deepak Punia scored tries, while Aniket added with the boot. In Quarter-final 4, Future Hope Harlequins beat Sergeant Institute RC 26–0, with Sumit Kumar Roy scoring twice and Rajdeep Saha adding points. With these results, Delhi Hurricanes and Future Hope Harlequins advance to the semi-finals, where they will face Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences Rugby Club and Bombay Gymkhana Rugby Club, respectively Wednesday, March 11.
Earlier in the day, Delhi Lions Rugby Club secured a 20- 15 victory over Odisha Rugby Club in the placement match to finish ninth in the tournament. Odisha RC started strongly and took the early lead, but Delhi Lions roared back with tries from Chanderpal, Akbar, Monu Yadav, and Nischay Sawhney to seal the win. Attention now turns to the women’s competition Tuesday, which will see the semi-final clashes take place at the Kalinga Stadium.
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