\n<\/p>\n
Published: May 1, 2026, 1:00 PM<\/strong><\/p>\n Liam Poulton is excited to announce his return to India after being picked in the ninth round of the Rugby Premier League (RPL) international draft by the Mumbai Dreamers.<\/p>\n The 23-year-old player expressed his enthusiasm, saying, \u201cIt\u2019s a new team, new people, new group. I\u2019m really excited.\u201d<\/p>\n The RPL, which features six teams, will take place at the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai. The competition involves a training camp followed by a jam-packed schedule of matches lasting 15 days, leading into the playoffs soon after.<\/p>\n In this league, players usually return to the draft, with each team allowed to keep just two players. As a Category C player, Poulton will earn a monthly salary of $3,500 USD, with all travel, lodging, and meals included.<\/p>\n Reflecting on his experience, he shared, \u201cIf a team was to ask me to come overseas and play, with everything covered, that would be good enough for me. Getting paid on top of that is just an extra bonus.\u201d<\/p>\n Last season, he played for the Bengaluru Bravehearts, scoring five tries in 12 matches, placing him tied for 16th in scoring in the league. Poulton admitted he was initially hesitant about making such a big change, but once he arrived, he felt welcomed and quickly bonded with his teammates.<\/p>\n He gained a greater appreciation for how the league helps local players, mentioning a 19-year-old teammate who found a promising path through rugby. \u201cThat\u2019s how I feel in a sense. This is an opportunity I wouldn\u2019t pass up.\u201d<\/p>\n A highlight from last season was a standout moment during a game against the Kalinga Black Tigers, where Poulton dashed down the sideline with Olympic sprinter Perry Baker in pursuit. That play caught a lot of attention online, amassing over 1.1 million views. <\/p>\n Poulton recalled the excitement, \u201cMy dad wanted to see me against Perry Baker. I told him, \u2018There’s no way I can outrun that guy!\u2019\u201d Despite Baker catching him just short of the try line, Poulton managed to score.<\/p>\n Now back in Victoria, he has also balanced his rugby with playing for the Castaway Wanderers and Pacific Pride. Off the field, he is considering a future in law enforcement and has spoken with recruiters from the Victoria Police Department. <\/p>\n \u201cBoth said my sports background would make me a strong candidate,\u201d he noted, adding that they encouraged him to enjoy his rugby career for as long as possible before fully committing to another path. <\/p>\n As he gears up for another season, Poulton is looking to enjoy his time more. \u201cLast year, I was so focused on performing; this time, I want to take in the atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n The Rugby Premier League is set to kick off on June 16.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Victoria Rugby Player Returns to India for Second Season in Pro League Published: May 1, 2026, 1:00 PM Liam Poulton is excited to announce his return to India after being picked in the ninth round of the Rugby Premier League (RPL) international draft by the Mumbai Dreamers. The 23-year-old player expressed his enthusiasm, saying, \u201cIt\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-30488","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-india-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30488\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indiabulletinusa.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}