Stephen Paea first burst into the national spotlight this spring when he churned out a record 49 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press at the NFL combine. The Auckland New Zealand-born, Tonga-raised nose tackle was selected in the second round of the NFL draft by the Chicago Bears. Paea grew up playing rugby. Below are videos in which he talks about his rugby past.

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New Delhi, India - The Delhi Hurricanes started India’s first rugby academy this past weekend at Vasant Kunj New Delhi.

Two  matches were played in 7s and 15s and were refereed by the Indian rugby Team Captain, Nasser Hussain.

The valiant display of the players in both the games kept the thousand viewers at the edge of their seats and held their interest through both the matches. Both teams contested the matches competitively and after a great display of their skills the Delhi Hurricanes emerged winners of the 7’s match as well as the 15’s match; winning the Du Pont Cup.  The majority of the viewers were corporates, expats as well the young members of the society who have shown a keen interest in the sport. The refreshments for the guests were sponsored by Underdogs Sports bar. The Energy drinks for the players and the audience were sponsored by Tzinga and the game balls as well as the awards for the spectators kick in competition were sponsored by Decathlon. A kiosk was put up by Suunto Time pieces. The entire event was organized and managed by Diablo Events.

The event served as a platform for all sports enthusiasts to interact and share their passion for the game. The sport in India has seen a lot of growth since the formation of the Indian Rugby Football Union and the International Rugby Board. The Delhi Hurricanes academy aims at spreading awareness about the sport and strengthening its’ threshold in Northern India.

Mr. Kuldeep Singh Bisht, Coach for the Delhi Hurricanes said that the academy aims at total player development.  He added “the academy will not only be about learning the sport but will also instill discipline, team building skills and an overall development of each member of the academy.”

Thretton Palamo's switch to American football is starting to garner some publicity. Below is a snippet from College Football Live on ESPN. 

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There's going to be a new mainstream rugby video game for the first time in three years, and there's in fact going to be two. A little while ago we showed you the trailer for Rugby Challenge. Here's the first trailer for the official RWC 2011 game. Let us know which you are more excited to get your soon-to-be carpel tunneled mits on.

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