The 76th All India and South Asia Rugby, a division one tournament and one of the oldest and most celebrated events in the Indian rugby calendar, will commence on Saturday.

Uzbekistan, alongwith top 12 clubs from across the country will compete for the top honours at the Bombay Gymkhana in the week long event.

The teams participating at this prestigious tournament as per rankings are Army Red (Ahmednagar), Chennai Cheetahs RFC (Chennai), Uzbekistan RFC, Army Green (Ahmednagar), Future Hope RFC (Kolkata), Calcutta Cricket & Football Club (CC&FC), Maharashtra State Police (Mumbai), Bangalore RFC, Armenians Sports Club (Kolkata), Bombay Gymkhana, Army Ambala, Delhi Lions and Maidan Hazzards (Kolkata).

"We are very proud to host the tournament. With the recent inclusion of the sport in Olympics, the sport has managed to generate tremendous interest in India as well," said Pramod Khanna, president Rugby India.

The week-long event will be a 15-a side tournament with a series of matches on a knockout basis with the bottom three teams being relegated to the Callaghan Cup (a division two event).