Bose, who is doing two films with Govind Nihalani and Dev Benegal, has special permission from the film-makers to don the India colours in Singapore. The green signal was necessary as his contract with the producers specify that he would not expose himself to the physical perils of rugby.

He rattles off his list of injuries, almost with the pride of a war veteran flashing the honours adorning his chest. ``I have suffered a broken nose, wrenched my ankle, cracked a thumb, was knocked unconscious and had had a few stitches on my head,'' he says.

What Bose lacks in inches, he makes up with his fitness, grit and determination. A hypotheticalquestion: how will he take on a giant like Jonah Lomu if he had to? ``Simple. I would tackle him,'' he answers, making it sound as simple as snatching a candy from a kid.

Bose hones his rugby skills on the well-manicured turf of Bombay Gymkhana -- a club which was formed especially for rugby in 1875 by the British. Today, Bombay Gymkhana is the premier rugby institution in the country -- best reflected by the fact that nine of its players, including Bose, are in the 24-member Indian team.

But Bose says rugby is not an elitist sport and no longer suffers from the Raj hangover. Australia, South Africa and New Zealand have changed the power equation. He drew a comparison with cricket when he said that the Britishers taught the game to the rest of the world but are themselves lagging behind in the world context.

``Rugby is not all about strength. You have to be fit enough to last the distance. The advantage I have is that I am one of the fittest players in the (Indian) team. There are a lot of guys who canplay brilliant rugby in the first 20 minutes. But it's a very tiring sport. I know that in the 75th minute, I will have the legs to run, and run fast. And that is very important for my side,'' says Bose, whose girth is almost half that of his 120 kg team-mate, Minal Pastala.

Bose believes that rugby is the ``most dangerous sport on earth''. Anyway, fear is alien to the baby-faced Bose. As he says, his ambition in life is ``to die young''.