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The Sri Lanka national rugby union team, known as the Tuskers, represents Sri Lanka in men's international rugby union. The team has yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup. They have the longest tradition of organised club rugby in Asia, dating back to 1879, which was just 8 years after the founding of the world's first rugby union in England. They regularly compete in the Asian Five Nations tournament and are currently in Division I. In the 2010 tournament, they made it to the finals beating Chinese Taipei 37 to 7.
Rugby union in Sri Lanka is mainly played at a semi-professional and recreational level. It is a popular team sport with a history dating back to 1879. In 2012, according to International Rugby Board figures, there were over 160,000 registered rugby union players in Sri Lanka, making it the second largest rugby-playing nation in Asia, behind Japan.
Sport in Sri Lanka is a significant part of Sri Lankan culture. Although the Sports Ministry named volleyball the national sport, the most popular sport is Cricket. Rugby union is also popular. Other popular sports are water sports, badminton, athletics, football, basketball and tennis. Sri Lanka's schools and colleges regularly organize sports and athletics teams, competing on provincial and national levels.
Kandy Sports Club is a Division 'A' rugby union team, based in Kandy, Sri Lanka, competing in the Dialog Rugby League. The club has been the most successful Sri Lankan club in the Sri Lanka Rugby Championship, winning 18 league titles in the last twenty years, which is the most wins by any club since the expanded competition commenced in 1950. The club has also won twenty Clifford Cups and in the period between 1995 and 2012 the club did not lose a Clifford Cup title, although in 1998 there was no tournament and in 2006 the club withdrew from the tournament. Kandy SC had won the league title for a record nine consecutive years between 2000 and 2009.
Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club, also known as CR & FC, is a Division-A rugby union team based in Colombo, Sri Lanka which plays in the Dialog Rugby League. Established in 1922, the club has won the Clifford Cup Knockout Tournament fifteen times, most recently in 2023. Their nickname is the Red Shirts.
Colombo Hockey and Football Club is a Division 'A' rugby union team based in Colombo, Sri Lanka, that competes in the Dialog Rugby League in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka Navy Sports Club is a Division 'A' rugby union team based in Sri Lanka. It is the rugby union team of the Sri Lanka Navy Sports Club. In 2014 they won the Clifford Cup, for the first time, defeating Havelock Sports Club, 27–22 in the final. Navy SC also completed the 'Grand Double' by winning the Dialog Rugby League Championship with an undefeated season that same year.
Sri Lanka Police Sports Club is a Division 'A' rugby union team based in Sri Lanka, competing in the Dialog Rugby League. It is the rugby union team of the Sri Lanka Police Sports Club.
Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club are a Division 'A' rugby union team, based in Sri Lanka. It is the rugby union team of the Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club.
Quentin Shelton Nagalingam Israel was a rugby coach and a school teacher from Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lanka Rugby Championship, known as the Nippon Paint Inter-Club Rugby League for sponsorship reasons, is the major national rugby union club competition, held between the top Division 'A' rugby sides, in Sri Lanka. The annual home and away competition, featuring eight Division 'A' teams, has been held since 1950. The competition has been held between November and February for the last three seasons. The first round of the tournament runs for seven weekends with the final match of the first round in early January, no games are played over the Christmas holiday period. The second round also runs for seven weekends, with the final match in the beginning of March.
The Clifford Cup is the most prestigious club rugby knockout tournament in Sri Lanka, and arguably the oldest rugby tournament in Asia. The Clifford Cup commenced in 1911 and has been played continuously since 1950, having completed 79 seasons. The tournament began as a competition between the mercantile executives in Colombo and planters in the hill country.
The 78th Clifford Cup tournament was held between the 28 September and 7 October 2012.
The 79th Clifford Cup tournament was held between the 27 February and the 5 March 2014. The change in dates from the competition's traditional dates in the September/October period, resulted in there being no competition being played in 2013.
Up Country Lions were a Division 'A' rugby union team based in Sri Lanka, competing in the Dialog Rugby League.
The Dimbula Athletic and Cricket Club is a sporting club formed by British tea planters and founded in 1856. It is the oldest sporting club in Sri Lanka outside of Colombo, with activities including rugby, cricket, squash, billiards, snooker, tennis and badminton.
The Dickoya Maskeliya Cricket Club is a sporting club formed by British tea planters and founded in 1868. The club house and grounds are situated at the foothills of Darrawella Estate and therefore the club is often called the Darrawella Club.
The 82nd Clifford Cup tournament was held between the 17 and 26 February 2017. The 2016 Clifford Cup took place after the conclusion of the regular season, with teams seeded based on their performance in the 2016-17 Dialog Rugby League season.
The 83rd Clifford Cup tournament was held between the 16 and 25 February 2018. The 2018 Clifford Cup took place after the conclusion of the regular season, with teams seeded based on their performance in the 2017-18 Dialog Rugby League season.
The 84th Clifford Cup tournament was held between the 15 and 24 March 2019. The 2019 Clifford Cup took place after the conclusion of the regular season, with teams seeded based on their performance in the 2018-19 Dialog Rugby League season. The eventual winner was Havelock Sports Club, who last won the cup in 1981, thirty seven years ago.
References
- ↑ "Etisalat empowers Sri Lanka Army rugby team". Daily FT. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
- 1 2 "Two Fijians prop army pack". Sunday Times . Retrieved 23 March 2016.
- ↑ Gunawardena, Milinda (22 May 2011). "Army determined to put up a good show this season". Sunday Leader . Retrieved 23 March 2016.