Sport | Rugby Union |
---|---|
Jurisdiction | National |
Abbreviation | SLR |
Founded | 10 August 1908 |
Affiliation | World Rugby |
Affiliation date | 1988 |
Regional affiliation | Asia Rugby |
Headquarters | Old Sports Ministry Complex, No. 33 Torrington Place, Colombo 7 |
President | Lasitha Gunaratne |
Vice president(s) | Nazeem Mohamed |
Director | Rohan Gunaratne |
Secretary | Thusitha Peris |
Official website | |
www | |
Sri Lanka Rugby is the governing body for rugby union in Sri Lanka. It is one of the oldest governing bodies in the world, being founded as the Ceylon Rugby Football Union in 1908. [1]
The Ceylon Rugby Football Union was founded in 1908. [2] The Ceylon Rugby Football Union (Ceylon RFU) was founded on 10 August 1908 at a meeting between representatives from Uva, Dimbula, Kelani Valley, Dickoya, Kandy and Colombo at the Grand Orient Hotel (now known as Hotel Taprobane) in Colombo. At the meeting H. B. T. Boucjer (from Uva) was elected as chairman with the representatives unanimously resolving to form the Ceylon Rugby Football Rugby Union and to apply to be affiliated with the English Rugby Football Union. The Ceylon RFU also resolved that Kandy be selected as the centre of the Union and that J. G. Cruikshank be elected as honorary secretary. The Ceylon RFU became the first Rugby Union in Asia.
The SLRFU joined the IRB in 1988. [3] In March 2011 the IRB stripped the SLRFU of full member status after it failed to conduct board elections in accordance with the By-Laws, [4] the SLRFU's full membership however was subsequently re-instated follows the successful completion of the Union’s Annual General Meeting and Board elections.
In 2016 the SLRFU resolved to rename the organisation to Sri Lanka Rugby, following recent changes to other major rugby sporting bodies across the world.
Sri Lanka Rugby has several teams under its control.
Former teams
Member Unions
The Sri Lanka Scout Association, is a Scouting organization in Sri Lanka operated by the Ceylon Scout Council. The Ceylon Scout Council is a corporation formed by Act No. 13 of 1957. The association became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1953. The coeducational Sri Lanka Scout Association has 33,709 members as of 2014. in 2016 the year that the National Organisation reached 104 years the Scouting Population in Sri Lanka had increased to 55,078 the growth taking place against the year 2015 was 29% which was a great achievement by the SLSA.
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.
The Sri Lanka Sevens is an annual international rugby sevens tournament held in Sri Lanka. Sponsored by telecommunications provider Dialog, the event has been part of the Asian Sevens Series since 2015. It was founded in 1999 as the Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7s.
The Church of Ceylon is the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka. It is an extraprovincial jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who serves as its Metropolitan. It was established in 1845 with the appointment of the first Anglican Bishop of Colombo, James Chapman and until 1950 it consisted of a single diocese; in that year a second diocese was established at Kurunegala.
Robin John Yule is a New Zealand rugby union coach.
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.
The Central Province Rugby Football Union (CPRFU) is the governing body for rugby union in Central Province, Sri Lanka.
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.
Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) is a national governing body of tennis in Sri Lanka founded in 1915, which represents Sri Lanka on associations like the International Tennis Federation and the Asian Tennis Federation. Its main aim is to popularise tennis in all parts of Sri Lanka as a professional sport and to produce top tennis players from Sri Lanka.
The Korea Rugby Union (KRU) is the governing body for rugby union in South Korea. It was founded in 1946, and become a member of World Rugby in November 1988. The KRU was the fifth Asian rugby union to be founded, after Ceylon, Malaya, Japan (1926) and Thailand (1937).
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 Army Sports Club is a Division 'A' rugby union team based in Sri Lanka that plays in the Dialog Rugby League in Sri Lanka. It is the rugby union team of the Sri Lanka Army Sports Club and was founded in 1962.
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.
The Serendib International Cup was an international rugby union competition for emerging nations held in Sri Lanka in 2013. The Serendib Cup was contested by the hosts Sri Lanka and the Malagasy and Polish national rugby teams. The tournament was backed by the International Rugby Board and was played over three match days in Colombo between 26 October and 1 November, coinciding with the 2013 end-of-year rugby union tests.
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.
Tharinda Ratwatte also known as Ashan Ratwatte is a Sri Lankan rugby union and sevens player who plays as a fly-half. His father Ashan Ratwatte was also a rugby union player having played for both Kandy SC and Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club. His granduncle Anuruddha Ratwatte was a politician.