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
Kandy is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is both an administrative and religious city and is also the capital of the Central Province. Kandy is the home of the Temple of the Tooth Relic, one of the most sacred places of worship in the Buddhist world. It was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1988. Historically the local Buddhist rulers resisted Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial expansion and occupation.
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 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. Originally developed as the Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7s, the event was founded in 1999 and has featured as a part of the Asian Sevens Series in past seasons.
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 103,000 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 twelve times. Their nickname is the Red Shirts.
Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) is a national governing body of tennis in Sri Lanka, 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.
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 1963.
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.
Hambantota Sharks Sports Club was a former Division 'A' rugby union team based in Sri Lanka, that competed in the Dialog Rugby League.
The Sri Lanka Rugby Championship, known as the Dialog Rugby League due to its sponsorship by Dialog Axiata, 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.
Up Country Lions were a Division 'A' rugby union team based in Sri Lanka, competing in the Dialog Rugby League.
Fazil Marija is a former rugby union player of Sri Lanka. Marija is known as one of Sri Lanka's finest rugby union players and one of Asia's best. He was the former captain of the Sri Lanka national rugby union team. Marija comes from a sporting family background, with at least 17 members through two generations having represented various Clubs, Services Teams and National Rugby teams during the past four decades. Marija hails from the hill capital Kandy.
The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to Sri Lanka.