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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.
The Sri Lanka national rugby sevens team has competed in the Hong Kong Sevens since the 1980s. In 1989, veteran rugby commentator Bill McLaren mentions them in an article on the Hong Kong Sevens, saying that their team had players such as Kothalawala, Ekanayake and Lakshantha.
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.
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.
Havelock Sports Club is a Division 'A' rugby union team based in Sri Lanka that plays in the Dialog Rugby League. The Club has a long history and Rugby is the club's main sporting activity. The "Havies", as they are commonly known amongst its members, is situated in Colombo and the club's ground is known as Havelock Park. The club has produced some excellent players over the last few decades including Sri Lankan Nationals such as Michael Jayasekera, Hisham Abdeen, Graham Raux, Sanjeewa Jayasinghe and Rajeev Ganapathy. The club has struggled over the last decade to retain its players with their star performers crossing over to more star-powered clubs.
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.
Yoshitha Rajapaksa is a Sri Lankan sportsman and naval officer. He is the son of the sixth president of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa. He was a lieutenant in the Sri Lanka Navy and an aide-de-camp to the President. He is one of the owners of Carlton Sports Network one of the several organizations such as Carlton Pre school and Carlton rugby named after the Carlton House of the Rajapaksa. and was a former captain of the Sri Lanka national rugby union team and the Navy SC rugby team.. He currently plays for the CH & FC in the Dialog Rugby League. His usual position is Flanker, but can also switch to Number 8.
Anuranga Walpola is a current Sri Lankan rugby player. His current position is Hooker (No-02). He is the Assistant coach of Isipathana College. He plays professionally for Havelock Sports Club in Colombo, Sri lanka. He is known to have a shrewd rugby brain and is considered as one of the finest players of his generation.
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 is the current 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.
Sri Lanka competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, Australia from April 4 to April 15, 2018.
Sri Lanka participated at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 6 October to 18 October 2018.
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.
Sri Lanka participated at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia from 18 August to 2 September 2018.
References
- ↑ "Sudarshana Muthuthanthri". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- ↑ "Muthuthanthri appointed Sri Lanka 15's Rugby Captain". Daily News . 4 May 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
- ↑ "sudarshana-muthuthanthri". www.redbull.com. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- ↑ "Sunday Times - Rugby: Sudarshana Muthuthanthri reappointed Sri Lanka 7s skipper". www.sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- ↑ "Rugby Sudarshana Muthuthanthri First to Play Top Level Provincial Rugby in nz 14-01-18 Sinhala Sri Lankan: Thrimana TV". varunamultimedia.com. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- ↑ "Muthuthanthri to play for Auckland rugby 7s team". Daily News. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- ↑ Tharinda, Saveen (30 March 2018). "Sri Lanka name Rugby Sevens squad for Commonwealth Games 2018". The Island . Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 31 March 2018.