KitSports » sri lanka rugby

Free entrance for Asian Sevens series SL battle to remain fourth….

kit-sports editor — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 01:42:59 +0000

Sri Lanka will face an uphill task of securing the fourth place in the Asian Sevens Series when they host the regional giants in the third and final leg at the Race Course International Rugby Stadium this weekend.
Sri Lanka and Hong Kong have both earned 18 points each and share the fourth place in the league table at the end of first two legs in China and Thailand.
However, Fazil Marija’s men will at least have to make semi finals if they are to secure the fourth place.
The Tuskers having defeated China in the Thailand leg will be confident of putting up a fighting display in front of what is expected to be a packed house in Colombo.

Sri Lanka who have already started their preparations for the crucial leg have been drafted into group B where they will compete against Malaysia and Philippines.
Sri Lanka previously defeated Malaysia 31-10 in the first leg and are favourites to top their group.
The defending champions Hong Kong will also look to end the Sevens campaign on a high note although they are very unlikely to retain the title, while Japan who have won both the previous legs are well on course to finish on top.
Hong Kong and China will fight it out for the top spot in group C which also includes Kazakhstan while Japan and South Korea have been handed fairly comfortable draws and are expected to finish first in group A and D respectively.

Meanwhile, in a bid to promote the game among the youth, Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU) have opted not to issue tickets for the upcoming third and final leg of the Asian Seven series, as the spectators will be allowed to witness all the matches free of charge.
The Chief Executive Officer, SLRFU, Rohan Gunaratane insisted that the Union considered this as a massive opportunity to promote rugby in Sri Lanka.
“We believe that this is a great opportunity for all the youngsters to come and watch probably the best level of Sevens rugby in Asia. The Union has decided to allow all the spectators to witness the matches free of charge and we are expecting to see a full house supporting the Sri Lankans,” he said.

Kandy SC determined to defend league title…..

kit-sports editor — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 01:16:32 +0000

Defending league champions Kandy Sports Club led by Fazil Marija will open their inter club league rugby season with a match against CH and FC on 22 November at Nittawela. The second game will be on 29th at the same venue against Air Force. On 5 December they will scrum down with Police at Police Park. Sunday 23 will see them play Army at Nittawela. 28th Friday vs CR and FC at Longden Place, January 2nd Havelock Sports Club at Havelock Park, Sunday 10th Navy at Nittawela. All these first round matches will kick off at 4.00 p.m., except the Havelock SC game at 6.30 p.m. under lights.
Kandy Sports Club, the defending league champions, are all out and determined to maintain their previous year’s performance, with a difference in the administration under the Presidency of Udaya Balasuriya and his able committee.
They have become the kings of local rugby, as the speed and intensity of the game increases and the number of phases of play multiplies. Players tend to become somewhat oblivious to their basic roles in retaining possession and maintaining continuity of the game. Kandy Sports Club has been dominating the rugby scene for nearly two and a half decades.
They have won the League for many years, which no other club has done so far. Kandy Sports Club has also fed the National Team with the most number of players.

Kandy SC invited to participate – Asia Rugby Western Clubs Champions League…

kit-sports editor — Sun, 02 Aug 2015 10:45:12 +0000

Kandy Sports Club has been invited by the SLRFU to take part in the first ever Asia Rugby Western Clubs Champions League in Dubai. The winner of the league will be known on Friday the 18th of September. The winning club will be able to call themselves the Champion Rugby Club in the Western half of Asia until the following year.
This is a concept which Asia Rugby hopes to have every year, with the clubs selected from domestic leagues. The organizers are also going all-out to source sponsorship for this event to make it happen this year, as for the time being the participating clubs will have to bear their own costs.
The venue will be in Dubai. The Tournament Director is A.R’s Dubai-based West Asia Development Officer. The participating teams are Abu Dhabi Saracens RFC, Almaty RFC, Doha RFC and Kandy SC.
The curtain raiser will be between Doha RFC and Abu Dhabi Saracens RFC on the 11th. Kandy SC will play Almaty RFC on 12th. 13th and 14th are rest days. 15th Abu Dhabi Saracens RFC vs Kandy SC. 16th and 17th rest and training. 18th Kandy SC vs Doha RFC game followed by the Asia Rugby official Trophy presentation and tournament dinner.
Asia Rugby will appoint a Tournament Director and a Match Commissioner for each game. They will also appoint referees and an Assistant Referee No.1 (who will be the Reserve Referee), and have invited the UAE Rugby Referees Society to appoint an Assistant Referee No.2 and the 4th & 5th Officials for each match.
They will also appoint Panel Citing Commissioners for each match and a Judicial Officer for the tournament.

Kandy Sports Club to field one team……………………

kit-sports editor — Sun, 05 Jul 2015 01:57:03 +0000

Kandy Sports Club will be fielding only one team for the inter club knockout tournament says the newly elected president Udaya Balasuriya of the one hundred forty year old Kandy Sports Club. He is all out to give his best and bring a change with equal treatment to every member with the backing of his able committee.
Speaking to me ten hours after the AGM, he said it is only rugby which is keeping the Kandy flag flying at club level, and this sport should be given the best. Hailing form a sports promoting family, his uncle late E.W. Balasuriya, was one of the famous sports promoters in the country. Let it be cricket, football, hockey, iron sports, rugby he was there to give a hand. He is one person who made unheard of persons known in the sports field. He formed his own club in 1960’s, called Kandy Lake Club which club went places in Sri Lanka rugby. At that time he was well supported by his brother Wilson Balasuriya, that is Udaya’s father. This club emerged as the “B” division champions in 1966 and played in the “A” division with some of the country’s top players. It was “EW” who introduced professional players’ and the controlling body of that time did not like this move and showed the exit door to this club. Today even the Forces teams are with professionals.
Later he formed the Kandy Rugby Football Club. After a few years, in 1974, E.W. amalgamated his club with Kandy Sports Club. When late Dr. S. Nadasen was the president, and Kandy Sports Club sported their colours, the jersey and the stockings were EW’s club colours.
So, Udaya should continue his late uncle’s good work in the rugby field, for which he is sure to get the best possible backing from the present king maker Malik Samarawickrema, the man who put the Nittawela Club in the trophy winning mood. It was Malik who brought the club to this position in rugby. If not for him, the Nittawela Club would have been still in the doldrums.
This time Udaya has got a good committee, and all are sure to give their best to make rugby the number one sport in Kandy. He has also got a good captain, that is Fazil Marija, a well seasoned person in the rugby field, and he has Lasantha Wijesuriya as the Rugby Chairman and Kapila Silva as the team manager. Both are knowledgeable and there is a wealth of talent in the team.
What is expected from Udaya is equal treatment to everyone; let it be player, committee member, or member of staff. He should not parachute people from air. This club has a long history and has maintained traditions and should continue with good relationship, making everyone happy. One can now see players who are coming over to Nittawela; some of them who played earlier for this club. It is just like politicians, crossing over where they see good.

Sri Lanka rise to 38 in world rankings Marija lauds Mahela effect…..

kit-sports editor — Thu, 14 May 2015 00:57:05 +0000

Following a highly successful tour to Philippines, the Asian Division-1 Rugby winners, Sri Lanka have jumped up nine places to seal the 38th spot in the world rankings. With their latest victory the Tuskers are ranked fourth in Asia for the first time in history. All the members of Sri Lanka team was given a plaque and Rs 75 000 by the Ministry of Sports at a felicitation ceremony held at the Ministry of Sports in Colombo yesterday.
Sri Lanka fly half and Captain Fazil Marija believes that the motivation programme hosted by former Sri Lankan cricket Captain Mahela Jayawardene prior to the Asian rugby tournament helped his team to flourish at the international level.
“I must thank Mahela Jayawardene for the motivation programme he did before the tournament,” Marija said at the press conference.
“I think that was very useful for us. He (Mahela) spoke about how he prepared for the international level and shared his experiences on how to do well at that level which was a great learning curve for all of us,” the 29-year-old further told the journalists.
Arguably the finest out-side half Sri Lanka has ever produced, Marija also hailed his teammates for putting their body on the line in order to make the country proud.
“The team we had was quite good and everyone worked really hard. We had a good tough three weeks of practice and it was really valuable for all of us. Each and every member played their role in helping the country win this championship,” the former Kingswood captain said.
Minster of Sports, Navin Dissanayake in his speech congratulated the winning team and appreciated the main Sponsor Dialog Axiata PLC for their support over the years while mistakenly calling the captain Marija as ‘Thajudeen’ which was nothing more than a slip of the tongue.
“These boys have brought us great honour winning this Asian Championship. All credit for the boys for their heroic performance and making the country proud. I should also mention about the sponsors; Dialog once again has been fantastic being the main sponsor not only for rugby, but also for sports like cricket in this country, so a big thank you for Hans (Wijayasuriya) and his team,” he said.
Meanwhile, the President of Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU), Asanga Seneviratne confirmed that the country will not take part in the ‘Play-off’ for a spot in the Top Division.
“We are not going to play the ‘play-off’ against Hong Kong. We have played them so many times, but at this moment what is more important is not beating them, but giving these boys more exposure. We are planning to go on our first ever European tour where we are expected to play Portugal and Switzerland. We have also been invited to train with Hong Kong and play four matches there,” he revealed of Sri Lanka’s future tours.

Dave Murray Joins Cr & FC As

Sri lanka Asian Rugby Championship Division 1 Final…..

kit-sports editor — Sun, 10 May 2015 00:27:23 +0000

Sri Lanka led by Fazil Marija gained the Asian Rugby Championship Division One title beating host Philippines 27 ( 3T, 4P) to 14 (1T, 3P) in the final worked off at Philippines Sports Stadium last evening.

This was the third time Sri Lanka won the Division One Championship, having earlier won the title in 2010 and 2013.
Having struggled to play at any real pace in their opening game against Kazakhstan, the Tuskers put in a much more fluid performance yesterday with the forwards giving their speedy backs plenty of good balls. Debutant Kanchana Ramanayake gave an excellent performance scoring his first international try. Skipper Fazil Marija and Danushka Ranjan also played die hard rugby scoring a try each, while place kicker Reza Mubarak was excellent with four successful penalties.
Philippines drew first blood through a penalty by Matt Bellenie. Sri Lanka bounced back with an unconverted try to get ahead in the game (5-3) when skipper Fazil Marija found the gap from the kick off and touched down near the corner flag.
Mubarak missed the conversion. Later Tuskers again increased the lead with a successful penalty by Reza Mubarak to make the score (8-3). Despite losing a player after a yellow card, Sri Lanka managed to keep control of the game and bagged another try through centre Danushka Ranjan to further increase the lead (13-3). In return the hosts were awarded a penalty which was safely put over by skipper Oliver Saunders.
Within the next few minutes the hosts lost their centre Tim Bweheni to a yellow card, and Riza Mubarak made no mistake with the penalty to give the Tuskers a 16-6 lead. Sri Lanka went on to a comfortable lead in the next minute after skipper Fazil Marija opened the gap with a good individual run and passed to centre Kanchana Ramanayaka to touch down to make the score 21-6. Conversion missed.
Philippines were able to cross the line for the first time when fly half Kenneth Stern scored an unconverted try before the short whistle and the score read 21-11. In the second half Volcanoes were back into the game with a successful penalty by full back Alexander Aronson reducing the margin to 21-14.
Visitors struck back with two penalties by Mubarak to seal a Sri Lanka victory 27-14.
Meanwhile Kazakhstan finished in third place beating Singapore 32 (5T, 2C, 1T) to 12 (1T, 1C) in their playoff match yesterday. Winners led 10-5 at half time.
Japan clinched their 8th Asian Championship since 2008 with a game in hand after beating Korea 66-10.

Sri Lanka registered a comfortable 35 -14 victory over Kazakhstan

kit-sports editor — Fri, 08 May 2015 01:00:44 +0000

Sri Lanka registered a comfortable 35 -14 victory over Kazakhstan to reach the final of the Asian Rugby Championship fixture worked off in Philippines yesterday.

Now Sri Lanka will meet hosts Philippines in the finalon Saturday which is scheduled to be played at 3.30pm SL time.

Philippines defeated Singapore 20-17 in extra time after scores were tied 17-all at full-time. At half-time Singapore led 10-0.
Sri Lanka collected their points through three converted tries, one try and three penalties while the losers responded with two converted tries. Sri Lanka led 22- 07 at half-time.
Winger Lavanga Perera and fly half Dulaj Perera scored one try each and centre Danushka Ranjan crossed twice for the winners.
While Reza Mubarak, Kanchana Ramanayake and Dulaj Perera made no mistakes with penalties, Mubarak was also was right on target with two conversions and Ramanayake converted one try.
On this performance, Sri Lanka may be fancied to down hosts Philippines in the final on Saturday.
However, the home team Philippines may not be a pushover as Sri Lanka found out 12 months ago in their own backyard. Then Philippines prevailed 27-26 in a cliff-hanger played in Colombo.

Ahead of 2015 A5N Marija exuding confidence…..

kit-sports editor — Fri, 01 May 2015 07:08:46 +0000

Sri Lanka skipper Fazil Marija is brimming with confidence of the team and expecting positive results at the Asian Rugby Championship Division One Tournament which is scheduled to kick off on 6 May in Philippines.
Sri Lanka Rugby football Union (SLRFU) announced a 25-member touring squad yesterday including seven uncapped players. Ganuka Disanayake, Kavindu de Costa and Jason Melder (Havelock), Buwanka Udangamuwa (Kandy), Dulanjala Wijesinghe (Navy) , Kanchana Ramanayake (CR&FC) and Randika Alwis (Army) will don the national jersey for the first time.
Despite losing a few key players from Navy and Havelocks, Sri Lanka has been blessed with a set of experienced players in forwards like Sean Wijesinghe, Achala Perera, Henry Terence, Kishor Jehan and Sharo Fernando while in backs Roshan Weeraratne, Reza Mubarak and Dinusha Chathuranga are there to produce the goods,” said Marija.
The tournament begins on 6 May with Sri Lanka taking on Kazahkstan and the Volcanoes facing off against Singapore. The matches on 9 May will be determined by the outcome of the 6 May matches.
Sri Lanka will leave for the tournament on 3 May and team is coached by Kandy coach Johan Taylor.