Trinity and Royal skip President's Trophy K.O. tourney

Anushka Withanage

The Milo President's Trophy Inter-school Knock-out Rugby Tournament conducted by the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA) and sponsored by Nestle Lanka Plc, will be worked off from July 7-18, at the Royal Sports Complex, Colombo.

This was revealed to the media by the officials of the SLSRFA and Nestle, at a press conference held to launch the 2009 edition of the President's Trophy Knock-out in Colombo, on Thursday (July 2).

President of the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association K.A.D. Punyadasa said at the outset, that 2009 President's Trophy Schools League champions Royal College, Colombo and Trinity College, Kandy have informed of their inability to participate at the upcoming tournament.

He noted that Trinity College, Kandy had informed his body, of their inability to field a team in lieu of the impending Advanced Level Examination at which most of their players will be sitting while League champs Royal College, had merely intimated that they too would not be taking part, sans adducing any concrete reasons.

In the absence of both Royal and Trinity, 2009 President's Trophy Schools League runner-up S. Thomas' College, Kingswood College, Kandy, Isipatana College, St. Joseph's College, Dharmaraja College Kandy, St. Anthony's College, Katugastota, St. Peter's College from Division one Group 'A' and Division One Group 'B' champs Wesley College, will vie for the coveted Knock-Out Title.

Punaydasa said that during all the fixtures of the tournament, two past greats who had represented the country, from each school will be invited as Guests of Honour, to add more lustre to the event, snubbed by some of the elite school teams in the recent past, while the grand final on July 18, would be graced by the Minister of Educiaotn Susil Premjayanth as Chief Guest.

External Affairs Manager of Nestle Lanka, Bandula Egodage commended all school teams who had confirmed their participation at the Knock-Out Tournament and said that the non-participation of a few schools will not in anyway hamper the tournament or his firm's image among the public.

The quarter-final and semi-final draw for the tournament is to be finalised by Sunday (July 5), after the official completion of the President's Trophy Schools League on July 4.