Carlton Super Sevens 2012 on a grand scale

Thushan JAYASURIYA

Sri Lanka Insurance will sponsor the “Carlton Super Sevens Rugby Tournament 2012” organized by Tharunyata Hetak Organization under the supervision of Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU), The Asian Rugby Football Union(ARFU) and the International Rugby Union.The inauguration ceremony of the promotional campaign of the tournament took place at Independence Square, Colombo yesterday.

The main objective of this rugby tournament is to promote rugby in rural areas of the country and to give an international-level exposure for the upcoming rugby players. The tournament will be played among 10 teams namely Uva Vipers, Southern Sharks, Northern Gladiators, Jaffna Challengers, Western Warriors, Eastern Eagles,North Western Blacks, North Central Typhoons, Sabaragamuwa Stallions and Central Kings.

Each team will include two International players , two A grade Sri Lankan Club Players and a under 21 school player.

The tournament will consist of two lrgs. The first leg will be played on May 26 and 27 at Bogambara Grounds, Kandy and the second leg will be played on June 2 ans 3 at Police Park, Colombo.

The Managing Director / CEO of Sri Lanka Insurance Mohan De Alwis said “As a local company we are happy to sponsor the Carlton Sevens Rugby Tournament 2012 .

Rugby could be used to enhance the personality and leadership skills. We hope that these 10 teams could go forward in the tournament.I would like to thank Namal Rajapakse for his immense cooperation and I wish all the best”

Speaking at the occasion MP Namal Rajapaksa said

“We started the Carlton rugby sevens in 2009 and we continued this on a small scale for two years. Last year we organized Carlton Sevens with 10 participating teams representing all the provinces in the country with a new look. And it helped to build an environment for the upcoming players to play with the international level players. At least 80 national level players are getting a chance to gain international exposure by playing in this tournament.

This year we have planned to commence this on a more organized manner and we are creating the environment for taking this game to village level. Sri Lanka Insurance has been giving support for the past three years and their support this time is very much appreciated. We are planning to commence tournaments in the other provinces simultaniously to the Colombo tournament next year.

So, I would like to invite every one to join hands with us and help to develop the sport.”