‘Carlton Rugby Super 7s, first of its kind in the World’
Anuradha ABEYSEKERA
The Carlton Rugby Super 7's will be the first of its kind in the
world, as world supremos of the sport are here to take part in an
emerging top level tournament in the international rugby scene, when the
fourth version of the Carlton Rugby Super 7's Championship is worked off
at the Bogambara Stadium, Kandy and Police grounds, Colombo from May 26
to June 3, said the pioneer of Carlton Sports Club (CSC),
Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa during a media briefing at the Galle
Face Hotel, yesterday.
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Uva Vipers’ Captain Yoshitha Rajapaksa
in conversation with North Western Blacks’ player D. J.
Fobes who captained the World Champion New Zealand sevens
team. |
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Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa
briefing the media.
Pictures by Nissanka Wijerathna |
He also said that CSC is proud to take Sri Lankan sports to a higher
level in its short history by conducting world class events such as the
Carlton Rugby Super 7's, Carlton Super Cross, Carlton Night Race and
Carlton Cup Basketball Championship. “We hope to set example to all by
conducting these events to the highest international level which we
believe will be the key to develop sports locally while popularizing Sri
Lanka as an international sporting venue,” Namal further explained.
“Rugby was confined to Kandy and Colombo some time ago and CSN with
its new concept brought the game to every region of the country
including North and East.
Nine teams from each Province along with a combined team will be in
action where local players have been offered the opportunity to play
with the world's best ruggerites. Not just in rugby, but in any sport
the international exposure is a must for its development. We have made
it compulsory for each team to include two under 21 players on the field
and at least 20 such players from around the country will be fortunate
to gain this top level international experience,” said the
Parliamentarian. 40 top level foreign ruggurites from New Zealand,
Australia, Fiji and England have arrived in the country for the big
event.
The first segment will kick off at Bogambara on May 26 and 27. Some
top celebrities in Bollywood, Preity Zinta, Vivek Oberoi and Vatsal Seth
will add glamor with their guest appearance at the hill country event
while Bipasha Basu and Sameera Reddy will rock the Colombo rugby fans on
June 3. The finals will be followed by a mega concert at Police ground,
featuring local and Indian artistes.
The new introduction to the Carlton Rugby Super 7's, a theme song
composed by the Indian maestro Shankar Mahadevan will be performed by
him along with Esaan and Loy which will be a try-lingual song including
Sinhala, Tamil and English lyrics. Local singers will also join to sing
the theme song and the organizers of the concert ensured that it'll sure
to be an unforgettable show for the local crowds.
The fourth Carlton Rugby Super 7's will be sponsored by John Keells
Holdings, Sri Lanka Insurance, Sri Lanka Telecom, Sri Lanka Airlines,
Mobitel and Flemingo Duty Free. The handing over of the sponsorships
took place after the press conference.
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