‘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.

Uva Vipers’ Captain Yoshitha Rajapaksa in conversation with North Western Blacks’ player D. J. Fobes who captained the World Champion New Zealand sevens team.

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.