Sixteen teams for club rugby sevens
Thushan JAYASURIYA
Sixteen teams will take part in the inter club rugby sevens which
will be worked off at Havelock Sports Club Grounds on May 4 and 5 at
Havelock Park. The tournament which has been revived after a lapse of
two years will be played in a carnival atmosphere should attract a
mammoth crowd. The sixteen teams taking part are several times champions
Kandy SC(one), Army(three), Navy(three), Air Force(two), CR and FC(two),
CH and FC(two), Police(one), Havelocks SC(one) and Up Country
Lions(one).
Kandy Sports Club, who have reigned supreme in sevens rugby during
the last decades will face a fierce challenge from Navy, Havelocks and
Up Country Lions. Kandy SC will have the services of Sri Lanka seven’s
skipper Fazil Marija, Pradeep Liyanage, Gayan Weeraratne, Saliya Kumara,
Anuruddha Wilwara, Darshana Etipola, Nuwan Hettiarachchi, Oshan Perera,
Roshan Weeraratne and Prasad Chathuranga.
The formidable Navy will also have the services of Rohitha Rajapaksa,
Dinusha Chathuranga, Chula Susantha, Rehan Weerakoon, Saliya
Handapangoda, Suranga Pushpakumara, Reza Mubarak and Prasad Devinda.
Another strong contender for the title is Havelocks Sports Club with
players of the calibre of Shenal Dias, Sandun Herath, Chamara Dabare,
Mohamed Sheriff, Niroshan Fernando, Amjad Buksh, and Lee Keegel. The
Park Club has won the rugby sevens title in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1986,
1987, 1995, 2000 and 2001 and will make a determined bid to bag the
title.
Kandy Sports Club first won the Rugby sevens title in 1999 under
Harris Omar and went on to dominate winning it in 2002, 2003, 2005,
2006,2007, 2008 and 2009. The Sri Lanka Army won the rugby sevens title
in 2004.
CR and FC had the honour of clinching the rugby sevens title with a
21 - 17 win over Air Force when it was last held in 2010. The red shirts
had earlier won the title in 1977, 1982, 1983 and 1996. Up Country Lions
is another team which will make a determined bid to win the title with
players of the calibre of former Sri Lanka sevens skipper Srinath
Sooriyabandara, Dilip Selvam, Nigel Ratwatte, Dilan Zoysa, Radhika
Hettiarachchi, Mohammed Seshan, Sasanka Ariyaratne likely to turn out
for them.
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