Dialog Schools Rugby 7s to Kick-off this December

Amali Nanayakkara, Group Chief Marketing Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC handing over the sponsorship to B.A. Abeyratne – President, Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association, in the presence of Hon. Namal Rajapaksa MP, Minister of Youth and Sports.
Also pictured (L-R) Dr. K.A.P. Kiriella – Acting Director General of the Sports Medicine Institute of the Sports Ministry, Harsha Samaranayake – Senior General Manager, Brand & Media, Dialog Axiata PLC, Asanga Seneviratne, Head Rugby Advisory Committee, Nirodha Wijerama – Secretary, Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association and Daya Bandara, Director of Sports and Physical Education, Ministry of Education.

Rugby, arguably one of the most followed Schools sports in Sri Lanka, will see a resumption after almost two seasons of no play due to the COVID-19 pandemic, kicking-off with a schools 7s tournament from the 18th to the 31st of December 2021, which will see the best teams from the top rugby playing regions battling it out for supremacy.

Committed to developing talent and investing in our Future, Today, the Dialog Schools Rugby 7s will give students, who missed out on their final year of schools Rugby, the chance to play and progress to the Club and National level.

Western, Central, North-Western and Southern provinces will be playing the tourney in a group format, with the top finishers from the groups challenging one another in the knockout stage, while the Sabaragamuwa teams will be playing each other in a league structure to decide the provincial champion.

As the principal sponsor, Dialog Axiata PLC has made arrangements to broadcast the tournament LIVE on DTV Channel 140, Dialog ViU,Thepapare.com and also on the Asia Rugby FB page in the interest of all present and old boys, parents, supporters, well-wishers and the Sri Lanka’s rugby-loving community as the tournament will played behind closed doors.

Well-wishers will also get the opportunity to vote for the most popular team from each province on their respective match days by visiting dlg.lk/mostpopular, the winning team will be announced before the Cup Final in each province and will be rewarded with Rs. 50,000 gift voucher to purchase sports equipment.

The Dialog Schools 7s tourney will be played in accordance with the safety guidelines administered by the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Sports and also the Ministry of Education. The players will be in a bio secure environment, overseen by their respective schools, with rapid antigen tests to be conducted at regular intervals.

Schools that have confirmed their participation for the Western Province tournament are, Royal College, Isipathana College, St. Peter’s College, St. Joseph’s College, Wesley College, Thurstan College, Science College, Zahira College, Ananda College, Nalanda College, D.S. Senanayake College, Mahanama College, Prince of Wales College, S. Thomas’ College, Piliyandala Central College, Carey College, Moratu Vidyalaya, St. John’s College, CWW Kannangara College, Sumangala College, St. Benedict’s College, and Piyarathana College. The Western Province tournament will be conducted on the 18th and 19th of December and will be played at the Royal College Sports Complex, Colombo 07.

Schools in the Central Province tournament include, Trinity College, Kingswood College, Dharmaraja College, St. Anthony’s College, Vidyartha College, Sri Sumangala College, St. Sylvester’s College and Sri Rahula College. The matches will be played on 27th December 2021 at Pallekele Rugby Grounds.

Schools battling it out for supremacy in the Sabaragamuwa Province include, Ehaliyagoda Central College, Thalduwa College, Mawanella Zahira College, Kegalu Vidyalaya and Dehiowita Central College with their matches to be played on 28th December 2021 at the Ruwanwella Public Grounds, while the Schools representing the North Western Province will be Maliyadeva College, St. Anne’s College, Ibbagamuwa Central College, Welagedera College, Lakdas De Mel College, Kuliyapitiya Central College and Sir John Kotelawala College; the tourney will be on the 30th of December 2021 at the Maliyadewa College Grounds, Kurunegala.

Top honours in the Southern Province will be keenly contested amongst St. Aloysius College, Richmond College, Mahinda College, Dewapathiraja College, Vidyaloka College, Debaraweva Central College and Rahula College. The tourney will be played on the 31st of December 2021 at the Koggala Free Trade Zone Ground.

The 2018 season was the final time a full schools tourney was held, while the following year the tournament was stopped in the first round after the outbreak of COVID-19.

“Given the following schools rugby has in Sri Lanka, it is very encouraging to see the progressive steps taken by Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA) and the tournament’s sponsor Dialog Axiata who have joined hands to hold a tourney of this magnitude that covers all rugby playing schools in Sri Lanka,” Hon. Namal Rajapaksa MP, Minister of Youth and Sports & State Minister of Digital Technology and Enterprise Development said. “The national squad has missed out on having new talent from the schools circuit for nearly two years due to the pandemic and the Dialog Schools Rugby 7s will be an excellent to identify and select new talent into the national pool. I wish the tourney of two weeks excellent 7s play,” Hon. Namal Rajapaksa concluded.

“At the present juncture hosting the 7s tourney is the most pragmatic solution to commence schools rugby in Sri Lanka and I’m thankful that Dialog Axiata has stepped forward to support SLSRFA to conduct a tourney of this magnitude during the challenging time we face,” B. A. Abeyratne, President, Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association said. “As rugby is a full contact sport, we have received safety protocols from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Sports to host this tourney in the safest manner.”

Dialog Axiata is the proud sponsor of the Sri Lanka National Cricket, Volleyball and Netball teams. The Company also has a close association with the President’s Gold Cup Volleyball, Junior Volleyball, National Junior and Senior Netball tourneys, Schools Rugby League, Knockout and Sevens tourneys, Premier Football and Paralympic sports - by powering the Army Para Games, National Para Games and the Sri Lankan contingent to the World Paralympic Games.