The two-legged tourney in Kandy and Colombo
Kandy SC looking for another crown.
The eight teams that will compete in the Sri Lanka Super 7s Rugby Championship are being finalised prior to official release for the two-legged tournament to be held at Nittawela in Kandy and the Racecourse ground in Colombo. The first leg of the tournament will be played on July 8 and 9 at Nittawela, the home ground of Kandy Sports Club followed by the second leg, which will be played on July 15 and 16, after a two-week break, at the Racecourse ground in Colombo.
For the second consecutive year in the Sri Lanka Super 7s tournament, the top eight franchises, Access Kings, Cargills Gladiators, Etisalat Panthers, EZY Wolves, KBSL Dragons, Softlogic Warriors, Mobitel Eagles and the Walkers Vipers will battle it out for ultimate glory under two groups where the teams play each other in a Round Robin stage on the first day, and qualify for the Cup, Bowl, Shield and Plate championships to be worked off the following day.
The second leg will follow the same format, with points awarded to each based on their performance. The team with the most number of points at the end of both rounds will be crowned winners of the Sri Lanka Super 7s 2017.
International rugby stars from Fiji, New Zealand, Samoa, Kenya, South Africa, England and the USA will be part of the starting lineup of the franchise teams promise scintillating 7s action that is on par with regional national tournaments. Women’s teams from the Sri Lanka Army, Navy, Air Force and CR and FC will also play for metal at the Sri Lanka Super 7s tournament.
An Under-18 and Under-16 Schools Tournament will be held parallel to the club tourney, following the same format featuring eight teams including Trinity, St. Anthony’s, Kingswood, Dharmaraja, St. Joseph’s, St. Peter’s, Isipathana, Science, Wesley and Zahira colleges.
The eight teams in contention for the main title — Access Kings, Cargills Gladiators, Etisalat Panthers, EZY Wolves, KBSL Dragons, Softlogic Warriors, Mobitel Eagles and the Walkers Vipers have already confirmed their line up of local players while four out of them have already given the interested buys of international players.
Amali Nanayakkara, Group Chief Marketing Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC handing over the sponsorship cheque to Dayasiri Jayasekera, Minister of Sports and Harin Fernando, Minister of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure. Also in picture are (from left): Asanga Seneviratne (President, SLR), Trizvie Marikkar (Vice-President SLSRFA) and Priyantha Ekanayake, (CEO SLR)
The list of local players include for top buys of each teams Danush Dayan, current Sri Lanka 7s skipper Danushka Ranjan, former national 7s skipper Fazil Marija, Chanaka Chandimal, Richard Dharmapala, Lee Keegal, Jason Dissanayake and Samith Dhananjaya who were fetched for Rs. 800,000 each by their respective franchises.
Seven players — Tarinda Ratwatte, Kevin Dixon, Anuradha Herath, Sudarshana Muthuthanthri, Kavindu Perera, Roshan Weeraratne and Buddhima Piyaratne have hit the range of Rs. 750,000 while 29 players have been brought for Rs. 500,000 each. One player manages to reach the Rs. 400,000 mark while three have been raked in for Rs. 300,000 each. A total of 28 players have hit the Rs. 250,000 base while six have been brought for Rs. 200,000 each. The remaining 14 players are brought for prices ranging between Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 150,000.
In 2016, the Mobitel Eagles emerged overall champions after fending off a spirited late challenge by Cargills Gladiators in a thrilling encounter, while Isipathana College emerged winners of the Schools’ tournament beating St. Joseph’s College on aggregate points from the two legs.
The likely teams are:
Access Kings: Danush Dayan, Tarinda Ratwatte, Reeza Raffaideen, Niwanka Prasad, Lavanga Perera, Richie Dharmapala, Sandun Herath, Chula Susantha, Sasanka Ariyaratne, Romesh Ramdas, Vishwamithra Jayasinghe, Sakya Bandara, Ganindu Lakshan
Setefano Cakau (Coach), Duminda Silva (Manager)
Walkers CML Vipers: Danushka Ranjan, Kevin Dixon, Shehan Pathirana, Kavindu Costa, Dulaj Perera, Hirantha Perera, Hiranga Ariyapala, Mekalanka Pramodha, Nalaka Maduranga, Ramesh Fernando, Rowan Perry, Avantha Lee
Saliya Kumara (Coach), Anuradha Fonseka (Manager)
Etisalat Panthers: Fazil Marija, Anuradha Herath, Srinath Sooriyabandara, Suhiru Anthony, Naveen Henakankanamge, Vimukthi Rahula, Chamara Dabare, Shenal Deelaka, Nigel Ratwatte, Nalin Kumara, Kushan Indunil, Rizvi Mohamed, Osea Kolinasau, Jasa Veremalau, Jerry Tuwaii, Vatemo Ravouvou
Asanka Rodrigo (Coach), Mahesh Kumara (Manager)
EZY Wolves: Chanaka Chandimal, Sudarshana Muthuthanthri, Sudam Suriyarachchi, Reshan Silva, Supun Dilshan, Sashan Mohamed, Sudarshana Dikkumbura, Bhanuka Nanayakkara, Sithum Peiris, Sujan Kodituwakku, Ishara Madushan, Andrew Amonde, Nelson Oyoo, Billy Obhiambo, Dennis Ombachi, Samuel Oliech
Sudath Sampath (Coach), Rajiv Perera (Manager)
Cargills Gladiators: Richard Dharmapala, Kavindu Perera, Gayan Weeraratne, Radeesha Seneviratne, Shemal Weerasekara, Ranjitha Warnapura, Gayantha Iddamalgoda, Wageesha Weerasinghe, Pium Jayasinghe, Nuwan Perera, Ashan Maduranga, Ashan de Costa, Semi Nakaira, Nasoni Tuigaloa, Sevuloni Naturudregadrega
Jiffrey Mushtaq (Coach), Rumaiz Rahim (Manager)
Mobitel Eagles: Lee Keegal, Roshan Weeraratne, Anuruddha Wilwara, Thilina Wijesinghe, Wajid Fawmy, Mohamed Afzal, Pramodh Padmasanka, Sharo Fernando, Prashantha Jayatunga, Mushin Faleel, Chamod Fernando, Chathura Seneviratne, Matiyasi Tabu Leuta, Nisalo Jone Motawa, Losefo Martin Mulipa
Nilfer Ibrahim (Coach), Kavinda Jayasena (Manager)
Softlogic Warriors: Jason Dissanayake, Nishon Perera, Saliya Handapangoda, Suranga Bandara, Arshad Jamaldeen, Rohitha Rajapaksa, Oshan Perera, Niroshan Fernando, Udaya Fernando, Ruwan Kumara, Jero Dhananjaya, Avishka Lee, Thiwanka Bandara
Talugese Tavita (Coach), Shavinda Nelson (Manager)
KBSL Dragons: Samith Dhananjaya, Buddhima Piyaratne, Omalka Gunarate, Lahiru Lakshan, Charith Seneviratne, Thilina Weerasinghe, Buwaneka Udangamuwa, Sandesh Jayawickrema, Thanuja Maduranga, Adisha Weeratunga, Asitha Punchihewa, Eranda Weerakkody
Mothilal Jayathilake (Coach), Ashan Seneviratne (Manager)