Club League season commences with Havies-Airmen clash
The much awaited Nippon Paint Sri Lanka Rugby Major League Tournament for the 2023/2024 season will kick off from December 1 with a card of four matches. Conducted by Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR), the tournament will feature eight teams – defending champions Kandy SC, CR&FC, CH&FC, Havelocks, Army SC, Police SC, Navy SC and Air Force SC.
The league will continue for seven weeks, after which the top half will be drafted to play in the Cup segment while the four bottom half teams will vie for the Plate title.
The curtain raiser of the rugby league will take place next Friday, December 1 at Havelock Park at 6.30p.m. when Havelocks host Air Force under lights. The following day, on Saturday, Police will host Navy at Police Park while at Panagoda Army will host CR&FC. Both games will kick off at 4.00p.m. On Sunday, December 3, title holders Kandy SC will take on CH&FC at Nittawela.
The first round of the tournament is expected to continue until January 21, 2024 with a week of break between December 17 and 28 due to the holiday season. A total of 28 first round games are expected to be played during the first round beginning from December 1 up until January 21, next year while six games are set to be played in the women’s league.
During the competition SLR has also included the women’s segment with four teams participating in a 10-a-side league. The four teams are Army SC, Navy SC, Air Force SC and CR&FC and will be played alongside the main competition.
“We decided to include the women’s games before the men’s games during the same phase, with matches set to be played prior to the men’s game on the given days,” stated Udaya Hettiarachchi, the chairman of the SLR tournament committee.
The Sri Lanka Rugby Referees Association (SLRRA) has assigned eight of their elite referees to officiate this year’s league, with a three-member advisory committee to oversee and review their performances. Nippon Paint has continued their commitment as title sponsors of the league competition for the third year running.