Rugby: SLRFU to become Sri Lanka Rugby

Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU) is on the verge of taking three vital decisions in the coming weeks according to its Secretary Nazim Mohamed. 

Among the intended decisions the most significant will be the change of the name of SLRFU, which will be re-branded to Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR), followed by the election of a new Treasurer. 

Both these decisions are likely to come into affect soon after the SLRFU Annual General Meeting, which is to be held on November 1. 

The SLRFU will make another important addition with the introduction of Television Match Official (TMO) facilities beginning with the upcoming Dialog Inter-Club Division 'A' League 2016-2017. 

"Like it or not, we should go along with the current world trend if we are looking at taking Rugby to the next level. The change of the name from SLRFU to SLR is such an important decision as well as the introduction of TMO to local tournaments. We must start somewhere and it's high time we do them," Mohamed said. 

The re-branding of SLRFU to SLR may look as a decision taken seeking structural and financial benefits as it happened in 2000 when the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka became Sri Lanka Cricket. 

But Mohamed explained major overhauls are not in the pipeline as at present and it was a sole decision taken, taking into consideration with the current trend that is carried out worldwide. 

"If you take the International Rugby Board (IRB), New Zealand Rugby Union or Australia Rugby Union all three have been re-branded as World Rugby, NZ Rugby and Rugby Australia. Making that change to SLRFU is simply because we must at least begin to follow the trend. It will make our branding purposes much easier and it will be helpful for Rugby in many other ways," he added. 

With the only election of a new Treasurer and the reading out of its account report, the SLRFU will hold its AGM on November 1. 

Former S. Thomas' College First XV player and past President of the Rugby Section of Amateur Athletic Association, Ray Abeywardena will be elected as the Treasurer, which was vacated after three months from being elected. 

On the second week of June, the elected Treasurer of SLRFU, A.A.M. Riyaz, suddenly decided to step down from his position, citing personal reasons. 

Besides the two changes Mohamed went on to explain about making use of the TMO facility beginning with the country's topmost domestic tournament, which begins from November 4. 

Despite the high cost factor, Mohamed explained that TMO will be used at least once during a match-week and discussions are afoot to further stamp its importance hence making the facility mandatory in time to come. 

TMO made its debut in Sri Lanka at the last year's Second Leg game of the Bradby Shield between Royal and Trinity in Colombo. 

"Discussions are still ongoing on how TMO should be made available at domestic matches. For the moment it will be at least one match per week or a maximum of two. There's a huge cost involved in this but if we invest on this now, we are definitely taking a step forward. More rounds of discussions will follow on more aspects of TMO, its usage, how it should be managed and if there should be a separate committee to handle it. For now it's at a formative stage but it is here to stay," Mohamed concluded.