The much anticipated Sri Lanka Super 7’s will be worked-off over two legs with the first being played at the Nittawela grounds in Kandy on the 8th and 9th of July following which the teams will travel to Colombo for the second leg on the 15th and 16th of July at the Race Course International Rugby Stadium.
Sri Lanka Rugby(SLR) along with principal sponsors Dialog Axiata Plc have successfully managed to retain all eight franchises from the first edition (2016)of this tournament. Access Kings, Cargills Gladiators, Etisalat Panthers, EzY Wolves, KBSL Dragons, Softlogic Warriors, Mobitel Eagles and Walkers Vipers, will contend both legs for the Sri Lanka Super 7s 2017 title.
Speaking at a media briefing, Minister of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure Hon Harin Fernando who master-minded the 2016 edition, expressed his joy of being able to take this tournament to Kandy. “Last year we showed in a very short period where Sri Lankan rugby can be taken up to. And this year, we want to take this game up to Kandy. It’s going to be a day tournament in Kandy since floodlights are not available for financial reasons”
The Minister went on to explain the exciting entertainment segments and carnival atmosphere planned out for both legs of the tournament. He also encouraged other sponsors to come forward and be a part of sports in Sri Lanka in order to attract young people.
This year’s tournament will see the entry of a Women’s segment in which four teams will battle it out for glory. Minister Fernando went on to add that much interest will be generated by the addition of the Women’s segment into this year’s tournament “This year we are featuring the Women’s segment. As you know they (Sri Lanka women’s rugby) have been doing extremely well and we want to help them grow further”
The Women’s teams participating in this year’s tournament will be from the Sri Lanka Army, Navy, Air Force and CR & FC.
Minister of Sports Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara expressed his elation at how well Minister Fernando has taken up the project and how smoothly it went on last year “He (Harin Fernando) took the initiative to have the Sevens tournament. Last time we had a very good tournament and this time also we hope to replicate it with a few more new ideas”
The president of Sri Lanka Rugby Asanga Seneviratne also addressed the gathering. He went on to articulate that the tournament was endorsed by World Rugby and by the Asian Rugby Football Union who have stated that the tournament could be used as a model on how 7s rugby should be promoted.
Seneviratne was profuse in his thanks for main sponsor Dialog Axiata who has been at the fore-front of Sri Lanka Rugby for a while now.
Chief Executive officer Priyantha Ekanayake explained the tournament structure. Eight teams will participate in two groups in round-robin format on day one with the knock-outs being played on day two for the Cup, Plate, Bowl, and Sheild.
Sri Lanka Super 7’s: Local Player Draft released
Furthermore, the franchises are allowed to retain one player from last year in addition to three foreign players and include one Category ‘A’ player, four each from Category ‘B’ and ‘C’ along with two from Category D. An under 23 player must be on the field at all times while a maximum of two foreign players can be on the field concurrently.
