Sri Lankan Rugby took a giant step forward with the launch of the Serendib International Cup, the first IRB sanctioned tournament to be held on Sri Lankan soil featuring teams from Europe and Africa.
The Press Conference held yesterday at the Galadari hotel, the Serendib International Cup’s Official Hotel partner, not only marks the launch of this pan-regional tournament but also puts Sri Lanka on the international Rugby map as a host nation with the capabilities and facilities to deliver world class tournaments meeting international standards. The launch also saw the SLRFU’s association with MTV Sports Network as the tournament’s official broadcaster, joining them on this ground-breaking journey.
The media conference was graced by Asanga Seneviratne, President, SLRFU; Rizly Illyas, Secretary, SLRFU; Alastair Saverimutto, CEO, SLRFU; Namal Rajapaksa, Captain, Sri Lanka National Rugby team; Ronnie Ibrahim, Coach, Sri Lanka national rugby team; Nedra Weerasinghe, Group Director – Media, Capital Maharaja Organization; Sampath Siriwardena, General Manager, Galadari Hotel and Trevor Nugawela, Curator, Colombo Racecourse Ground.
With the participation of Poland, Madagascar and the hosts Sri Lanka, the IRB sanctioned tournament will kick-off on the 26th of October 2013 at the Colombo Racecourse Grounds. The Serendib International Cup is the first tournament of its kind in Asia to involve countries which are not part of the Asian rugby circuit and will aspire to expand in order to become a landmark rugby tournament in the world.
The CEO of SLRFU Alastair Saverimutto believes that Sri Lanka is on the right track to becoming the No. 1 in Asia. However, he emphasized on the need of building a business model around the SLRFU in order to improve the sport as a whole. “World Rankings are important to develop the game” he said. Saverimutto claims that the tournament will help Sri Lanka better their ranking and enhance development for the future.
“The team has made great strides over recent seasons not least with the successes of the Asian 5 Nations and currently the Asian 7’s Series, and there is no better time than now to plan for that next big step – qualification into a RWC and World 7’s Series”.
Saverimutto conveyed his gratitude towards the IRB and also acknowledged the efforts of the Official Broadcast Partners MTV Sports and all the other sponsors on board with the ‘Serendib International Cup’. ‘It is important to understand that without meaningful 2-way commercial partnerships that delivers valuable funding, premium products and expert services, our ambitions of being the number one rugby playing nation in Asia will never be realized.’, he said.
Not only does the Serendib International Cup position Sri Lanka Rugby on the IRB Tournament Calendar, it also presents the Sri Lanka National team with an opportunity to earn valuable World Ranking Points, while providing our elite players with more exposure to international 15’s rugby, which is an essential element in the SLRFU program.
President of the SLRFU Mr. Asanga Seneviratne lay emphasis on the road towards building a platform for Sri Lanka rugby while stating that currently the sport is worth more than Rs. 1-2 billion and is widely spread around Sri Lanka. It is his belief that rugby could become Sri Lanka’s most popular sport within the next decade, “especially since there is a massive following of rugby not only in Sri Lanka, but the sport in itself involving over 160 countries around the world.”
Speaking on the spirit of the Sri Lankan national team, Seneviratne believes “size and strength make do with great heart.” He also acknowledged the appointment of Namal Rajapaksa as the new national team captain. On his appointment, Seneviratne was of the view that “He is a born leader and everyone should pull together, the selectors have done well.”
The rapidly growing success of Sri Lankan Rugby is seen as a further triumph for President Asanga Seneviratne whose stewardship has overseen these recent significant developments in the Sri Lankan game.
In a statement released worldwide by the International Rugby Board, indicating the Board’s backing of the tournament, IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: “The IRB is committed to driving global competitiveness by investing the revenues generated by Rugby World Cup back into the sport at every level through competition, administration, technical and development support. This new competition will not only showcase international rugby in Sri Lanka and across Asia as the region prepares to host its first Rugby World Cup in 2019, but will give all three Unions an invaluable platform to step up in performance and ranking.”
“ARFU is absolutely delighted to see this new, pan-regional tournament for emerging nations taking place involving another of our senior Unions in Asia,” said Asian Rugby Football Union spokesman Ross Mitchell.
“ARFU wishes Sri Lanka every success and thanks the IRB for its continued support with this initiative.”
