The Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA) conducted a Special General Meeting on the 17th of December 2013 to finalize and establish the new schools rugby format for the forthcoming season.
Speaking to ThePapare.com, the Secretary of the SLSRFA Susantha Mendis explained that the schools system from junior level up to senior U20 level tournaments will be restructure to better suit the vision of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU) and Sri Lanka Rugby as a whole.
Junior games especially will have more time allocated for games, and a few other structural changes will be put in place so that youngsters will be more exposed to match situations.
Schools Rugby – U20 League Structure
A new structure was on the cards for quite some time, and has been subjected to many speculations and debate; the SLSRFA has finally cleared mist and revealed the future of schools rugby, and the new league format.
This year, the schools league will follow a two round format. A preliminary group stage will kick start the league, after which teams will proceed to the Cup, Plate, Bowl or Shield depending on their standings and Divisional positioning. The winners of each piece of silverware mentioned above will be calculated based on the league format, which is the usual point system put in place.
Division 1A
There will be 12 teams in Division 1A this season. These twelve teams will be divided into 2 groups, where they will play a round robin group stage set of matches that will amount to five matches per team in the preliminary stages.
Groups:
Group 1 – Dharmaraja College, St. Peters College, Science College, St. Anthony’s College, Kingswood College, S. Thomas’ College
Group 2 – Trinity College, Wesley College, Royal College, Isipathana College, St. Josephs College, D.S. Senanayake College
Second Round
The 2nd round begins after a three week break, which will include the Vesak holidays where teams are encouraged to proceed with traditional fixtures that wouldn’t fall into the league fixtures.
The Cup
The ‘Top 4’ teams from each Group 1 and Group 2 in Division 1A will proceed to the Cup segment. Teams will then play matches against the teams in the other group only, such that each team will have only four games in the second round and not have to play the same team twice.
The second round will also be a part of the league point system as the winner will be decided using the total points calculated after nine games.
The Plate
The bottom two teams in Group 1 and Group 2 in Division 1A will play in the Plate. The top two teams in Group 1 and Group 2 in Division 1B will also proceed to this segment. Again, the winners will be decided on the league system mentioned above.
The ‘Top 4’ teams in the Plate segment after the conclusion of all the games will move up to Division 1A and challenge for a spot in the Cup once again.
The Bowl
The next six teams in Division 1B and the Group Champions in Division 1C will play in the Bowl segment and teams will be allocated accordingly.
The Shield
Six teams from Division 1C and the bottom two teams from Division 1B will compete for the Shield along with the group winners in Division 2A.
Season To Start in March
The Schools Rugby League is set to kick off tentatively on March 12 with the first round concluding end of April. There will a break in between the two rounds, where schools are advised to play their traditional games that might not have been aligned with the league schedule.
Junior Level Rugby Formats To Be Changed
There will be major changes made to the junior level rugby formats as requested by the SLRFU to better the development of rugby in Sri Lanka.
Under 18 – The Under 18’s will be involved in a 15 a side league and also the 7 a side tournament
Under 16 – The Under 16’s will also be involved in a 15 a side league, with match time extended to 20 minutes.
Under 14 – Currently played on a half ground without boots, the Under 14’s will be given more room with the play area extended to a full ground with boots, with 12 a side and 7 a side tournaments to follow. Each game will be around 12 minutes.
Funding Necessary
Earlier, the schools rugby budget for the year surfaced around Rs. 13 million, but now with the workload expanding, the SLSRFA have estimated around Rs. 20 million for the coming years. They also hope to expand professionally, with a separate office and permanent staff members to further improve the service provided by the SLSRFA.
The President’s Trophy is set to commence on the 25th of June 2014
