Considered the oldest club rugby competition in the whole of Asia, Clifford Cup Knockout rugby tournament will make a return after an extended hiatus of three years due to the global pandemic which hampered the oval-shaped ball game in Sri Lanka.
Havelock Sports Club is the current holder of the coveted trophy having won the last edition which was held in 2019 where they defeated Airforce Sports Club in the final.
Clifford cup was initiated in 1911 when Lady Elizabeth Clifford, the wife of then Governor of Ceylon Sir Hugh Clifford offered the trophy for a game between the United Services team and All Ceylon which was supposed to be played on the birthday of Lady Clifford but was rescheduled to a week later. The first Lady Clifford Cup as it was originally known was won by the United Services team which comprised of members of the Police and Army defeating the All Ceylon team which was comprised of European expatriates
The competition has been held on 79 occasions since and is a much-desired silverware in the rugby annals of the country. The Clifford cup has been won by 13 different winners so far in its 79 editions. Local rugby giants, Kandy Sports Club have dominated the competition since the mid-90s having won 21 titles since their first title in 1992. CR&FC and defending champions Havelocks Sports Club have both won 14 titles and will be hoping to break the deadlock this year. Police Sports club was a dominant force in the competition in the 70s and the 80s and have won the competition 8 times with their last win coming in 1991. CH&FC and Low Country have won 7 titles each with Upcountry clinching 6 titles. Army Sports Club, Dambulla Athletic & Cricket club, and United Services have won the title twice with Airforce Sports Club, Navy Sports Club, and All Ceylon having won one title each.
The news of the return of the much-coveted Lady Clifford Cup was however overshadowed by the news that recently crowned league champions, Kandy Sports Club alongside CH&FC have pulled out of the competition.
Kandy Sports Club has previously pulled out of the competition in 2006 and 2019 due to disagreements over venues and it is reported that a similar disagreement has resulted in the club withdrawing from the competition this time as well.
Commenting on the condition of anonymity, a senior official of Kandy Sports Club ascertained that the pulling out of the Clifford Cup was due to Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) not responding to various communications made to them as early as July 2022 and the last being at the beginning of February regarding Kandy SC not being allowed to play their home games at Nittawela. He went on to add that SLR made no attempt to resolve the issue and showed no regard for Kandy SC’s request to play the games at Nittawela which boasts of Sri Lanka’s most passionate fan base in the country, which prompted the club to pull out from the tournament.
CH&FC who were hampered by numerous injuries and some of their players migrating have also decided to not participate in the competition.
Due to the absence of Kandy SC and CH&FC, the quarterfinals of the competition will see both CR&FC and Navy SC receive a bye in their outings. The second quarterfinal of the competition will be a replay of the plate championship decider of the league where Police SC is set to take on Air Force and will be the pick of the games in the quarter-final. Both Army SC and Havelocks SC had a disappointing season finishing seventh and fourth respectively will try to put their best foot forward in the quarterfinals and look for a positive start to their knockout campaign.
Nippon Paint Clifford Cup 2023
Quarterfinals
26/02/2023
- QF 2 – Air Force SC v Police SC
- QF 3 – Army SC v Havelock SC
- QF 1 – CR&FC v BYE
- QF 4 – Navy SC v BYE
Semifinals
01/03/2023
- SF 1 – CR&FC v Winner QF2
02/03/2023
- SF 2 – Navy SC v Winner QF3
Final
05/03/2023
- Final – Winner SF 1 v Winner SF 2
