The Dialog Mercantile rugby 7s are about to kick off this weekend. After pushing the commencement back to 10th of August, due to the Ramadan Festival Celebrations, the tournament will start at 8.30 am on Saturday in CR & FC Grounds.
The 2013 edition will consist of three major divisions in which 34 teams will compete for the titles. The “Cup/Plate” Division which consists of 8 teams is divided into two groups: A and B. Nation Lanka Finance, John Keels “A”, Mas Holdings “B” and Commercial Bank. In B – MAS Holdings “A”, Dialog ‘‘A”, John Keels “B” and Sampath Bank will be competing. The A division was based on the ranking gained by the draw held on the 5th of August 2013. This was also subjective to the last year performances;particularly Nation Lanka Finance’s Championship in the 2012 league.
The “Bowl” division will also consists of two groups-C and D- similar to that of A division, but with five teams in each group. Commercial Leasing, Iconic Advertising ,CL Synergy ,Sri Lanka Insurance “A” and Union Bank were representing the C division while, Dialog “B” ,N.T.B., Commercial Credit ,Citizen Development and HSBC. The biggest division in the tournament was “Shield” with 16 teams and four divisions.
| Division E | Division F | Division G | Division H |
| Kandurata Umberalla | MAS Holdings “C” | Millenium IT | Digital Commerce |
| Brandix | Virtusa | Softlogic | Amana Takaful |
| Janashakthi | Expo Lanka | Sri Lanka Insurance “B” | Hayleys |
| Hirdaramani | Alliance Finance | Ceylon Tobacco | PABC Bank |
The Mercantile Rugby Football association has confirmed that the tournament will be played under the laws of the game of Rugby with sevens variations as framed by the International Rugby Football Board However , as shown above, all teams participating are categorized according to their past performance in the tournament and the standard of players registered to represent the respective teams.
In addition the final win will be decided on the bonus points. In each group game, 4 points will be awarded for a win and 2 points per team in the event of a drawn game. No extra time will be played in group games. On completion of the group games if 2 or more teams in their respective groups have the equal number of points, the winner will be determined accordingly with 3 drop kick to be taken by 3 different players selected from amongst those who were playing at the conclusion of extra time.
In order to prevent matters getting out of control the association has made it clear that it is the responsibility of the Captain and the Team Manager to ensure that the supporter of the respective teams do not encroach the playing area at all times.All of the factors are in favor for a peaceful and spectacular rugby weekend.
