The Carlton Sports Club together with the Sri Lankan Rugby Football Union (SLRFU) and Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) hosts a one of a kind tournament in Sri Lanka to develop rugby in the Island.
Every year since 2011, the event named Carlton Super 7s bringing all East, West, South and North to one such gathering of rugby. Northern Gladiators will represent the North Province of Sri Lanka and they are fully prepared for the international leg.
History
Since the inception of the Carlton Super 7s, the Northern Gladiators team has been bettering its performance and was ranked 3rd in 2013 after two disappointing outings in 2011 and 2012. The Gladiators foreign brigade was filled with New Zealanders and South Africans in the past such as MJ Mentz, Ranfred Dasal, Deon Helberg and Slaimankhel Sabir. Local Players to don the Gladiators jersey in the past were Dinesh Kumara, Lakala Perera, Mohammed Rizwan.
Captain (Fazil Marija)
Sri Lanka 7s captain and the Lankan rugby super star Fazil Marija will lead out the Northern Gladiators this season. Hailing from Kandy, Fazil is the heartthrob of local rugby fans due to his exceptional style of rugby. He is the prototype of Sri Lanka’s perfect fly-half in the 15s format and has led his country to many accolades in the Asian 7s circuit in the recent past. Fazil has been a prominent member of the Sri Lanka 7s and 15s teams for a decade now and his expertise will be crucial for Northern Gladiators to win Silverware this August. Marvelous Marija’s leadership skills are truly commended by many rugby fans as he is a superb thinker of the game and his ability to adapt to any condition has made him a strong player.
Coaching Staff and Franchise Owners
Cargills (Ceylon) PLC is the proud owner of the solid Northern Gladiators franchise, an energetic and talented team of Sri Lankan rugby players combined with renowned international players handpicked from the global 7s arena. Kandy SC coach and New Zealander Adriaan Ferris will be the coach of the Northern Gladiators team this season and he will be assisted by Mushtaq Jeffrey. Praveen Muthukumar will act as the Team Supervisor.
Foreign Players
Four Fijians, one Tongan and one American will power up the Northern Gladiators foreign contingent. Tongan David Frank Halaifonua had a terrific club season last time around representing Kandy SC while Fijian winger, Mosese Mawalu has all the gas in his tank to be a try-scoring machine for the Northern Gladiators as he has been a prominent member of the Fiji 7s outfit. 6 feet 2 inches tall Folau Niua from USA is an energetic center in the 7s circuit and he will be the only player representing USA during the Carlton Super 7s tournament.
Local Players
Gladiators have signed up many familiar faces in the local 7s circuit such as experienced Kandy center-three quarter Pradeep Liyanage, the rising star of Sri Lanka rugby Dhanushka Ranjan, power-house forward Sudharshan Muthuthanthri from Havelock SC and his fellow team-mate the vibrant Mithun Hapugoda. All these players have represented Sri Lanka in 7s tournament and they have the skill set to transform their Gladiators outfit to a winning squad this season. Dhanushka Ranjan has been the poster boy of Lankan rugby for the last year due to his extraordinary knack of scoring tries each time he sets foot to a rugby ground.
Local Leg Performances
Northern Gladiators had a successful local tournament as they were the joint champions with North Central Typhoons after winning the 2nd leg in Beliatte and in the 1st leg Gladiators finished 2nd with 22 points. They collected 47 points during both legs. Marija and Ranjan were standout performers for Gladiators in the local tournament. Dhanushka was the top try-scorer during 2nd leg as he touched down 10 times.
Full Squad
Fazil Marija (Captain)
Pradeep Liyanage
Mithun Hapugoda
Sudarshana Muthuthanthri
Danushka Ranjan
Damien Ratwatte
Rizah Mubarak
Roshan Weeraratne
Imanka Ariyapala
David Halaifonua
Folau Niua
Mosese Mawalu
Niko Verekauta
Jasa Veramalua
Sevuloni Tabu
Carlton International 7’s 2014 – Fazil Marija – Northern Gladiators
Carlton International 7’s 2014 – Adriaan Feris – Northern Gladiators
