The Rugby administration of Science College has informed ThePapare.com that they have decided to pull out of the upcoming knockout tournament. Science are the defending champions of the tournament after registering a historic victory last year.
This decision has been made purely due to precarious financial situation faced by Science Rugby. The budget for Science Rugby is in the range of 6M rupees and is perhaps the lowest in the top division. ThePapare learns that Science Rugby is now struggling to secure adequate funds from those who had been contributing to their cause since their rise to the top division. With the junior rugby season yet to start, Science Rugby is said to be carrying a debt of nearly 1M rupees and their participation in the knockouts would certainly make the junior rugby team’s participation in the league impossible.
Therefore, with the intention of providing their youngsters the opportunity to take part in junior tournaments whilst managing the debt crisis, the administration has decided to pull out of the tournament.
In their official press release Wasantha Perera, the President of the Science College Rugby Support Group mentioned, “We sincerely regret our inability to contribute to this highly competitive tournament and we take this opportunity to wish all the best to the teams that will battle for the title we hold now. This is a very tough decision for us to take being the reigning champions and especially after the best ever league appearance in the top division.”
