With an expansion of participating nations to 24 teams for the Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027, Sri Lanka has a fresh hope of playing in the grand slam event of Rugby. The Sri Lankan Tuskers crossed the first hurdle of qualifiers by being the champions of the Asia Rugby Men’s Division 1 Tournament which was held in 2024. As the second hurdle, the Tuskers are scheduled to play against Malaysia in the repechage game on April 19th at the Racecourse Grounds.
Before the commencement of preparations, a 60-player initial squad was announced by the Director General of Sports, who is the competent authority for Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR). The Selections Committee is headed by Mr. Sudath Sampath, who is a former player of Isipathana College, Police SC, Kandy SC and the National Sevens team. Duminda de Silva, Alex Nishantha Chanaka, Rajiv Ganapathy and C. P. Abeygoonawardena were the other members of the Selection Committee. The final squad will be announced after the initial training sessions.
As usual, the Sri Lanka players will have a tight schedule as they have to play in the Clifford Cup Knock-out Rugby Tournament before the commencement of the national pool practices. Though the Tuskers have less than a couple of weeks’ time for the preparation, we believe that their current form in playing in a long Club League will uplift the fitness level and the skills of the players. However, the major task ahead of them is to understand the chemistry between the players, as they are coming from different clubs and lack the experience of playing together on the same team.
Winners of this repechage match will go through to the Asia Rugby Championship 2025, which is the played by the top 4 teams in Asia (Hong Kong, South Korea, UAE and the winner of the repechage match) apart from Japan, who automatically qualified for their performance in Rugby World Cup 2023. The winners of the Asia Rugby Championship 2025 will directly qualify for the Rugby World Cup 2027, and the runners-up will advance to the Asia-Africa play-off match with the hope of another Rugby World Cup berth from the Asian Region.
Preliminary Sri Lankan National Squad
Kandy SC (12 Players) – Malitha Wijesundara, Dhanuska Ranjan, Dinal Ekanayake, Kavindu Perera, Tharinda Rathwaththe, Milan Weerasinghe, Dilshad Fareed, Tharindu Chathuranga, Shahid Zumri, Thilina Bandara, Heshan Janson, Dahan Wickramarchchi,
Havelock SC (9 Players) – Faiz Abdulla, Janindu Fernando, Shehan Silva, Azmir Fajudeen, Sudesh Jayawickrama, Samuel Maduwantha, Mushin Falil, Jayathu Rajarathne, Mohamed Rifan,
CH&FC (9 Players) – Charith Silva, Pulasthi Dasanayake, Dinesh De Silva, Nirosh Perera, Janidu Dilshan, Pasidu Bandara, Shenal Adikaram, Janith Laksara, Maliksha Perera,
CR&FC (11 Players) – Senura Perera, Wenura Kodagoda, Naveen Marasinghe, Sohiru Anthony, Omalka Gunarathna, Adeesha Weerathunga, Lasindu Karunathilaka, Ravin De Silva, Gamunu Chethiya, Zubair Doray, Thenuka Nanayakkara,
Police SC (6 Players) – Thabeeth Hafiz, Lahiru Thilakarathne, Primesh Danushka, Yehan Bulathsinghala, Akash Madushanka, Janith Chandimal,
Air Force SC (4 Players) – Shamika Kaushan, Ishara Madushan, Shashika Fernando, Darshana Dabare
Navy SC (3 Players) – DH Wickramaarachchi, WDT Perera, TBH Madumadawa
Army SC (3 Players) – Nalaka Maduranga, Ashan Bandara, Sudaraka Dikkubura
Sri Lions SC (3 Players) – Denuwan Lakranda, Dulaj Navodya, Mohamed Nizran
