Joes to defend the title; Royal pull out

By Shamseer Jaleel

Joes will defend their Milo Knockout Under-19 rugby trophy when they lock horns with Plate runners-up Antonians in one of the quarterfinal encounters. Two of the four quarterfinals will be worked off at the Sugathadasa Stadium while one quarterfinal, two semifinals, and the finals will be played at the Racecourse rugby grounds. The Kandy encounter between Kingswood and Trinity is likely to be played at Nittawela.

Meanwhile, Royal have pulled out of the tournament citing studies and injuries to their players. The stance of the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SSRFA) on Royal’s pulling out is unclear as this knockout tournament will take only another two weeks before the season comes to an end.   

The top six teams from the Cup segment and the two top teams from the Plate segment , the Thomians and Antonians, will lock horns for the President’s trophy while the Prime Minister’s and Chairman’s trophy, too, will be worked off concurrently for the lower division teams. With Royal pulling out, Wesley will come in as the 6th team in the Cup segment.

The Milo President’s Knockout trophy, initially known as the Premadasa Trophy, was introduced in 1985.

June 16

St. Joseph’s vs. St. Anthony’s          Sugathadasa Stadium

June 17

Trinity vs. Kingswood           (Likely Nittawela Stadium)

June 18

Isipathana vs. Wesley            Sugathadasa Stadium

June 19

St. Peter’s vs. St. Thomas        Racecourse grounds

Semifinals

June 23, 24                             Racecourse grounds

Final

June 30                                   Racecourse grounds