Hayleys’ Talawakelle Tea Estates emerge Inter-Plantations Company Rugby Sevens champs

• Hayleys Plantations proves company ethos of working hard and playing hard

Following a toughly contested series of games, Talawakelle Tea Estates Plc beat the Maskeliya Plantations team 28-17 to emerge champions at this year’s Inter-Plantations Company Rugby Sevens Tournament. 

This achievement marks the 7th consecutive year that Talawakelle has emerged victorious and retained their championship position. 

TTEL’s own performance was consistent throughout the entire tournament, having most recently displayed a very high standard of rugby during the series to beat Mathurata Plantations, Hapugasthena Plantations and Malwaththa Valley Plantations in order to reach the final where they were able to earn victory over Maskeliya Plantations.

The finals took place at the scenic Dickoya-Maskeliya Cricket Club grounds. The game was organised by the club for the 17th consecutive year and saw the participation of 14 teams representing Regional Plantation Companies. Following an outstanding performance over the entire series, P. Balasuriya of TTEL was adjudged the Player of the Tournament. 

“We’d like to thank all of the teams who participated in this year’s tournament and gave us their most valiant efforts in the true spirit of sportsmanship. This tournament is an unparalleled opportunity for all of us to take our fighting spirit onto the sports field. It is our company ethos to play just as hard as we work, as this  helps us bond as a team and be just as aggressive in achieving our company goals of being the best and defeating all odds,” said Hayleys Plantations Managing Director Roshan Rajadurai. 

Reflecting this persevering and never-say-die spirit, the Hayleys Plantation sector made a strong comeback in the last financial year. This comes against the backdrop of an extremely turbulent few years with the ongoing tea industry wage disputes, Sri Lankan tea prices plummeting and the weather gods being unfavourable to most agricultural and plantation businesses with both floods and a drought adversely affecting the bottom line.