Southern Province rugby to be revived

By Shamseer Jaleel

Neglected Southern Province rugby will be back on track once more. One of the major cities to play rugby after Colombo and Kandy is now a neglected lot.

Sri Lanka Rugby Union (SLRFU) Secretary Nazeem Mohamed told the Daily FT that the Southern Province produced some seven or eight teams playing rugby and was a major contributor at school level. 

“However, in the last decade or so, there has been a huge decline in the level of rugby at school level. We had one or two clubs playing division A or B in rugby but now there are none. One of the rugby stalwarts, Kumar Abeywardena, single-handedly supported rugby from the Southern Province, but he needs support.

“We at SLRFU will support the work and one of the former Trinity, Havies players and top administrators of rugby, S.W. Chang will form the Southern Province rugby with his top class administration qualities. We will support rugby at school and club level for both men’s and women’s rugby in the province. We want the Southern Province to improve standards and provide some quality players to represent at club and national level.”

Chang, who represented Trinity in 1980, went on to play for the Park Club in 1981 and 1982 before taking up refereeing. One of the most respected for his fair decisions, he was the first Sri Lankan to blow at a Rugby Asiad final. That was in 1990 in Colombo, at the encounter between Japan and South Korea. He was also the Manager of the Sri Lanka Youth Team at the Rugby World Cup in Chile and has also coached many leading schools in the country.