Sri Lanka Super Sevens kicks off in July

The power and passion of Sri Lanka Super Sevens rugby, powered by Dialog, kicks off this July. Group Chief Marketing Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC Amali Nanayakkara handing over sponsorship to Minister of Sports Dayasiri Jayasekera and Minister of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure Harin Fernando. Also pictured (from left) President SLR Asanga Seneviratne, VP – Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Association Trizviie Marikkar and CEO – SLR Priyantha Ekanayake.

​Pic by Indraratne Balasuriya​

Two weeks of scintillating sevens rugby action is in store this July, as the much-anticipated Sri Lanka Super Sevens, the most prestigious tournament in Sri Lanka’s international rugby calendar, kick off its first leg from 8-9 July at the Nittawela Grounds, Kandy. The second leg and grand finale will be played at the Racecourse Grounds, Colombo from 15-16 July.

For the second consecutive year in the Sri Lanka Super Sevens tournament, the top eight franchises, Access Kings, Cargills Gladiators, Etisalat Panthers, EzY Wolves, KBSL Dragons, Softlogic Warriors, Mobitel Eagles and the Walkers Vipers will battle it out for ultimate glory under two groups where the teams play each other in a round robin stage on day one, and qualify for the cup, bowl, shield and plate championships to be worked off the next day.

International rugby stars from teams such as Fiji, New Zealand, Samoa, Kenya, South Africa and England will be part of the starting lineup of the franchise teams promise scintillating sevens action that is on par with regional national tournaments.

In 2016, the Mobitel Eagles emerged overall Champions after fending off a spirited late challenge by Cargills Gladiators in a thrilling encounter, whilst Isipathana College emerged winners of the schools’ tourney beating St. Joseph’s College on aggregate points from the two legs.

The second leg will follow the same format, with points awarded to each based on their performance. The team with the most number of points at the end of both rounds will be crowned winners of the Sri Lanka Super Sevens 2017. Women’s teams from the Sri Lanka Army, Navy, Air Force and CR&FC will also play for metal at the Sri Lanka Super Sevens tournament.

An U-16 and U-18 schools tournament will be held parallel to the club tourney, following the same format featuring eight teams including Trinity College, St. Anthony’s College, Kingswood College, Dharmaraja College, St. Joseph’s College, St. Peter’s College, Isipatahna College, Science College, Wesley College and Zahiara College.

The Sri Lanka Super Sevens is powered by Dialog Axiata, Sri Lanka’s most prolific sponsor of sports, and the proud sponsor of the Sri Lanka National Rugby Team. The Company is also the sponsor of Sri Lanka Cricket, in addition to its close association with the President’s Gold Cup Volleyball, Dialog Champions League Football, Dialog Rugby League, Dialog Clifford Cup, Dialog Rugby Club Sevens, schools’ cricket and Paralympics, including powering the Sri Lankan contingent to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Sri Lanka Super Sevens teams announced

Sri Lanka Super Sevens 2017, which will be worked off at the Nittawela Rugby Stadium (8 and 9 July) and the second leg at the Racecourse Rugby Grounds (15 and 16 July) was announced two days back. Richard Darmapala (Cargills Gladiators), Danushka Dyan (Access Kings) Lee Keegal (Mobitel Eagles), Chanka Chandimal (Ezy Wolves), Fazil Marija (Etisalat Panthers), and Jason Dissanayake (Softlogic Panthers), Dhanushk Ranjan (Walkers), and Dhananjaya (KBSL) were the players who fetched up the highest price of Rs. 800,000 apiece. (SJ)