Sri Lanka in Plate category of 20th Asian Rugby C' ships
 

by Lal Gunesekera

Sri Lanka, China and Arabian Gulf together with three other countries will figure in the Plate category at the 20th Asian Rugby Championships to be staged in Colombo from November 17 to 25 sponsored by Singer (Sri Lanka) Limited.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU), Dilroy Fernando, told the Sunday Observer just before he 'took wing' to Manila, Philippines on Thursday night to attend a council meeting of the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU), that Sri Lanka's proposal with presentation will be made in Manila for the Asiad.

Fernando who will be representing Sri Lanka at the ARFU Council said that the proposal is for the top three in Asia (Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong) to figure in the Cup category which is also the Asian qualifier for the Rugby World Cup. There will be six in the Plate category and six in the Bowl too. The countries will be known soon after the qualifying games now in progress.

The other countries that will be competing in Colombo will be Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Kazakhastan, India and Pakistan with Guam, Philippines and Laos yet to confirm. Their participation will be know over the weekend at the ARFU Council meeting. The ARFU is headed by then President of the SLRFU, Priyantha Ekanayake.

SLRFU are yet negotiating regarding the venues for the Asiad with the Sugathadasa Stadium CR & FC and Royal College.

Sri Lanka were 10th out of 12 countries, only ahead of India and Pakistan at the 19th Asiad staged in Hong Kong in 2004. However, they are now placed fourth in Asia. Meanwhile, the SLRFU Council are to decide at the end of the month (June) whether to play the final of the Caltex Clifford Cup knock-out competition in Kandy or Colombo.

Kandy has been the venue for a number of years and Kandy Sports Club, the undisputed champions of the local scene, have protested if Colombo is to host the final and are even contemplating making an appeal to the Minister of Youth and Sports, Jeevan Kumaratunga, if the venue is shifted.

The quarter-finals of the Caltex Clifford Cup are scheduled of July 29 and 30, semi-finals for August 5 and 6 with the final on August 12.