Will the Singer Rugby Asiad be staged in Colombo?

Crucial Council meeting of SLRFU forced to be postponed

by Lal Gunasekera

If the security situation in the country improves, there is a likeli hood of the 20th Singer Asian Rugby Championship being worked off on schedule from November 19 to 25, but the Rugby World Cup (RWC) Asian qualifying games will not be staged in Colombo as planned.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU), Dilroy Fernando, told the Sunday Observer that after the International Rugby Board (IRB) decided not to play the RWC qualifying games in Colombo during the same period as the Singer Asiad, the Council of the SLRFU were to meet in emergency session last morning at its headquarters, but were forced to postpone it for this morning (Sunday) as several Council members were unable to attend the meeting yesterday due to security checks and road blocks.

The IRB will now have to stage the RWC qualifying games between Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong, before the end of November at another venue. Only Hong Kong and Singapore are reluctant to play in Colombo.

Japan were to meet Hong Kong on November 19, South Korea taking on Hong Kong on November 21 and Japan battling South Korea on November 25.

These are also Cup category games of Asiad.

Fernando said that the SLRFU are "pushing" the IRB to stage the RWC qualifying games in Colombo on schedule, as a lot of preparation has been put in to make the Singer Asiad a success and taking into consideration the monies that have already been spent.

What will be the outcome of today's Council meeting of the SLRFU? Also, what will be the decision of the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) which is headed by SLRFU President, Priyantha Ekanayake? Will the IRB change their decision?

The other nine countries to figure in the Plate and Bowl categories are Sri Lanka, India, Arabian Gulf, Kazakhstan, Thailand, China, Chinese Taipei, Singapore and Malaysia.