Sports
Namal to captain Sri Lanka rugby team
Oct 03, 201308:10 PM
The IRB-supported competition, featuring Madagascar and Poland, will be played over three match days between October 26 and November 1 in rugby-mad Colombo.
The competition will bring together three thriving Unions that are experiencing unprecedented participation growth and Rugby interest.
Madagascar, still in the hunt for a place at Rugby World Cup 2015, regularly attract 40,000 capacity crowds to their Test matches against the likes of Kenya, Namibia and Zimbabwe and rugby is now the national sport.
Sri Lanka currently boasts 58,000 players, positioning the Union within the top 15 in the world, and boosted by the Olympic decision Sri Lanka is attracting participants in record numbers.
Poland is one of the up and coming Unions in the highly-competitive FIRA-AER competition structures and currently lie third in the European Nations Cup 2014 Division 1B.
For Sri Lanka, hosting such a prestigious tournament will give the country the best possible preparation for next year’s Asian 5 Nations Top 5 where Sri Lanka will take on Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and the Philippines. The winner will qualify directly to RWC 2015 as Asia 1, while the runner-up will enter the Repechage.
The IRB sanctioned, inaugural “Serendib International Cup 2013” 15-a-side Men’s competition
FIXTURES:
Match 1 - Madagascar v Sri Lanka: Saturday 26/10/13 - KO 5.30pm
(under lights at the New National Rugby Stadium – The Race Course)
Match 2 - Madagascar v Poland: Tuesday 29/10/13 - KO 5.30pm
(under lights at the New National Rugby Stadium – The Race Course)
Match 3 – Sri Lanka v Poland: Friday 1/11/13 - KO 7.30pm
(under lights at the New National Rugby Stadium – The Race Course)
Pre-match: Colombo v KANDY Schools - 5.30pm
