Rugby, the second most popular sport in the country, arguably, had an outstanding 2007. Unlike in other sports, rugby matches held during weekends draw a considerable amount of spectators, both male and female, and they are ardent supporters of their respective clubs. The vociferous crowds were one of the highlights of the last season.

Kandy SC, the most dominant force in local rugby, dictated terms on all their opponents and they went onto win the league title following an unbeaten run.

It was the record seventh consecutive year the champion club managed to achieve this. Like Australia in world cricket, Kandy SC always dug up the psychological advantage over their opposition as they were always the team to beat. The only club that came close to Kandy was CR & FC but they withered in the two sides’ head-to-head battles all the time. The Red Shirts outplayed all the other opponents with ease but they shrunk against the ‘Kadurata’ (upcountry) boys.

CH & FC, too, had a fairly impressive season though they were not able to beat the top two clubs. They came back strongly in the second half of the season. The other clubs, Havelocks SC, SL Army, Police SC, Air Force and Old Zahirians SC, were not that impressive last season but they played an important part in the local rugby scenario.

Kandy SC made it a double as they won the prestigious Clifford Cup by beating CR & FC in the finals by 16–5. They failed to grab a Triple Crown as they fielded a second-string team, comprising a lot of schoolboys, and were crushed by CH & FC in the semi-final of the President’s Trophy by 59 points to eight. CR & FC, possibly in the absence of a strong Kandy side, won the President’s Trophy by beating CH in the final.

The 2007 rugby season became more remarkable due to the fact that it produced a bunch of young players who excelled right throughout the season. Tuan Shamrock of Havelocks SC, De Costa brothers of CR & FC, Sendil Kumar of CR & FC, Mohammed Jabbar of Kandy SC, Achala Perera of CH & FC, Niroshan Karunanayake of Havelocks SC were few youngsters who made their mark for their respective clubs and some of them even made it to the national team.

The player of the season, without any doubt, was Fazil Marija, the playmaker of Kandy SC. He was indeed a revelation for the champions. Radhika Hettiarachchi, the full back of CR, was an old war horse getting better and better with the age. Jeewa Galgamuwa, the skipper of Kandy SC and Sri Lanka excelled in the forward line outs. Ravi Jayasuriya, the flanker of Havelocks SC was an energetic player and was never available for national duty as he failed to attend the training sessions on a regular basis. Sumedha Malewana, No.8 of CH & FC, was also a talented, gusty player and he would be a great assert to his club in the forthcoming season. Imram Bistamim of Kandy SC, Amjad Buksh of CR & FC, Lakala Perera of CH & FC, Senaka Bandara of Kandy SC, Mohammed Shamil of CR & FC, Sanjeewa Jayasinghe of Kandy SC and Saliya Kumar of Kandy SC had good seasons too.

Mohammed Sheriff of CR & FC was the biggest disappointment of the season as he started quite impressively but lost momentum as the season came to a close.

Nalaka Weerakkodi, the evergreen full back of Kandy SC, too had an outstanding season and he retired from competitive rugby in grand style. He is a drop goal specialist of Jhonny Wilkinson type and one of the best players the country has ever produced.

As the year was drawing to a close, the Singer Rugby Asiad 2007 was the talk of the town and the national rugby selectors picked the best possible squad to represent the country. Sri Lanka as a host nation had to confront series of barriers; especially matters on security issues. But hats off for the administrators as they did a fantastic job to get the event underway as this was the last Asiad to be worked out since the format was being changed. Then the controversy struck as five top players in the Asiad squad, with the tournament at the door step, went to Paris to witness the Rugby World Cup final. Then the brave selectors headed by Anton Benedict immediately dropped the players from the squad holding on to the mantra ‘country before self’. The situation got worse and the tug of war continued among the officials. Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge intervened and found a temporary solution, but the selectors were not happy and three of them resigned immediately.

Singer Rugby Asiad 2007 in Sri Lanka failed to attract the top Rugby playing countries in Asia. Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore were the notable absentees. The other alarming factor was other than Kazakhstan all the other countries had not sent the full fledged national sides for the tournament. Hence, at the very outset, one could question as to whether that was the real Rugby Asiad…? As expected Sri Lanka played Kazakhstan in the final and the hosts were beaten soundly by the impressive Kazakhs by 24-17. Kazakhstan by far was the superior team and outplayed Sri Lanka in all departments. China, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Malaysia, Pakistan, Iran and India were the other participants.

Singer Rugby International 7’s

Hong Kong-China were crowned as the Champions as they thumped hot favourite Korea in the final of the Singer Sri Lanka Rugby 7’s played at Nittawela, Kandy. Sri Lankans were all impressive in tourney and their marginal lost to Hong Kong in the semi-final was a shock for the thousands of spectators gathered around the stadium.

Overall it was an action filled season and the Sri Lankans were neither too impressive nor too sluggish.