After an immensely successful inaugural tournament last year the ICBT Inter-Campus Rugby Sevens 2019 is set to kick-off once again on August 24. This year’s tournament expands on the previous year’s achievements and will involve 12 university rugby teams battling it out for the coveted inter-university title.
Speaking at the gathering, Dr. Jagath Alwis, Chairman of ICBT emphasized the importance of extracurricular activates for the development of a complete and well-balanced student. He also spoke of how sports has been proven to improve overall academic performance while cultivating a variety of essential skills and instilling values of determination, teamwork, and discipline. Dr. Jagath also spoke of aspirations to eventually turn the jtourney into an international event, where universities from overseas would also be represented.
The 12 teams in the tournament will compete for 3 championships - Cup, Plate, and Bowl. The 12 teams will initially be divided into 4 groups which will battle it out in the group stages. The top two teams of each group will then progress to the Cup Quarter-Finals and the bottom team will progress to the Bowl Semi-Finals. The losers of the Cup Quarter-Finals will progress to Plate Semi-Finals while winners move on to Cup Semi-Finals and eventually the Cup Finals. The tournament will be held according to IRB Regulations and will be officiated by
referees from SLRFU, with winning teams receiving impressive cash prizes and the coveted trophy.
Lasitha Gunaratne, Chairman, Sri Lanka Rugby Union praised the intentions and spirit of the event saying “It is heartwarming to see an interest in Rugby at this level. These efforts will no doubt pay dividends for the future of Rugby on the island, by grooming talented young players, who one day might have the opportunity to pursue their passion for the game at the highest level and play for Sri Lanka”.
ICBT officials have appointed . Dilroy Fernando, former referee and a distinguished stalwart of Sri Lankan rugby as the tournament Director. Speaking to the media, Fernando praised ICBT for taking this initiative and stressed on the fact that Sri Lanka is lacking tournaments of this kind. He also stressed that events such as these were essential if rugby was to grow as a sport so that we might be well represented and competitive on a world stage.
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