Sri Lanka Rugby Union renamed Sri Lanka Rugby

By Shamseer Jaleel

The Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU) was renamed Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) at its Annual General Meeting, which concluded at the Colombo Swimming Club two days ago. 

Rugby’s world governing body also changed its name this year from the International Rugby Board (IRB) to World Rugby.

Sri Lanka Rugby President Asanga Seneviratne appreciated the hard work put in by former Sri Lanka player and the present High Performance Coaching Director Inthi Marikar. The yeoman service he has rendered to the country’s junior rugby was evidenced by the rock solid performance of Sri Lanka’s Under-18 and Under-20 teams at the 2016 Asian Sevens. New Zealand-born trainer NicGroube too was with the team looking into their fitness for a short time. Seneviratne also mentioned that former Sri Lanka second rower Priyantha Ekanayake will take over the CEO position of the union. With valuable support coming from New Zealand it will be very helpful with his past experience.

The only change in Sri Lanka Rugby came when former Treasurer Mohamed Riyaz stepped down some time ago in order to give Ray Abeywardena the opportunity to hold the vital position.