Dialog Rugby Club 7s kicks off on 2 June

From left: Dialog Axiata General Manager(Brand and Media) Harsha Samaranayake, Dialog Axiata Group Chief Marketing OfficerAmali Nanayakkara, Sports, Provincial Councils and Local Government Minister Faiszer Musthapha, Sri Lanka Rugby Vice President Lasitha Gunaratne and Sri Lanka Rugby CEO Priyantha Ekanayake - Pic by Indraratna Balasuriya

Established as the premier domestic sevens tourney in Sri Lanka, the Dialog Rugby Club 7s first leg will kick-off from 2 to 3 June, and the second leg from 16 to 17 June, at the iconic Racecourse Grounds, Colombo.

In this year’s Dialog Rugby Club 7s, 20 teams will fight it out for the Cup, Plate and Shield Championships during two weeks of fast paced 7s Rugby action. Leading rugby clubs, including Kandy SC, Havelock SC, CH & FC, Navy SC, Police SC, Air Force FC, Army SC, and provincial clubs including Peterson SC, Galle RFC and Sabaragamuwa RFC, will compete for top honours at this year’s tourney. Army FC, Navy FC, Air Force FC, Police FC and CH & FC are expected to field 2 teams at this year’s Dialog Rugby Club 7s, and the respective women’s rugby teams will once again take on the field this year.

The Dialog Rugby Club 7s tournament attracts thousands of spectators, both young and old, who enjoy fast and furious rugby action from Sri Lanka’s leading clubs. This year the live action is combined with a carnival atmosphere at the grand finals of Dialog Rugby Club 7s, as food vendors from Eat Street Colombo will offer a culinary experience to tantalise rugby fans’ taste buds and live music from Sri Lanka’s best known DJs to keep everyone entertained. 

In last year’s Dialog Rugby Club 7s, a superb all-round display from Navy SC beat a spirited performance by the boys from Longdon Place, 21 - 17, to clinch the Coveted Cup final.

The Dialog Inter Club Rugby 7s will commence this weekend among sixteen teams at the Racecourse

International Stadium. 

The 1st leg of Segment I will be played on 2 and 3 June, and the second leg will be on 16 and 17 June, whilst Segment II will be played on 9 and 10 June. 

Format - Segment I

• Sixteen (16) teams will be placed in 4 pools of 4 teams each in pool

Pool points system 

• The tournament will consist of matches between teams in the same pool on a round-robin basis, followed by knock-out round matches. 
• No extra time will be played in pool matches.

Win - 3 points; Draw – 2 points; Loss – 1 point

Knock-out format

• Teams seeded no 1 & 2 of each pool will qualify for the Cup and Plate competition.
• Teams seeded no 3 & 4 of each pool will qualify for Bowl and Shield competition.

In addition, four women’s teams will also feature this year, namely, Army, Navy, Air Force and

Colombo Eagles, who will be a development team.

Format - Segment II

• Twenty-four teams will be placed in 8 pools of 3 teams in each pool
• Teams seeded no 1 of each pool will qualify for the Cup competition
• Losers of the cup semi-finals will qualify for the Plate final.
• Teams seeded no 2 of each pool will qualify for the Bowl competition.
• Teams seeded no 3 of each pool will qualify for the shield competition.

Provincial Councils, Local Government and Sports Minister Faiszer Musthapha, Dialog Axiata Group Chief Marketing Officer Amali Nanayakkara, Dialog Axiata General Manager (Brand & Media) Harsha Samaranayake, SLR Vice President Lasitha Gunaratne, and SLR CEO Priyantha Ekanayake were present at the launch.

Sri Lanka Rugby thanked Dialog Axiata for its continuous support in sponsoring the Sri Lanka Senior and Junior National Rugby Teams, Dialog Rugby League, Dialog Clifford Cup Knockout, Dialog Rugby Club 7s and Asia Sevens Series Colombo leg.