In the 1960s and 1970s the mention of ‘All-India’ tournament inspired unprecedented motivation to any club rugby player in Sri Lanka. The ‘All-India’ tournament was of course the pre-eminent regional rugby championship.
Dominated by the European presence on the sub-continent at the time, the tournament captured the imagination as the pinnacle for club rugby supremacy in South Asia.
The Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club’s (CR&FC) recent release of ‘Tackling Change’ celebrating the club’s centenary year, bears excellent accounts of the club’s glory years as a serial winner of this championship through those decades.
President of CR&FC Ted Hiran Muttiah paid a courtesy visit on His Excellency Gopal Baglay, High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka, to present a personalised copy of the centenary coffee table book.
Speaking after the presentation, HE Gopal Baglay observed “our two countries have centuries old relationships in many facets of life. We share a sport loving community culture. Therefore, a revival of the rugby link presents an exciting new opportunity for expansion of the game in both countries.”
Muttiah agreed, adding “an Indian women’s rugby team is expected to participate in the CR&FC’s centenary 7s tournament in April 2023. It is a timely opportunity to revive the rugby links between the two countries.”
The CR&FC Centenary 7s is scheduled for April 7-9 2023 and will feature ten school teams, eight men’s club teams and six women’s club teams, including two international women’s club teams from India and Thailand.