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Rugby’s rich history has power to entice sponsors

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Action at the Nippon Paint Company sponsored Inter-Club league rugby tournament

by a Special Sports Correspondent

Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) did well to strike a deal with Nippon Paint Company (NPC) early this month to boost its domestic rugby tournaments. NPC threw its weight behind rugby at a time when a leading communication giant didn’t come through as the sponsor for domestic rugby in Sri Lanka; this was despite much communication between the two parties.

Rugby in Sri Lanka has such a rich history it doesn’t have to be a loser when it comes to finding a sponsor. What’s needed is for SLR to have a good marketing team which is able to entice sponsors. The word ‘entice’ perfectly suits a description of rugby because the game has ideal attributes like speed, power, glamour and color to paint a picture full of energy where ever rugby is played. These are qualities that attract players, spectators and sponsors.

The sponsor is basically on board to sponsor the inter-club league rugby tournament, the Clifford Cup knock-outs and the inter-club rugby sevens. The sponsor came in at a time when the world of sports was slowly opening up after the worse phase of the Covid 19 pandemic. We passed a time when wearing masks, maintaining distances and isolating ourselves had damaged human relationships to a great extent. The worse was we never trusted anyone during the most challenging times of the pandemic. The fact that NPC accepted to come on board following an invitation by SLR should be hailed. Sport builds trust and rugby has the credentials to go beyond trust and look at lasting relationships. There again we read in the print media that one party in the sponsoring company was a past rugby player and that was one factor that helped the two parties to come together and form a partnership within a short period of negotiating.

Rugby at the senior level has eight clubs and all these are established institutes. Apart from the main title sponsor some of the clubs might have their private sponsors. This was the norm for many years during the past. The same can be said about the school rugby scene. Just a few years ago a well-known rugby playing school in Maradana-despite playing in Division 11 tournament- had three sponsors during a single season. The company logos were sported all over the players’ jerseys and shorts. The major rugby playing schools that year-playing in the division 1 tournament-had plenty to carry during that season. Rugby is a money spinning den and sports clubs and schools only have to find the right man to go hunting for potential sponsors.

Many years ago rugby attracted sponsors in the likes of John Player Gold Leaf and Carlsberg. But the Sri Lankan Government’s policy of moving sport away from liquor and tobacco made rugby suffer at that stage. But slowly the game rose to earn finances through other sponsorships and after a few years of struggle most teams had their private sponsors. Apart from that the rugby controlling body in the country gave away chunks from the title sponsor to clubs to strengthen their chances in the tournament and meet expenses. We are living in an era where even the society of rugby referees has its own sponsor.

It would be a miss if this writer doesn’t mention that there was a time in Sri Lanka rugby where local clubs fielded professional foreign players and these clubs needed huge finances to employ them. But at present the tournament committee running the domestic tournament doesn’t allow clubs to field foreigners hence their budgets are exhausted in maintain the local players and the coaching staff.

Rugby is an expensive sport and receives the patronage of a rich community. Even now we see that members of the Prime Minister’s family are involved in the game. At one time all the three sons of the lawmaker Mahinda Rajapaksa (at that time he was the head of state) were involved in Division 1 club rugby.

Unlike others sports rugby gets its fare share of media attention. So no sponsor can complain about not getting mileage out of being involved in rugby. Now the SLR must try to rope in NPC to sponsor national rugby. There are huge prospects for a sponsor in getting involved in national rugby because Sri Lanka contests the Asian Sevens Series and the Asian Rugby Tournament. Apart from that Sri Lanka is a popular rugby team in any version of rugby in the international scene. SLR President Rizly Illyas was quoted in newspapers saying that NPC was keen on sponsoring rugby’s assets like the International Rugby Sevens (Men’s and women’s and Men’s 15-a-side, Women’s rugby and provincial under 21 and 24 tournaments. For all that to come up in the future the first assignment-which is the league rugby tournament- has to see an end without any hiccups.



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President commends victorious National Football Team

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As a symbolic gesture of honour, FFSL President Jaswar Umar presented President Ranil Wickremesinghe with a customized National Football Jersey.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe met with the victorious Sri Lankan National Football Team on Tuesday (26) at the Presidential Secretariat. He commended the team’s efforts in their recent triumph over Bhutan, marking the first win in a decade.

The President expressed his support for the football team’s aspiration to claim the South Asian Championship (SAFF) next year, pledging his commitment to advancing football infrastructure in the near future. Football’s popularity has surged in Sri Lanka in recent months, with the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) assembling a formidable national team comprising talented players of Sri Lankan descent from various professional leagues worldwide. Sri Lanka’s national team secured victory against Bhutan in the recently concluded FIFA Series 2024.

During the visit, FFSL President Jaswar Umar, Head Coach Andy Morrison, and the entire national team had the opportunity to meet with the President and pose for photographs.

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Injured Rajitha ruled out of second Test against Bangladesh

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Rajitha had a good outing in the first Test (Cricbuzz)

Sri Lanka received a blow ahead of the second Test against Bangladesh as pace bowler Kasun Rajitha is ruled out of the series concluding match, scheduled at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium from March 30. Asitha Fernando joined the squad as a replacement for Rajitha while the latter returned home to start rehabilitation work.

“Kasun Rajitha will not be available for the second Test match as the player has suffered an injury to his left upper back area,” SLC said in a statement on Wednesday. Rajitha, who grabbed eight wickets in the opening Test against Bangladesh at Sylhet, played a key role behind their win by picking a five-fer in the second innings to help them earn a massive 328-run win.

The right-arm medium fast bowler sustained the injury while playing the first Test and played the game by managing his injury. Both the teams reached Chattogram ahead of the second game and will start their preparation from Thursday for the second Test which is part of the ICC Test Championship.

Shakib Al Hasan, who made himself available for this contest, will be joining the team as well before they begin their preparation. The ace all-rounder featured for Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club against Gazi Group Cricketers in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League, the country’s traditional list A tournament, at BKSP on Wednesday (March 27).

Shakib scored a 65-ball 53 and later picked two for 14 run to help his side win the game by 39 runs and in the process prepare for the important encounter against the islanders.

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Records rewritten as Sunrisers Hyderabad overpower Mumbai Indians in an epic hit-a-thon

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SRH plundered IPL record score of 277/3

In a match that could rival any in terms of overall hitting pedigree, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians served up a feast which the former eventually clinched by 31 runs.  In all a total of 38 sixes (the most in a T20 game)  were hit across forty overs and as many as 523 runs (the most in a T20 game) scored in a match for the ages at Hyderabad.

First up Travis Head, coming in for Marco Jansen, set the tone as he smashed a 18-ball fifty inside the powerplay. It became the fastest-fifty for SRH in IPL history. Head was brutal on anything short of length and was offered plenty of it as Mumbai Indians erred frequently. The powerplay went for 81 runs as SRH started entering the record books.

If Head was ruthless against the pacers upfront, Abhishek Sharma was merciless against the bowlers to follow. First he would go after Piyush Chawla and then after the 17 year old debutant Kwen Maphaka who was hit for 20 in a single over. The youngster would finish with unflattering figures of 0/66 in his four overs but could take heart in the fact that none of the more accomplished bowlers were spared either. Abhishek’s blitz was so hard that he ended up breaking Head’s record for the quickest fifty for SRH in IPL, getting there in just 16 balls. After 10 overs,  SRH’s total of 148 was the highest ever by any team in IPL at the halfway mark.

Mumbai Indians held back Jasprit Bumrah even as SRH piled up 173 in just 12 overs. Bumrah had bowled only one over until then and they hoped to match him up better against Heinrich Klaasen at the back-end. It worked to an extent as Bumrah went for ‘only’ 9 an over. But as much as he was the standout on a flat batting beauty, it meant that there was no room to hide for any of the other bowlers. The in-form Klaasen spared none of the pacers even as he broke free, and finished it up with a 21-run over bowled by the spinner Shams Mulani to finish the innings. Klaasen remained unbeaten on 80 in a 116-run stand with Aiden Markram. With that SRH had racked up the highest-ever franchise T20 score of 277.

After SRH recorded the highest-ever IPL total, Mumbai Indians mounted a firm challenge in the chase.

Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma put on 56 in just 3.2 overs to give Mumbai Indians the perfect start as they took a shot at glory. Kishan hit four sixes and two fours in his 13 balls before falling to Shahbaz Ahmed. Sharma took on Pat Cummins, flicking him for a six, but fell pulling him next ball to give SRH a boost.

Through the middle overs, Tilak Varma took it upon himself to keep the momentum going. Along with a fluent Naman Dhir, he added 84 in just 37 balls. That partnership set the chase up once again as Mumbai Indians started to give SRH something to think about seriously.

As the innings progressed, the track began to favour the bowlers who managed to take the pace off the ball. Both Cummins and Jaydev Unadkat exploited this to perfection. With MI needing 68 in the last three overs and a well-set Tim David still there alongside Hqrdik Pandya, the chase was still on. However, the pace duo managed to get the better of them by taking the pace off to give SRH a memorable win.

Brief Scores:
Sunrisers Hyderabad 277/3 in 20 overs  (Heinrich Klaasen 80*, Abhishek Sharma 63, Travis Head 62, Aiden Markram 42*; Hardik Pndya 1-46, Gerald Coetzee 1-57, Piyush Chawla 1-34) beat  Mumbai Indians 246/5 in 20 overs  (Rohit Sharma 26, Ishan Kishan 34, Naman Dhir 30, Tilak Varma 64, Hardik Pandya 24,  Tim David 42*; Jaydev Unadkat 2-47, Shahbaz Ahmed 1-39, Pat Cummins 2-35) by 31runs

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