Zahira Sevens today

The fifth edition of Zahira Rugby Sevens, organised by the Group of 60s of Zahira College Colombo will kick off today (18) from 8.00am at Maradana. This year the tournament will coincide with two of Zahira College’s milestones which fall on the same year.

“Zahira College will celebrate its 120th years as their rugby reaches the 90th year anniversary. So this is a unique milestone for any school and being one of the schools to play rugby in Sri Lanka we are proud of our achievements while looking forward to reach better heights in the game. We have produced a large number of rugby players to the national stream and will continue to do so. This tournament, which is popular and becoming a much awaited event by top schools, is one of the ways to give the future players of Sri Lanka the exposure they need,” explained Tony Amit, the tournament director.

According to Amit, the tournament will kick off sharp on time at 8.00am at Zahira College ground in Maradana. During the previous years the tournament was held at Longdon Place and Royal Sports Complex. But with the host’s venue being well prepared for rugby the tournament has reached its home according to the organisers.

This year in addition to 12 local school teams, two teams from Malaysia will add glamour to the competition. They are Tunku Jaffar Secondary School and Kuchin Rugby Football Club, which will field Under-18 teams. Zahira Sevens title defenders; Science has been drafted in Group ‘A’ along with Nalanda and Thurstan. The Group ‘B’ consist of St. Peter’s, Tunku Jaffar, Prince of Wales’ and Trinity. Present Under-20 All-island Sevens champions, Dharmaraja will join Kuchin RFC, Isipathana and hosts Zahira in Group ‘C’ while Vidyartha, Kingswood and Ananda make up the Group ‘D’. The organisers have made arrangements to give away cash prizes, trophies, medals and certificates to the winners and finalists of the Cup, Plate and Bowl categories. - NA