Dialog Schools Rugby League may skip 2020

The inaugural Dialog Schools Rugby League Championship is highly unlikely to recommence this year with many issues surrounding the competition and its logistics. The Sunday Times learns that officials of the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA), Sri Lanka Rugby and sponsors Dialog Axiata PLC have sat down for a meeting, to discuss the future of the competition, which was stalled after the first week itself on March 12.

According to reliable sources, the Dialog Schools League will most probably skip 2020 and will recommence in early 2021 as a whole new competition. Though the SLSRFA and sponsors Dialog are keen to recommence the tournament after the G.C.E. Advance Level examination, most schools have experienced financial issues as well as logistic issues, following the barring of sports activities after the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is also said that the Ministry of Education has instructed all its schools sports associations, not to conduct any sports events until the end of this year. With many final-year players set to miss out the all-important Dialog League, the SLSRFA is focusing on conducting a shorter version, either 7s or a 10s competition, importantly for the rugby players set to leave schools this year.

Sri Lanka Rugby on the other hand offered its assistance to SLSRFA in formulating the Schools League competition and recommended the schools body skip its events for this season, for safety of the players. Earlier this week, the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association announced that it would have to abandon its league tournament this year, and focus on the competitions to follow in 2021.