Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7's
|
Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7's Logo | |
| Sport | Rugby sevens |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| No. of teams | 24 |
| Country | 12 countries |
| Most recent champion(s) |
 Fiji Barbarians |
| Official website | www.singersrilankan7s.com |
The Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7's was an annual international rugby sevens event held in Kandy, Sri Lanka of the Kandy Sports Club and staged at the Bogambara Stadium. The tournament was held in September and ran for three days. The main sponsors of the event were Sri Lankan Airlines and Singer, other sponsors included Rolls Royce, Airbus Industries, SITA, Haesl, IAE International, CFM, John Keells Elephant House, Lion Brewery and Amaya Resorts. The tournament ran for eleven years, attracting national sides from Asia and Europe.
History
The Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7's was established in 1999, initially the competition was part of the Kandy Sports Club's 125th anniversary celebrations[1][2] and the tournament was limited to ten Asian rugby playing countries.[2] The inaugural cup was won by South Korea.[1][3] In 2000 the competition was made an open event and expanded to 16 teams,[2] with teams from Europe competing. In that year and the following Chinese Taipei won the cup.[1][3] In 2001 the tournament. The competition was won by Portugal won in 2002.[1][3] In 2003 teams from Africa (Kenya, Morocco and the Arabian Gulf) and Oceania (Australia, New Zealand and the Cook Islands) joining, with Kenya the eventual winners of the cup.[3]
In 2004 the tournament was played as the Asian qualifier for the 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens and was once again limited to the Asian rugby playing nations.[1] The winner in 2004 was Japan,[3] with Chinese Taipei and South Korea (second and third respectively) also qualifying for the Rugby World Cup Sevens. The tournament was subsequently recognised by the International Rugby Board as an IRB satellite event.[1][2] In 2005 Japan won the cup.[3] In 2006 and 2007 the cup was won by South Korea and Hong Kong respectively,[3] however the Japanese team were conspicuous by their absence.[1]
In 2008 the tournament became a Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) recognised event, with it being the final competition in the Asian Sevens Series.[4] The winner of the cup that year was Malaysia.[3] 2009 saw the return of the Japanese team, who won the competition for a historic third time.[3]
2010 was the last year that the competition was held due to the loss of sponsorship and the introduction of the Carlton Super 7's 2013 International League, which was included in the ARFU Sevens Series Schedule and granted recognition as a part of the IRB Asian Rugby Sevens Series.[5] A number of non-official national sides competed in the 2010 tournament, with the Fiji Barbarians the eventual winners of the cup.[3]
A schools event also ran concurrently with the international tournament, with sixteen schools competing.
Past champions
Year Cup Plate Bowl 1999 
South Korea
Malaysia
India2000 
Chinese Taipei
Japan
Thailand 2001 Chinese Taipei
Denmark
Czech Republic2002 
Portugal South Korea
Hong Kong2003 
Kenya
Sri Lanka
Arabian Gulf2004 Japan Sri Lanka
Kazakhstan2005 Japan Sri Lanka Arabian Gulf2006 South Korea Thailand Malaysia2007 Hong Kong
China India2008 Malaysia Kazakhstan
Singapore2009 Japan Thailand
Pakistan2010 Fiji Barbarians
New Zealand Legends
Germany
Past champions (schools)
Year Cup Plate Bowl 1999 Isipathana College Kingswood College No Competition 2000 St.Anthony’s College Trinity College Wesley College 2001 St Peter's College Wesley College Ruhunu Combined 2002 Vidyartha College St.Anthony’s College St. Thomas' College 2003 Isipathana College Royal College Dharmaraja College 2004 Kingswood College St. Sylvester's College| St. Sylvester's College
Isipathana College 2005 St.Anthony’s College Science College Dharmaraja College 2006 St.Anthony’s College Kingswood College St. Sylvester's College 2007 Isipathana College Dharmaraja College Vidyartha College 2008 Isipathana College Dharmaraja College Ananda College
See also
- Rugby Sevens
- IRB Sevens World Series
- Rugby World Cup Sevens
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Vimal, Perera (7 September 2008). "Kandy International Sevens marks first decade". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Looking back at the Singer-Sri Lankan Airlines Sevens". The Island. 4 September 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 "Sri Lanka 7s". Rugby7.com. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
- ↑ "Promising Start for Asia". Ultimate Rugby Sevens. 15 September 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
- ↑ "Sri Lanka granted Asian Sevens Tournament". Ultimate Rugby Sevens. 6 August 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
External links
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