Clifford Cup
| Clifford Cup | |
|---|---|
Current season or competition:: 2017 Clifford Cup
|
|
| Sport | Rugby union |
| Instituted | 1911 |
| Inaugural season | 1911 |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Country |
 Sri Lanka (SLRFU)
|
| Holders | Kandy SC (2017) |
| Most titles | Kandy Sports Club (20 titles) |
| Broadcast partner | Dialog TV |
| Related competition | Sri Lanka Rugby Championship (Dialog Rugby League) |
The Clifford Cup is the most prestigious club rugby knockout tournament in Sri Lanka, and arguably the oldest rugby tournament in Asia. The Clifford Cup commenced in 1911 and has been played continuously since 1950, having completed 79 seasons. The tournament began as a competition between the mercantile executives in Colombo and planters in the hill country.
In 1911 Lady Elizabeth Clifford (the wife of the acting Governor of Ceylon, Sir Hugh Clifford) was interested in the annual rugby football fixture, Colombo versus Up Country, and expressed a wish that a match take place in Colombo on her birthday, 26 August, between teams representing the United Services and All Ceylon. Due to unforeseen circumstances the scheduled date was put off by a week and the first Lady Clifford Cup match (as it was originally called) was played on 2 September 1911, with the United Services team defeating All Ceylon 25 points to 0. The All Ceylon team was composed entirely of European expatriates and the United Services team of members of the army and police force. In 1914 the army regiment from which many of the United Services were drawn was transferred from Ceylon following the outbreak of World War I.
The competition was suspended until 1926 due to the war. In 1925 Sir Hugh Clifford returned to Ceylon as the Governor of Ceylon and Lady Clifford, who was keen to revive the Clifford Cup tournament, donated another trophy for the competition in 1926. This time the Clifford Cup was awarded to the winner of a quadrangular tournament between four teams; Low Country, Up Country, Ceylonese and the United Services. The competition pitted the Low Country against High Country teams and Ceylonese against United Services, with the respective winners competing for the cup. The first tournament in 1926 featured, Ceylonese R & FC, a team composed entirely of locally born players. Ceylonese R & FC lost their match against the United Services team, 3-6. The cup was eventually won by Low Country, 14-3, against United Services. The following year Ceylonese R & FC defeated United Services, 16-8, before losing to the cup winners, Up Country, 11-8.
The competition then continued until 1938, when it was disrupted by the advent of the Second World War. In 1950 the Central Province Rugby Football Union decided to grant official status to the league rugby tournament and the Clifford Cup was converted to an inter-club competition played amongst eight clubs, Kandy Sports Club, Dimbula Athletic & Cricket Club, Dickoya Maskeliya Cricket Club, Uva Gymkhana Club, Kelani Valley Club, Havelock Sports Club, Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club and Colombo Hockey and Football Club. The Havelock Sports Club won the inaugural cup for that year, ending an undefeated season by the club by defeating Dimbula A & CC, 13-0. Havelock SC retained the cup the following year again maintaining an unbeaten record during the season. In 1953 Dimbula became the first club from Up-Country to win the Clifford Cup by defeating the previous years cup holders, Ceylonese R & FC, 6-0. The Kandy Sporting Club made their first appearance in a Clifford Cup final in 1954, where they lost 21-5 against Ceylonese R & FC. The cup was shared for the first time in 1959 when Dimbula and Ceylonese R & FC competed in an 11-all draw.
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