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Sri Lanka national rugby union team

Sri Lanka
Sri lanka Rugby logo.jpg
Union Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union
Nickname(s) The Brave Elephants
Tuskers
Emblem(s) Tuskers
Coach(es) Johan Taylor
Captain(s) Sudharshana Muthuthanthri
Most caps Fazil Marija
First international
 All Ceylon 6–33 New Zealand 
(12 September 1907)
Largest win
 Sri Lanka 75–3 Pakistan 
(27 October 2004)
Largest defeat
 Japan 129–6 Sri Lanka 
(8 October 2002)
World Cup
Appearances 0

The Sri Lanka national rugby union team has yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup. They have the longest tradition of organised club rugby in Asia, dating back to 1879, which was just 8 years after the founding of the world’s first rugby union in England. They regularly compete in the Asian Five Nations tournament and are currently in Division I. In the 2010 tournament, they made it to the finals beating Chinese Taipei 37 to 7.

Sri Lanka Rugby has a long history, dating back to the days of British colonialism. The first party to introduce Rugby to Sri Lanka is Kingswood College in Kandy, with the first club, Colombo Football Club, being established on 28 June 1879.

The nation's first "national" match was on 12 September 1907 and involved an All Ceylon team against the professional All Blacks (the New Zealand rugby league team) under rugby union rules on their 1907–1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Australia and Great Britain. The professional All Blacks won the match 33-6. The Ceylon Rugby Football Union was founded 10 August 1908. In 1974 it changed its name to the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union.

In 1932 the Ceylon RFU XV won the All India Cup at all India Rugby Football Tournament

Both the 1930 and the 1950 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia played unofficial matches in Ceylon on their way home.

Mahesh Rodrigo, better known as an international cricketer, also captained the national team.


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