The Sri Lanka national rugby union team, known as the Tuskers, represents Sri Lanka in men's international rugby union. The 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.

History

19th century Sri Lanka Rugby has a long history, dating back to the days of British colonialism. Colombo Football Club was the first rugby club in Sri Lanka, established on 28 June 1879.A 100 years of Unbroken Tradition! Kingswood college, Kandy was the first to introduce Rugby at school level. The first recorded school rugby game was between Kingswood College, Kandy and Trinity College, Kandy in 1906. Rugby having been introduced to Kingswood College in 1893 by the founder of school, Edmund Louise Blaze, a former student of Trinity College, Kandy.

20th century 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.Match Report 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.

In 1994, Sri Lanka entered into their first World Cup qualification tournament for a spot at the 1995 Rugby World Cup. They were drawn in Group A with Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia. After only losing by five points to Malaysia, they would concede 92 more points against the other two teams in the group to finish bottom of the group with no points. In 1997, Sri Lanka participated in the opening round of 1999 Rugby World Cup qualifying. After defeating Thailand and Singapore in the opening round, they next took on Chinese Taipei and Malaysia with the winner going through to the third round. After knocking off Malaysia by 22 points in Kuala Lumpur in their opening match, they would be eliminated after losing to Chinese Taipei 31–27 which gave Chinese Taipei the spot into the third round.

21st century The furthest they have made was to Round 2 of the Asian qualifying competition for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. The Sri Lanka rugby team performed above expectations during the qualifying campaign for the World Cup, and saw their world ranking improve from 68th to 43rd place, and its Asian ranking improve to fifth place.Sri Lanka to host Rugby Asiad in November this year

2008 was the first year of Asian Five Nations, which replaced the ARFU Asian Rugby Championship and the ARFU Asian Rugby Series. At the Divisional tournament Sri Lanka finished third, drawing against Singapore and losing to Chinese Taipei. The Chinese team withdrew from the tournament due to lack of visa availability and were relegated to Division Two.

In 2009 Sri Lanka again finished third in the Divisional tournament defeating Thailand (51–17) in the third-place final, remaining in Division One. Sri Lanka won Division One of the 2010 Divisional tournament beating Singapore (23–16) in the final, thereby winning promotion to the 2011 Asian Five Nations for the first time.

Despite a drawn match with United Arab Emirates (13–13), Sri Lanka lost its remaining three matches in the 2011 Asian Five Nations tournament and finished last, resulting in its demotion out of the Asian Five Nations. In the 2012 Division tournament the team won two matches but were defeated by the Philippines, which meant Sri Lanka missed out on promotion and remained in Division One. At the 2013 Division tournament held in Colombo, Sri Lanka were successful in winning all three of its matches earning a promotion to the Asian Five Nations. In 2014 Sri Lanka lost all four of its matches in the Asian Five Nations and were relegated back to Division One.

At the 2015 Division tournament held in the Philippines in May, Sri Lanka beat the Philippines 27–14 to become the champions of the Asian Division 1, resulting in the team qualifying to compete in a challenge match, in June, against the third ranked Asian team and a potential spot in the 2016 Asian Championship. Due to financial reasons, the challenge game was cancelled with South Korea remaining in the tri-nations division and Sri Lanka in the Division 1 competition for 2016. In 2016 Sri Lanka finished second at the Division tournament held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in May. Sri Lanka defeated both Singapore and the Philippines but lost to hosts Malaysia.

In the 2020s, the Sri Lanka national rugby union team continued to make strides in Asian rugby. In 2024, they won the Asia Rugby Division 1 Championship, defeating India 45-10 and Kazakhstan 45–7 in the final. This success led to a playoff match against Malaysia on April 19, 2025, which Sri Lanka won 59–19, securing their place in the top tier of the 2025 Asia Rugby Emirates Men's Championship. This tournament is significant as the winner will qualify directly for the Rugby World Cup 2027, presenting a historic opportunity for Sri Lanka to make their World Cup debut. The team also hosted the New Zealand U85kg team for two matches in May 2025, providing valuable international experience despite losing both games.

Home grounds Colombo Racecourse International Arena (Main Ground) CR & FC Grounds – Colombo 7 CH & FC Grounds – Colombo 7 Police Grounds – Colombo 5 Army Grounds – Galle Face Nittawela Rugby Stadium – Kandy Air Force Grounds – Ratmalana Navy Grounds – Welisara Havelock Park – Havelock Town Maligawa Grounds – Kurunegala Bogambara Stadium – Kandy Peoples' Park – Anuradhapura Slim Line Grounds – Pannala Vincent Dias Stadium – Badulla Army Grounds – Anuradhapura

Players Current squad

+ Backs PlayerHeshan JansenScrum-halfKandy SCMohammad RifanScrum-half Havelock SCNigel RatwatteFly-halfKandy SCThenuka NanayakkaraFly-halfCR&FCAkash MadushankaInside CentrePolice SCDanushka RanjanOutside CentreKandy SCHirantha PereraInside CentrePolice SCDinal EkanayakeRight WingKandy SCJanidu DilshanLeft WingCH&FCMursheed Zubair DoreFullbackCR&FCPasindu BandaraFullbackCH&FCTharinda RathwatteFly HalfKandy SC + Forwards PlayerPulasthi DasanayakeHookerCH&FCVenura KodagodaHookerCR&FCJanindu FernandoLoosehead PropHavelock SCSenura PereraTighthead PropCR&FCVimukthi GamageLoosehead PropCH&FCThanuja JayaweeraTighthead PropCR&FCNaveen MarasingheLockCR&FCThilina BandaraLockKandy SCNirosh PereraLockCH&FCNizraan NilarBlindside FlankerSri Lions SCTharindu ChathurangaOpenside FlankerOpenside FlankerLasindu KarunathilakeNumber 8CR&FCDahan WickramarachchiNumber 8Kandy SCOmalka GunaratneFly HalfCR&FC

Officials

Coaches Head Coach: Rodney Gibbs (2025)

Council Members SLR President - Nalin de Silva Deputy and Vice Presidents - Roshan Dean and S.W. Chang Secretary - Waruna de Silva Executive Director - Hamza Hidayathullah

Former coaches George Simpkin (?-?) Willie Hetaraka (September 2006-?) Tavita Tulagaese (?-) Rob Yule (March 2007–August 2008) Dawie Snyman (August 2008–April 2010) John Carrington (2009) Johan Taylor (? -January 2011) Ellis Meachen (January 2011–March 2012) Ravin Du Plessis (January 2013–?) Inthi Marikar (2009–2010) Leonard de Zilwa (2014–2015) Tony Amit (?-?) Johan Taylor (2015–2019) Assistant coaches Tavita Tulagaese C. P. Abeygunawardene Norman Laker (August 2008–April 2010)

Overall record

Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Sri Lanka national XV at test level up until 24 May 2026, updated after match with .

Opponent Played Won Lost Drawn % Won 2 0 2 0 0% 4 0 4 0 0% British & Irish Lions 2 0 2 0 0% 6 5 1 0 % 2 0 2 0 0% 12 0 12 0 0% 1 1 0 0 % 3 3 0 0 % 3 0 3 0 0% 8 0 8 0 0% 10 4 6 0 % 1 1 0 0 % 1 0 1 0 0% 21 14 7 0 % 1 0 1 0 0% 4 0 4 0 0% 1 1 0 0 % 2 0 2 0 0% 6 3 3 0 % 1 1 0 0 % 13 8 4 1 % 11 0 11 0 0% 14 6 8 0 % 14 9 4 1 % 3 1 1 1 % Total 145 55 87 3 %

Upcoming Matches

Recent results DateTournament Location VenueOpponent ResultScore4 July 2025Asia Rugby Emirates Men’s Championship 2025ColomboColombo Racecourse Loss21-2922 June 2025Asia Rugby Emirates Men’s Championship 2025Hong KongKai Tak Youth Sports Ground Loss07-7813 June 2025Asia Rugby Emirates Men’s Championship 2025ColomboColombo Racecourse Loss34-3810 May 2025Sir Graham Henry TrophyColomboColombo Racecourse U85kgLoss6-324 May 2025Sir Graham Henry TrophyKandyNittawela Rugby Stadium U85kgLoss10-5019 April 20252025 Asia Rugby Men's Championship Qualifiers ColomboColombo Racecourse Win59-194 May 20242024 Asia Rugby Division 1 Championship final ColomboColombo RacecourseWin45-730 April 20242024 Asia Rugby Division 1 Championship Colombo Colombo RacecourseWin45-102019FriendlyKuala LumpurBukit Jalil National StadiumLoss26-311 June 20192019 Asian Rugby Championship division 1TaipeiMunicipal StadiumWin72-1729 May 20192019 Asian Rugby Championship division 1TaipeiMunicipal StadiumLoss22-3914 May 20162016 Asian Rugby Championship division 1Kuala LumpurRoyal Selangor StadiumWin25-2111 May 20162016 Asian Rugby Championship division 1Kuala LumpurRoyal Selangor StadiumLoss17-428 May 20162016 Asian Rugby Championship division 1Kuala LumpurRoyal Selangor StadiumWin33-179 May 20152015 Asian Rugby Championship division 1Bocaue, BulacanPhilippine Sports Stadium Win27–146 May 20152015 Asian Rugby Championship division 1Bocaue, BulacanPhilippine Sports Stadium Win35-14 Green background indicates a win. Red background indicates a loss. Yellow background indicates a draw.

References

External links

2007 Rugby Asiad Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union official web site List and results of all IRB sanctioned international rugby games played by Sri Lanka