Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club
Encyclopedia
Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club (also known as CR & FC) is a rugby union
team based in Colombo
, Sri Lanka
that plays in the Caltex League, of which they are the current champions. Established in 1922, the Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club have been quite successful having won the Clifford Cup Knockout Tournament 12 times. They are nicknamed the Red Shirts.
E. H. Joseph. It was the first only rugby playing institution in the country at the time. The club had its first roots in NCC and in its 1st four years depended on NCC and Havelock Sports club
for their practices and matches.
Prominent names in Sri Lankan society took part in the committee of the 1st AGM which was held n 1923. They were the Schokmans, Rockwoods, Saravanamutthu, Weinman, and Ondatjie to name a few. The 1st captain was Dr. L. O. Weinman, while the vice-captain was Rajah Hewavitharana.
After the end of the 1st World war the Clifford Cup Knockout Tournament was re-introduced, and CR & FC lost to the combined service team by 3-6. Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club continued to flourish over the next decades with schoolboys from Trinity College
, Royal College
, Zahira College, St Peter's College
, St Thomas' College, and subsequently, Issipathana have represented the club with great distinction. The new clubhouse was opened in December 1964 and the main gate was opened in 1965.
E. H. Joseph commanded. He insisted that the club colors should be that of the artillery colors of Red & Blue, successfully convincing the General Committee.
. The club ceremoniously opened its new pavilion on 29 June 2007. It was opened by the main sponsors of the building the Football Federation of Sri Lanka
(FFSL), President Hurley Silveira and the CEO of Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) David Griffiths
. The new building includes a viewing deck that seats 500 people, six corporate boxes, two state-of-the-art dressing rooms, and an outside bar lounge for members and their guests, a lounge bar for members, and a fine dining restaurant to serve members and their guests.
An image of the stadium can be seen here.
1950-1970
1970-1990
1990-2010
Past president include:
1922-1960
1960-1970
1970-1980
1980-1990
1991-present
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
team based in Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
that plays in the Caltex League, of which they are the current champions. Established in 1922, the Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club have been quite successful having won the Clifford Cup Knockout Tournament 12 times. They are nicknamed the Red Shirts.
History
The Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club was founded in 1922 by ColonelColonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
E. H. Joseph. It was the first only rugby playing institution in the country at the time. The club had its first roots in NCC and in its 1st four years depended on NCC and Havelock Sports club
Havelock Sports Club
Havelock Sports Club is a rugby union team based in Sri Lanka that plays in the Caltex League in Sri Lanka.-External links:* *...
for their practices and matches.
Prominent names in Sri Lankan society took part in the committee of the 1st AGM which was held n 1923. They were the Schokmans, Rockwoods, Saravanamutthu, Weinman, and Ondatjie to name a few. The 1st captain was Dr. L. O. Weinman, while the vice-captain was Rajah Hewavitharana.
After the end of the 1st World war the Clifford Cup Knockout Tournament was re-introduced, and CR & FC lost to the combined service team by 3-6. Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club continued to flourish over the next decades with schoolboys from Trinity College
Trinity College, Kandy
Trinity College, Kandy founded in 1872 by Anglican missionaries, is an Independent elite private boys’ school providing primary and secondary education in Sri Lanka...
, Royal College
Royal College Colombo
The Royal College of Colombo was founded in January 1835 in Colombo. It is considered to be the leading Public School in Sri Lanka...
, Zahira College, St Peter's College
St Peter's College, Colombo
St. Peter's College is a distinguished boys only primary to secondary school in the Bambalapitiya zone of Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1922....
, St Thomas' College, and subsequently, Issipathana have represented the club with great distinction. The new clubhouse was opened in December 1964 and the main gate was opened in 1965.
Colours and name
The colours of the Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club come from the regiment that its founder, ColonelColonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
E. H. Joseph commanded. He insisted that the club colors should be that of the artillery colors of Red & Blue, successfully convincing the General Committee.
Stadium
The home ground of the Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club is CR & FC GroundsCR & FC Grounds
Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club Grounds is a multi-purpose stadium complex located in Colombo, Sri Lanka.It is the home ground of Caltex League side Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club and on occasion hosts concerts....
. The club ceremoniously opened its new pavilion on 29 June 2007. It was opened by the main sponsors of the building the Football Federation of Sri Lanka
Football Federation of Sri Lanka
The Football Federation of Sri Lanka is the governing body of football in Sri Lanka.-External links:* * at the FIFA website.* at AFC site...
(FFSL), President Hurley Silveira and the CEO of Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) David Griffiths
David Griffiths
David J. Griffiths is a U.S. physicist and educator. He has worked at Reed College since 1978, where he is currently the Howard Vollum Professor of Science. He is easily confused with the late physicist David J. Griffiths of Oregon State University.Griffiths is a graduate of The Putney School...
. The new building includes a viewing deck that seats 500 people, six corporate boxes, two state-of-the-art dressing rooms, and an outside bar lounge for members and their guests, a lounge bar for members, and a fine dining restaurant to serve members and their guests.
An image of the stadium can be seen here.
Captains
1923-1950- L. O. Weinman (1923-1924)
- A. R. Lourensz (1924-1926)
- J. A. V.Modder (1927-1928)
- C. W. M. Oorloff(1929-1930)
- G. Pereira (1930-1931)
- E. F. N. Gratiaen (1932-1933)
- S. G. De Zoysa (1934-1935)
- E. F. N. Gratiaen (1936-1937)
- R. E. Blaze (1937-1938)
- W. D. Ratnavale (1938-1940)
- N. W. Weerasinghe (1940-1942)
- Vacant (1942-1946)
- F. B. Ohlmus (1946-1948)
- F. E. Keller (1948-1949)
- W. Molegoda (1949-1950)
1950-1970
- A. PereraA. PereraA. Perera was a Sri Lankan cricketer who played for Antonians Sports Club.Perera made his first and only First-Class appearance for the side, during the 1992-1993 Saravanamuttu Trophy competition...
(1950-1951) - M. Rodrigo (1951-1954)
- S. Navaratnam (1954-1956)
- M. G. Wright (1956-1957)
- G. C. Weinman/A. A. Cader (1957-1958)
- A. A. Cader (1958-1959)
- A. Paiva (1959-1960)
- K. Rambukwella (1960-1961)
- G. C. Weinman (1961-1962)
- G. R. Ingleton (1962-1964)
- R. T. De Sylva (1964-1965)
- S. C. De Sylva (1965-1966)
- E. D. K. Roles (1966-1967)
- M. Azain (1967-1968)
- T. L. Sirimanne (1968-1969)
- M. Sahayam (1969-1970)
1970-1990
- N. H. Omar (1970-1971)
- D. V. P. Samarasekera (1971-1972)
- D. De Almeida (1972-1973)
- K. G. Ratnapala (1973-1974)
- K. Bartholameusz (1974-1975)
- R. W. Schockman (1975-1976)
- I. Coomaraswamy (1976-1977)
- S. H. C. Fernanndo (1977-1978)
- I. M. De Z. Gunasekera (1978-1979)
- P. R. Balasuriya (1979-1980)
- J. Rudra (1980-1981)
- C. P. Abeygunawardena (1981-1982)
- I. Musafer (1982-1983)
- L. RSiriwardena (1983-1984)
- E. M. S. Matthysz (1984-1985)
- K. R. T. Peiris (1985-1986)
- E. Epaarachchi (1986-1987)
- D. T. A. Adihetty/C. Jordashe (1987-1988)
- C. Jordashe (1988-1989)
- S. Siddik (1989-1990)
1990-2010
- P. Ekanayake (1990-1991)
- L. V. Ekanayake (1991-1992)
- L. Gunaratne (1992-1994)
- Shanitha Fernando (1994-1995)
- L. Gunaratne (1995-1996)
- V. Prasanna (1996-1997)
- A. Hensman (1997-1998)
- C. Nishantha (1998-2000)
- S. de Saram (2000-2001)
- K. Musafer (2001-2002)
- A. Rodrigo (2002-2003)
- S. Nawaz (2003-2004)
- P. Fernando (2004-2007)
- A. Dharmatilleke (2007-2008)
- S. Mohamed (2008-2009)
- Ashean Karthelis (2009-2010)
- Dushantha Lewke (2010-Present)
General Committee
- Mr. Jehan CanagaRetna - President
- Mr. Rienzie Fernando - Deputy President
- Mr. Shantha Kurumbalapitiya - Honorary General Secretary
- Mr. Ravi P. Edirisinghe - Honorary Treasurer
- Mr. Christopher Jordashe - Vice-President
- Mr. Jeremy David - Honorary Bar Secretary
- Mr. Gavin Jayasekera - Chairman Rugby Board
- Mr. Roshan Tissera - Chairman Sponsorship
- Mr. Chandima Perera - Chairman Other Games
- Mr. Saneth Gamage - Honorary Restaurant Secretary
- Mr. R.T.Molligoda - Honorary Life Member
- Mr. Ravi Balasuriya - Immediate Past President
- Mr. Dushantha Lewke - Rugby Captain
President of CH &FC
The current president of Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club is Jehan CanagaRetna, who came to the position in 2008.Past president include:
1922-1960
- E. H. Joseph (1922-1935)
- H. K. De Kretser (1936-1947)
- H. N. V. C. Kelaart (1948-1952)
- V. C. Kelaart (1953-1954)
- S. G. De Zoysa (1954-1955)
- J. W. Serasinghe (1956-1957)
- W. D. Ratnavale (1957-1958)
- A. P. Koelmeyer (1959-1960)
1960-1970
- N. W. Weerasinghe (1960-1961)
- P. Ramanathan (1961-1962)
- F. B. Ohlmus (1963-1964)
- W. Molegoda (1964-1966)
- A. E. R. McHeyzer (1967-1968)
- S. Navaratnam (1968-1969)
- M. G. Wright (1969-1970)
1970-1980
- G. C. Weinman (1970-1971)
- R. Rajasingham (1971-1972)
- M. Rodrigo (1972-1973)
- K. Rambukwella (1973-1975)
- A. K. Doray (1975-1976)
- D. Rodrigo (1976-1977)
- T. C. M. Muttaih (1977-1978)
- Percy Perera (1978-1979)
- S. Navaratnam (1979-1980)
1980-1990
- Lalith De Silva (1980-1981)
- N. H. Omar (1981-1982)
- D. V. P. Samarasekera (1982-1983)
- D. De Almeida (1983-1984)
- Ifthikar Cader (1984-1985)
- S. H. C. Fernando (1985-1986)
- U.N. Gunasekera (1986-1990)
1991-present
- S. R. P. Samarasekera (1991-1992)
- R. T. De Sylva (1993-1994)
- G. Manik Pereira (1995-1996)
- D. M. Balasuriya (1996-1997)
- C. J. Fernando (1998-1999)
- E. M. S. Matthysz (2000-2002)
- C. Dharmadasa (2003-2004)
- R. N. Balasuriya (2005-2008)
- Jehan CanagaRetna (2008-Present)
Club honours
- Caltex League:
- Champions: None
- Runners up: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
- Clifford Cup Knockout Tournament:
- Champions: 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1987, 1988, 1989
- President's Trophy Knockout Tournament:
- Champions: 1977, 1983, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2007