• Priyantha feels KSC will fall in line eventually

The decision made by Kandy SC (KSC) – the defending champions of the League and Knockout club tournaments – to desist from employing any foreign players during the upcoming rugby season will not make a decisive difference to their title aspirations, according to a few former stars of the game.

The 2025-’26 inter-club rugby season is scheduled to kick off on Friday (14), when last season’s Runners-Up Havelock SC host Navy SC at Havelock Park.

National Sports Council (NSC) Chair Priyantha Ekanayake said he had no issue with Kandy opting to stick with local players for the new season, but he was all for the decision made by Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) to allow clubs to hire foreign stars.

“I think Kandy does not need foreigners to begin with,” the legendary former National Captain and Kandy SC star backrower said.

“At least half of the National Team is known to occupy their reserves bench and that alone is proof that they could tackle these teams without much fuss. However, I firmly believe that the move made by SLR to allow clubs to contract foreigners is the right call. We need those players from New Zealand and Australia to elevate our standards,” he added. 

Ekanayake, who led his country in a record four consecutive Rugby Asiads in the 1980s and ’90s, was of the view that he would not be surprised if his former club too were to eventually fall in line with the majority of clubs and field overseas-based players.  

Former Sri Lanka centre Rohan Abeykoon was of the view that the decision made by the Nittawela-based club against signing any foreign players would not impact them adversely, as over 70% of the National Team were with Kandy SC.

He said that, in that aspect alone, having to deal with one foreign hand in the opposition camp would not make much of a difference to them in the final analysis.

However, Abeykoon noted that opening doors for foreign-based players to ply their trade in the domestic sphere would make the forthcoming League more interesting with crowd support, which had declined considerably during the recent past.

The former Trinity and CH & FC star added that the format of having a Cup final on the last day to award the League Trophy would also be a boost for all teams while sustaining fan following, as the winners could only be determined on the last day.

Another former national player, who preferred not to be identified, also agreed with the decision taken by Kandy SC to refrain from contracting any foreign players during the impending season.

He commended the titleholders for the bold step taken to go with the locals and insisted that it further underscored their willingness to face any challenge posed by their opponents.

Nonetheless, he added that any decision taken by a club to field foreigners or not was entirely up to them, emphasising that it was the clubs themselves that would stand to face the consequences of such moves. 

In a media release last week, SLR officially confirmed the inclusion of foreign players for the 2025/’26 ‘A’ Division season encompassing the League, Knockout, and Sevens tournaments.

According to the local controlling body for the game, its Executive Committee had initially approved the inclusion of two foreign players per club in line with the practice adopted in previous seasons and in recognition of the value such players bring to the local game.

SLR added that each of the nine competing teams would be allowed to include one foreign player, while more importantly, the decision to include two foreign players per club would be fully enforced from the 2026-’27 season onwards, giving all clubs time to plan and budget accordingly.

To date, besides Kandy SC and Police SC, all other clubs, including CR & FC, CH & FC, Havelock SC, Army SC, Air Force SC, Navy SC, and Sri Lions, have expressed their intention to contract foreigners ahead of the new season.