By Harsha Amarasinghe

Foreign players are set to be featured in the Inter-Club 7’s rugby tournament for the first time in three years according to a reliable source close to Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR).

No overseas players were allowed to take part in Inter-Club tournaments since 2014/2015 after which the League Tournament, Clifford Cup as well as Club 7’s all have been dominated by Kandy Sports Club in each year.

However, the foreign players are expected to be back for the Inter-Club 7’s Tournament in 2018 which will certainly make the event more competitive.

Meanwhile, a team from Qatar is set to be introduced to the Inter-Club League Rugby Tournament 2018/2019. Kandy Sports Club have already won the league quite easily, but they could possibly be facing tougher challenges come next season should SLR implement their plan to bring a team from Qatar.

The Qatar side will also feature in this year’s Inter-Club 7’s Tournament while there was also an attempt to bring them down for the upcoming Clifford Cup Knockout Tournament, which seems very unlikely at the moment.

SLR however, have informed all the clubs about the possibility of including the Qatar team for the Clifford Cup.

“We were told by Sri Lanka Rugby that there is some team from Qatar that could take part in the Clifford Cup Tournament, but it was not confirmed,” a representative from one of the clubs told the Daily Mirror.

If the Qatar side does arrive for the Clifford Cup, they will have to take part in a playoff with whatever team finishes last before the start of the quarter-final.