Sri Lanka to host Malaysia on April 19

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By Shamseer Jaleel

Sri Lanka’s National Rugby Team is set to face Malaysia on April 19 at the Racecourse Grounds in Colombo and the game is likely to be played under lights. 
Earlier, the pivotal playoff match, which will determine qualification for the top-tier Asia Rugby Championship (ARC) 2025 was to be played in Johor Bahru in Malaysia.
Malaysia enters this playoff after finishing last in the 2024 ARC Premier Division, having lost all their matches, including to newcomers the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, earned their spot by winning Division 1 in 2024, defeating Kazakhstan and India in Division 1, which was played in Colombo last year.
The two teams last faced each other in 2017, with Malaysia securing a 22-9 win. 
However, the current World Rugby Rankings place Sri Lanka ahead of Malaysia giving the hosts a competitive edge.
The victor of this playoff will join Hong Kong, South Korea and the UAE in the ARC Super 4. If Sri Lanka qualifies, they will lock horns with the UAE and South Korea at home while the Hong Kong encounter will be played away. 
The champion of the Super 4 will earn a direct qualification to the 2027 Rugby World Cup while the runners-up will have another opportunity to qualify by facing the second-placed team from the African Rugby Championship. 
This match represents a significant opportunity for Sri Lanka to ascend to the highest levels of international rugby and potentially secure their first-ever Rugby World Cup appearance. 
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Rugby which is suspended and operated under the Director General of Sports, is likely to announce the squad and the coaching staff for this event after the Clifford Cup Knock-Out Tournament, which will end on April 6.
The players will hardly have any opportunity for a recovery period plus many leading players might opt out due to a long season plus injuries. 
Ideally, the preparation for the Malaysian game should have gone ahead and the Clifford Cup played soon after to select the best available squad for the premier rugby event in Asia.
Sanath Martis, who led the coaching duty at the ARC Division 1 last year in Colombo, is tipped to continue with the coaching role. 
Meanwhile, the League champions, Kandy Sports Club Head Coach, Fazil Marija will be out of the Island in New Zealand on a coaching programme, which was arranged prior to this fixing of the Malaysian encounter dates and will be out of contention for this one-off game.
CR and FC Head Coach, Dushanth Lewke is likely to be retained as the Forwards Coach while Saliya Kumara and Nilfer Ibrahim are the frontrunners for the back division coaching role.