Clifford Cup

In 1911 Lady Elizabeth Clifford (the wife of the acting Governor of Ceylon, Sir Hugh Clifford) was interested in the annual rugby football fixture, Colombo versus Up Country, and expressed a wish that a match take place in Colombo on her birthday, 26 August, between teams representing the United Services and All Ceylon.[1][4] Due to unforeseen circumstances the scheduled date was put off by a week and the first Lady Clifford Cup match (as it was originally called)[2] was played on 2 September 1911, with the United Services team defeating All Ceylon 25 points to 0.[4] The All Ceylon team was composed entirely of European expatriates and the United Services team of members of the army and police force. In 1914 the army regiment from which many of the United Services were drawn was transferred from Ceylon following the outbreak of World War I.[5]

The competition was suspended until 1926 due to the war. In 1925 Sir Hugh Clifford returned to Ceylon as the Governor of Ceylon[5] and Lady Clifford, who was keen to revive the Clifford Cup tournament, donated another trophy for the competition in 1926. This time the Clifford Cup was awarded to the winner of a quadrangular tournament between four teams; Low Country, Up Country, Ceylonese and the United Services.[4][3] The competition pitted the Low Country against High Country teams and Ceylonese against United Services, with the respective winners competing for the cup. The first tournament in 1926 featured, Ceylonese R & FC, a team composed entirely of locally born players. Ceylonese R & FC lost their match against the United Services team, 3-6.[5] The cup was eventually won by Low Country, 14-3, against United Services. The following year Ceylonese R & FC defeated United Services, 16-8,[5] before losing to the cup winners, Up Country, 11-8.

The competition then continued until 1938, when it was disrupted by the advent of the Second World War.[4] In 1950 the Central Province Rugby Football Union decided to grant official status to the league rugby tournament and the Clifford Cup was converted to an inter-club competition played amongst eight clubs, Kandy Sports Club, Dimbula Athletic & Cricket Club, Dickoya Maskeliya Cricket Club, Uva Gymkhana Club, Kelani Valley Club, Havelock Sports Club, Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club and Colombo Hockey and Football Club.[4][3][1] The Havelock Sports Club won the inaugural cup for that year, ending an undefeated season by the club by defeating Dimbula A & CC, 13-0.[1][4] Havelock SC retained the cup the following year again maintaining an unbeaten record during the season. In 1953 Dimbula became the first club from Up-Country to win the Clifford Cup by defeating the previous years cup holders, Ceylonese R & FC, 6-0.[4][6] The Kandy Sporting Club made their first appearance in a Clifford Cup final in 1954, where they lost 21-5 against Ceylonese R & FC. The cup was shared for the first time in 1959 when Dimbula and Ceylonese R & FC competed in an 11-all draw.[1]

In 1961 five 'affiliated' rugby clubs, Police, Army, University, Air Force and Navy from Division 'B' were invited to join the tournament and play against the 'constituent clubs', forming a thirteen team competition. The format of the competition was also changed, whereby all 13 clubs had to play each other once on a home and away basis in alternate years and at the end of the league season the best eight teams competed in a knock-out tournament for the Clifford Cup.

In 1985 the rugby league competition was renamed the John Player "Gold Leaf" Rugby Championships and the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union decided to award the Clifford Cup to the winners of a separate knock-out tournament, conducted amongst the 'A' Division Clubs, held at the end of the regular season.[1]

In 1992 the Clifford Cup final was held in Kandy at Nittawella Stadium, the first time the cup final to be played outside of Colombo since 1957, at which Kandy SC defeated Police SC, by 22-9.[7]On that occasion both Ceylonese R & FC and Colombo H and FC boycotted the competition.[8] The Cup final, since 1992, has been held in Kandy with the exception being in 2006 when it was switched back to Colombo, resulting in Kandy SC withdrawing from that year's competition in protest.[7] On that occasion the cup was won by Ceylonese R & FC who defeated Havelock SC, 37-5. In 1998 the SLRFU decided to suspend the competition due to security concerns relating to the ongoing civil conflict however they resolved to reinstate it the following year. Since 2006 the cup final was held continuously in Kandy until 2011 when it was agreed to alternate the finals between Colombo and Kandy.[7][9]

In 2014 the Clifford Cup tournament was played in February/March, shifting from its traditional dates in the September/October period, resulting in no competition being played in 2013. In 2019 the reigning cup holders, Kandy SC withdrew from the competition after being refused permission to play at their home ground, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.[10] In 2020 the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]

• All Ceylon Rugby Football Club
• Dickoya Maskeliya Cricket Club (established in 1868)
• Dimbula Athletic & Cricket Club (established in 1856)
• Hambantota Sharks (established in 2013)
• Kelani Valley Club (established in 1885)
• Low Country
• United Services
• Up Country Lions (established in 2012)
• Uva Gymkhana Club (established in 1880)