Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club, also known as CR &FC, is a Division-A rugby union team based in Colombo, Sri Lanka which plays in the Dialog Rugby League. Established in 1922, the club has won the Clifford Cup Knockout Tournament fifteen times, most recently in 2023.[1] Their nickname is the Red Shirts.[2]
The club was founded on 25 September 1922 by ColonelErnest Henley Joseph.[3] It was the first rugby-only sporting organisation in the country at the time.[4] It had its roots in the Nondescripts Cricket Club (NCC), and depended on NCC and Havelock Sports Club for practices and matches during its first four years. Supporters called them the Red Shirts because of their uniform and club colours.[5]
Prominent figures in Sri Lankan society participated in the committee at the inaugural Annual General Meeting in 1923, including members of the Schokman, Rockwood, Saravanamutthu, Weinman, and Ondatjie families. The first captain was L. O. Weinman, and the vice-captain was Rajah Hewavitharana.
The club also maintains a senior Men's Rugby Union team. Features for members include a billiard room, squash courts, lighted tennis courts, a gymnasium, a swimming pool and an indoor badminton court. CR & FC has had a number of its players play for the Sri Lanka national rugby union team.
The club colours are those of the Ceylon Artillery Volunteer Corps, which was commanded by Col. Joseph. He insisted that the club colours should be the artillery red and blue, and subsequently persuaded the general committee.[4]
The club's home ground is CR & FC Grounds. On 29 June 2007 a new pavilion was opened by its primary sponsors, Football Federation of Sri Lanka president Hurley Silveira and Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation CEO David Griffiths. The new building includes a 500-seat viewing deck, six corporate boxes, two dressing rooms, an outside bar for members and guests, a bar for members, and a restaurant for members and guests.[6]
