The 54th Mercantile Rugby Sevens 2026 got underway at CR & FC, with 20 men’s teams and four women’s teams competing across the Men’s Cup/Plate, Bowl and Shield competitions, alongside the Women’s segment.
The opening day delivered impressive performances, competitive encounters and convincing victories as teams battled to secure their places in the knockout stages ahead of the tournament’s second day.
MEN’S CUP/PLATE
The Cup/Plate competition saw some strong performances, with CDB Finance PLC (A) and John Keells making impressive starts. John Keells recorded a commanding 47-0 victory over Brandix, while CDB Finance PLC (A) defeated Sampath Bank 24-0 and Hayleys PLC 17-0.
Sampath Bank opened with a 24-19 win over Hayleys PLC, while Link Natural Products secured a 36-5 victory against Brandix.
John Keells Holdings Vs Link Natural Products
John Keells Holdings (JKH) signed off their Cup/Plate group-stage campaign in style, defeating defending champions Link Natural Products 22–12 at the 54th Mercantile Rugby Sevens 2026.
JKH made an electric start, with Pasindu Bandara opening the scoring. After winning the restart, Bandara showcased brilliant footwork to create the opportunity for Jayathu Rajarathne to cross the try line. A costly error from Link Natural Products just before half-time allowed Bandara to grab his second try, giving JKH a commanding 15–0 lead at the break.
Link Natural Products returned with renewed intent in the second half, with Gayan Perera scoring a try converted by Suranga Tennakoon. However, Ravindu Anjula responded for JKH with a well-executed try under the posts to keep his side in control.
Srinath Sooriyabandara crossed for Link Natural Products in the final play, but JKH held on for a 22–12 victory, closing their group-stage campaign with an impressive win over the defending champions.
Results:
- Sampath Bank 24-19 Hayleys PLC
- Brandix 05-36 Link Natural Products
- Sampath Bank 00-24 CDB Finance PLC (A)
- Brandix 00-47 John Keells
- Hayleys PLC 00-17 CDB Finance PLC (A)
- Link Natural Products 12-22 John Keells
WOMEN’S
The Women’s competition featured closely contested encounters among Commercial Credit, Sampath Bank, Commercial Bank and CDB Finance PLC.
Sampath Bank registered two victories, defeating Commercial Credit 5-0 and CDB Finance PLC 10-5. Commercial Bank also secured a 5-0 win over Commercial Credit, while CDB Finance PLC opened with a 10-5 victory against Commercial Bank.
Results:
- Commercial Credit 00-05 Sampath Bank
- Commercial Bank 05-10 CDB Finance PLC
- Commercial Credit 00-05 Commercial Bank
- Sampath Bank 10-05 CDB Finance PLC
MEN’S BOWL
The Men’s Bowl competition delivered several closely contested encounters, with Seylan Bank emerging as one of the standout performers after recording two convincing victories. They defeated The Core 2.0 31-0 before overcoming CDB Finance PLC (B) 22-10.
Hatton National Bank also impressed with a 17-12 victory over Ceylinco General, while High Octane bounced back from a narrow 19-17 defeat to Ceylinco General to register a 15-12 win over Hatton National Bank.
The Core 2.0 secured a 26-10 victory over CDB Finance PLC (B) to round off the results.
Results:
- Ceylinco General 12-17 Hatton National Bank
- The Core 2.0 26-10 CDB Finance PLC (B)
- Ceylinco General 19-17 High Octane
- The Core 2.0 00-31 Seylan Bank
- Hatton National Bank 12-15 High Octane
- CDB Finance PLC (B) 10-22 Seylan Bank
MEN’S SHIELD
The Shield competition witnessed several dominant displays, with Foresight Engineering, Commercial Credit, Hemas Group and AIA Insurance among the standout performers.
Foresight Engineering produced one of the biggest victories of the opening day, defeating Central Finance 60-0 before recording a 50-0 win over People’s Leasing. Commercial Credit also impressed with victories over Hemas Group and MAS Holdings, while Hemas Group bounced back to defeat MAS Holdings 31-5.
AIA Insurance recorded a 45-0 victory over People’s Leasing and followed it up with a 31-7 win against Central Finance. Commercial Credit also secured a walkover victory against Commercial Bank.
Results:
- MAS Holdings 36-07 Commercial Bank
- Commercial Credit 31-12 Hemas Group
- Central Finance 00-60 Foresight Engineering
- AIA Insurance 45-00 People’s Leasing
- MAS Holdings 07-31 Commercial Credit
- Commercial Bank 00-31 Hemas Group
- Central Finance 07-31 AIA Insurance
- Foresight Engineering 50-00 People’s Leasing
- MAS Holdings 05-31 Hemas Group
- Commercial Bank WO Commercial Credit (Commercial credit won)
- Central Finance 31-05 People’s Leasing
- Foresight Engineering 33-05 AIA Insurance
The competition now moves towards the knockout stages and finals, where the teams will battle for championship honours across all categories.
Day 02 schedule
| MatchNo. | Date | Category | Team 1 | Team 2 | Kick-off |
| 29 | 14-Nov-26 | Cup/Plate – QF-01 | Sampath Bank | Brandix | 1:00 PM |
| 30 | 14-Nov-26 | Cup/Plate – QF-02 | Link Natural | Hayleys PLC | 1:20 PM |
| 31 | 14-Nov-26 | Ladies | Commercial Credit | CDB Finance PLC | 1:40 PM |
| 32 | 14-Nov-26 | Ladies | Sampath Bank | Commercial Bank | 1:40 PM |
| 33 | 14-Nov-26 | Shield – SF-01 | Commercial Credit | AIA Insurance | 2:00 PM |
| 34 | 14-Nov-26 | Shield – SF-02 | Foresight Engineering | Hemas Group | 2:20 PM |
| 35 | 14-Nov-26 | Bowl – SF-01 | HNB | The Core 2.0 | 2:40 PM |
| 36 | 14-Nov-26 | Bowl – SF-02 | Seylan Bank | High Octane | 3:00 PM |
| 37 | 14-Nov-26 | Cup/Plate – SF-01 | JKH | Winner of Match No. 29 | 3:20 PM |
| 38 | 14-Nov-26 | Cup/Plate – SF-02 | CDB Finance A | Winner of Match No. 30 | 3:40 PM |
| 39 | 14-Nov-26 | Ladies – 3rd PlacePlayoff | Group G – 3rd RankTeam | Group G – 4th RankTeam | 5:00 PM |
| 40 | 14-Nov-26 | Ladies – Final | Group G – 1st RankTeam | Group G – 2nd RankTeam | 5:15 PM |
| 41 | 14-Nov-26 | Shield – Final | Winner of Match No.33 | Winner of Match No.34 | 5:40 PM |
| 42 | 14-Nov-26 | Bowl – Final | Winner of Match No.35 | Winner of Match No. 36 | 6:10 PM |
| 43 | 14-Nov-26 | Cup – 3rd Place Playoff | Loser of Match No. 37 | Loser of Match No. 38 | 6:30 PM |
| 44 | 14-Nov-26 | Plate – Final | Loser of Match No. 29 | Loser of Match No. 30 | 7:00 PM |
| 45 | 14-Nov-26 | Cup – Final | Winner of Match No. 37 | Winner of Match No. 38 | 7:30 PM |
