The Racecourse
Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka
The Racecourse, Colombo, Sri Lanka — opened 1893, as a horse-racing course, moved from the earlier Colpitty Race Course, 1 rugby league games hosted, home of Not confirmed for 1907; today used by the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union as the national rugby union home ground.
Sourcing caveat: This match was played under rugby union rules by a touring squad that later founded rugby league in Britain; it is included in rugby league history sources because of that squad's subsequent significance, not because the Colombo fixture itself was a rugby league match.
Ground facts
| Opened | 1893, as a horse-racing course, moved from the earlier Colpitty Race Course |
| Home club | Not confirmed for 1907; today used by the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union as the national rugby union home ground |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 1 |
| Top recorded crowd | 3,000 |
| Capacity | Around 10,000 today, following a 2012 redevelopment; the 1907-era capacity is not confirmed |
| Floodlights installed | No; floodlights were only installed during a 2014 renovation, long after the 1907 match, which kicked off at 5pm local time in daylight |
| Surface | Currently a hybrid turf surface following the 2012 redevelopment; in 1907 it would have been natural grass |
| Years used | 1907 |
| Location | Colombo, Colombo |
Name history
- Colombo Racecourse — 1893-present, main name
- RNAS Colombo Racecourse / HMS Bherunda — 1943-1945, requisitioned as a wartime airfield and then a Royal Navy shore establishment
- Colombo Racecourse Sports Complex — 2012-present, after redevelopment
Rugby league history
On 12 September 1907, a Ceylon XV lost 6-33 to the touring New Zealand rugby team in front of 3,000 fans, a stopover fixture played while the tourists' ship called at Colombo en route from Australia to Great Britain. This squad, the so-called All Golds, went on to found international rugby league in Britain later that same tour; however, this specific Ceylon match was played under rugby union rules, since rugby league did not yet exist as a code in the Southern Hemisphere or in Ceylon in 1907. It is catalogued on rugby league history sites because of the touring side's subsequent role in founding the sport, not because the match itself was played to rugby league rules.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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