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From the Press Box by Sa'adi Thawfeeq

At a time when the Minister of Sports is doing his utmost to uplift the standard of rugby football in this country and introduce a sense of professionalism to the sport, the vibes generated from the players is rather disappointing and disturbing.

Not a day passes without a player finding an excuse to withdraw from the national squad preparing for the Rugby Asiad in Bangkok next week. These withdrawals could either mean that there is a certain section that does not want Sri Lanka to perform well at the Asiad or that the players themselves have had an overdose of rugby for the year and are finding excuses to keep away because of lack of motivation and commitment.

With Sri Lanka scheduled to host the 2006 rugby Asiad in Colombo, it is imperative they send a team that will not disgrace the country at Bangkok as they did during the recently concluded Commonwealth games and the Asian Games in Busan, South Korea.

No doubt the players have had a long season of rugby at home and the Busan debacle could be partly attributed to it. Then on top of it, the Premier Champions trophy tournament was introduced which to most players was the last straw of a lengthy season.

The tournament was introduced with good intentions by the Sports Minister, but it was ill-timed, being held nearly two months after the domestic season had ended. Kandy Sports Club, the dominant force of Sri Lankan rugby, quite rightly pulled out as their players had already disbanded and quit practice after a long and arduous season, which saw them win the triple - the league, the knockout and the sevens. Even some of the top rugby schools kept away from the tournament for good reasons. However, the show went on and CR & FC and Isipatana MV went on to win the club and schools titles respectively.

The Sports Minister has promised the tournament to be part of the National Sports Festival from next year and according to him, it will be the key tournament in the local rugby calendar.

Undoubtedly, the Premier Champions trophy was the richest domestic rugby tournament with prize money totalling over Rs. 1.5 million and teams right down from the under 13 level to 'A' division inter-club level benefitting.

The Minister no doubt is a keen rugby fan having been involved in the promotion of the game in his home town Kurunegala and North Western Province for many years and his Ministry has taken the task of uplifting the standard of the sport in the country.

But all of the Minister's efforts will be brought to naught if the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU), the controlling body for the sport in the country does not get its act right. It appears that all is not right in the SLRFU.

That there is certain friction between the SLRFU and the Kandy SC officials cannot be denied. That the SLRFU does not have much clout when it comes to persuading teams to play was proved when Kandy SC, the glamour boys of local rugby refused to allow any of its players to represent the country at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in July because they needed the players for the local tournament for which they had pumped in a lot of money to perform and win.

And win they did, when they walked away with triple titles. Then again, the SLRFU failed to convince Kandy SC to take part in the Premier Champions trophy tournament. Surely the SLRFU knew beforehand what Sri Lanka's international commitments were for the current year and they should have planned out the local tournaments in such a way that it did not lead to player burn-outs. Unlike certain other sports, rugby is a tough game and injury prone because of the frequent body contacts. Thus, a lengthy season is certainly going to result in the players losing interest at some point of time and getting injured.

The situation the SLRFU are faced with today where players are withdrawing for reasons of injury and unavailability on personal grounds is something the country can ill-afford unless they have a large reserve bank which can replace these constantly occurring vacancies sufficiently.

The Sports Minister too has been critical of the SLRFU, blaming them for not adopting a standard procedure in the appointment of the national coach. According to him, the post should have been advertised, applications called and interviews held before a knowledgeable panel prior to the suitable candidate being picked.

When coach C.P. Abeygoonewardene resigned following the Asian Games debacle and over the exclusion of certain players from the Asiad squad, the SLRFU went ahead and appointed Tony Amit as national coach. But it was not the person appointed that irked the Minister, but the manner in which it was carried through.

The SLRFU has a few unanswered questions on the present state of rugby in the country and the public has a right to know why.

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