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| Thursday, 19 August 2004 |
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Lankan rugby at low ebb Sri Lanka rugby has reached its lowest ebb, both performance wise and that of administration. Perhaps one could get carried away by our recent win over Thailand. But those who know the game better are well and truly aware that Sri Lanka never took Thailand as seriously in the past. Sri Lanka's seven-a-side rugby too has reached rock bottom with a series of nine defeats in back to back tournaments last year. Nobody seems to know where our rugby is heading for. Amidst a series of poor performance comes the resignation of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU), Chandrishan Perera, the former Sri Lanka and CH & FC star player who has earned high respect both on and off the field. In another high drama, CR & FC took the SLRFU to courts and obtained a stay order against the SLRFU's decision to sack the Longden Place club from the Inter-Club premier league tournament. Losing Perera was a big set back as he was one of the handful of people who were active at the headquarters which govern the game played with an oval shaped ball. Then CR added salt to the union's wounds and administrative blunders by taking the local rugby football governing body to courts, probably for the first time in the proud history of the SLRFU. Definitely, there is something wrong. Is Sri Lanka rugby heading in the right direction? If so, the game here would not have been in a pathetic situation like this. Petty club differences and individual politics have ruined the game and nobody seems to be aware whether a national sports association called SLRFU is existing. The SLRFU gets a handsome amount as an IRB grant to develop the game here. But almost half of those finances go to maintain a high profile technical director. It is worthwhile in doing so if there is significant amount of development and positive results. In short, the SLRFU seems to be in a total mess, without knowing which direction their ship is sailing and who the captain is. It is high time the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports steps in to solve the problems and put things right in Sri Lanka rugby. It won't be a surprise if the Sports Minister dissolves the SLRFU and appoints an interim administration with a team of knowledgeable people who are genuinely interested in fostering the game. We are not in favour of interim councils, forgetting the democratic rights and wishes of member associations. But there are a few instances where it needs to be appointed in the name of the game. That's why the National Sports Law of 1973 has given provisions and strengthened the arms of the country's sports minister with the right of dissolving an NSA when he feels right and appoint an interim administration. It happened to Sri Lanka athletics and if the present pathetic situation continues, the Sports Minister may be forced to take that bitter decision. There were times people of calibre headed the SLRFU. They had no petty club differences during those times. But now, the game has become the property of just one club. It is alleged that the administration of the game is manipulated to suit one party. Rugby is nobody's property. It belongs to our dedicated ruggerites, young and old, who have made many sacrifices to sustain the game. Don't forget Sri Lanka rugby were rated No.3 in Asia, on par with Taiwan, at one time. But with so much of so called 'development activities' of the SLRFU, our ranking has now gone down to eighth or ninth. The need of the hour is a team of dedicated and neutral team of officials to man Sri Lanka rugby, to make the best use of the resources we get from the IRB and at least have an aim to regain our No.3 rating in Asia in five years time. We do not expect miracles, but you could reach the top. |
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