Jayasekera-Lewke battle for SLRFU Presidency

Ranjeeva Seneviratne

RUGBY: One of the most looked forward to events in the 2007 rugby calendar - the election of office-bearers to the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union takes place at the Galadari Hotel today.

Rugby enthusiasts have been eagerly awaiting today's annual general meeting at which the incumbent Deputy President former Sri Lanka Centre Michael Jayasekera is being contested by former Police skipper and ex-Sri Lanka coach DIG Nimal Lewke - breaking with tradition as normally the incumbent Deputy President is elected President uncontested at the AGM.

Jayasekera started his rugby career at S. Thomas College, Mount Lavinia for whom he turned out in 1975 and 76 before joining Havelocks in 1977 and turned out for the Park Club and Sri Lanka with distinction during his illustrious career which spanned eight years during which he thrilled rugby fans with his dazzling displays on the rugby field for his club and Sri Lanka.

DIG Nimal Lewke, the Commandant of the Special Task Force is on old boy of St. Sylvester's College, Kandy who learnt his rugby at Kandy Sports Club before joining the Police in 1971.

A superb flanker he represented Police for ten consecutive years till 1981 and also represented the National team.

The highlight of his career was when under his able leadership the Policemen clinched club rugby's richest prize-the Clifford Cup by emerging 'A' Division league rugby champions in 1980. After hanging up his boots Lewke took to refereeing and officiated at the highest level for over a decade before taking up to coaching.

Under his guidance Kandy Sports Club clinched the Rugby Triple twice in 1995 and 1997 while finishing runners up of the 'A' Division League and winning the Clifford Cup and President's Trophy in 1996.

He was richly rewarded for his efforts by being entrusted with the task of coaching the Sri Lanka rugby team from 1998 to 2001 and took great pains to mould the national team into a formidable outfit which went onto beat the formidable Australian Northern Territories, Chinese Taipei and won the Quadrangular Tournament by beating Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

Jayasekera if elected has vowed to carry on the good work done by the outgoing President of the SLRFU Priyantha Ekanayake during his two year term with Sri Lanka rugby team notching up victories against India, Thailand, Singapore, Kazakhastan and China before losing to Hong Kong in the World Cup Asian Zone qualifiers.

He also hopes to make the Inter Provincial Rugby Tournament the main domestic tournament which would help to unearth hidden talent and to introduce rugby to more schools in the island which already has a base of 130,000 players the second highest in Asia.

He also hopes to get down a top class coach from either Australia or New Zealand to train the National Team and make them the third best in Asia.

Nimal Lewke if elected hopes to send Sri Lanka teams for more international tournaments to give them the much needed foreign exposure.

He will also send players and coaches to New Zealand to be trained by leading All Blacks coaches and also give a chance to promising players to play in domestic competitions in New Zealand which would give them invaluable experience.

He also hopes to offer financial rewards to outstanding players so that they would remain in the game and also to get a highly qualified coach to train the Sri Lanka team which would help them to finish within the top three nations in Asian rugby.

There will be 51 votes at stake at the annual general meeting. Western Province (eight votes), Central Province (10 votes), Southern Province (10 votes), Sabaragamuwa RFU (four votes), Uva Province (eight votes) North Central Province (four votes), Sri Lanka schools (two votes) and North Western Province (one vote) while the President, Deputy President, Secretary and Treasurer of the SLRFU are entitled to one vote each.