Boost for club rugby from Sri Lanka youth players

Ranjeeva SENEVIRATNE

Several Sri Lanka youth rugby players who represented the country at the 2006 and 2007 Asian Youth Rugby Championships will turn out for clubs in the 2008 inter-club rugby season.

Wesley prop forward Andrew Jegan and Dharmaraja full back A. N. Hettiarachchi both of whom played for Sri Lanka in the 2007 Youth Rugby Asiad in Brunei will play for Havelocks Sports Club.

Peterite Irfath Meedin who played in the 2006 Youth Championships in Chinese Taipei along with last year’s Peterite and Sri Lanka Under-20 lock forward Thilina Bulner will also turn out for the park club along with the skipper of the champion Peterite rugby team of 2007 Ranuka Jayasinghe.

Isipatana and Sri Lanka Under-20 full back Reza Mubarak along with Kingswoodians Thilina Manoj and Dev Anand who played for Sri Lanka youth team in the Asian Championships in Chinese Taipei in 2006 have joined CR and FC and will don the Red Jersey along with Peterite lock forward Samson Roy.

Wesley and Sri Lanka Under-20 lock forward Zaffer Jahn and Trinity and Sri Lanka youth player Sathya Ranatunge will play for CH and FC. Incidentally both of them represented the Maitland Crescent Club in the President’s Trophy knock-out tournament last year after the schools season.

Undisputed champions of 2007 Kandy Sports Club will be boosted by the presence of Sri Lanka Under-20 skipper Gayan Weeraratne of Kingswood and Antonians Roshan Wijesiri and Kusal Rankothge both of whom donned the Kandy SC Jersey in the President’s Trophy knock-out Rugby Tournament after the conclusion of the schools season. Vidyartha and Sri Lanka Under-20 player Chanaka Chandimal will play for Air Force this year.