More international exposure needed - Coach

Vernon Gunasekara Reporting from Hong Kong

Sri Lanka rugby coach Nishantha Chanaka called in for more international exposure for his team after they experienced mixed fortunes at the Asian qualifying round of the World Cup Rugby Sevens concluded at the Hong Kong Football Stadium on Sunday.

Chanaka believed that the Sri Lanka team is capable of making an impact if they are provided with more international fixtures throughout the year. Sri Lanka went down fighting to the formidable Korean team by 19 points to 28 after leading 19-7 at half time and then lost to Thailand by 22 points to 29 after leading 15-10 at the breather.

The Sri Lankan coach said that for the first time in the history they were able to take the lead against the bottom seeded Korean team and with more international experience they could have turned the game in their favour.

Chanaka noted that there should be regular fixtures against all Asia’s top teams at home and away which will help them to reduce the gap with some of the other participating teams. But he lamented that they play just one international sevens tournament for the entire year and this will not help their cause at all.

Sri Lanka will return home with only a solitary victory over India (49-7) while losing the other three matches to Hong Kong (7-31), Korea (19-28) and Thailand (22-29).