Rugby Select Committee takes U turn

Decides to stay on:

This looks like a piece set to go into Ripley’s; Believe it or not: The rugby muddle over the captaincy of the national 15-a-side for Chinese Taipei that has seen two skippers (Dushanth Lewke & Dilanka Wijesekera) strangely ratified by Minister of Sports & Public Recreation Gamini Lokuge, which is probably historic in any sport, has taken yet another ludicrous about-turn.

That is with the Minister of Sports and Public Recreation, Gamini Lokuge being adamant that Rohan Abayakoon led five-member selection panel appointed by him on October 22 and which panel that resigned on November 1 has rescinded its decision.

“Rohan Abayakoon and his co-selectors have agreed to withdraw their resignations and continue in the job when I spoke to them on the telephone on Monday night”, Minister Lokuge said.

“I refused to accept their resignations and told them to continue and they consented to it”. However, the Ex-Sri Lanka, CH & FC and Kandy Trinity centre Rohan Abayakoon when contacted said “No way. We have not changed our decisions and stand by it since the Minister diluted our selections by removing Kandy SC number eight Imran Bisthamin who we consider to be a key component to Sri Lanka’s chances at the HSBC Asian Five Nations Division in Chinese Taipei”.

This latest scenario has further confounded an already staggered rugby establishment that has seen players, officials, and selectors in a rather unceremonious ‘scrum down’ of their own as to who should captain Sri Lanka for the November 12-15 tour.

Rohan Abayakoon led five-member selection panel which also comprised of Nazeem Mohammed, Chaminda Rupasinghe, Hafeel Marso and Rohantha Peiris tendered their resignations to the Minister of Sports last Saturday over what they termed as the Minister’s decision to replace Bisthamin with Police skipper Nilusha Fernando.

The selectors also picked CH & FC flanker Dilanka Wijesekera as captain from the second match on November 15, while retaining CR & FC number eight Dushanth Lewke as skipper for the first game against host nation Chinese Taipei on November 12 which was approved by the Sports Minister after he was picked by the Brigadier Jupana Jayawardene led panel.

Meanwhile, Minister Lokuge also stated that Chaminda Rupasinghe, the former Sri Lanka, Havelocks SC and S. Thomas’ lock the manager for the tour of Chinese Taipei, who also tendered his resignation to the Minister Last Saturday, has since changed his mind after he (Minister) had spoken to him on the phone on Monday evening.

“Rupasinghe assured me that he will continue as, Manager”, the Minister said. In another interesting development following the recent pull out of at least five Kandy SC players from the 24-member Sri Lanka squad for various reasons, Minister Lokuge said that an independent inquiry will be conducted by the Minister of Sports and including officials of the National Sports Council to determine if the Kandy SC players who are said to be reluctant to tour had done so deliberately to derail the national team’s chances at the Asian Five Nations tournament.

The Minister noted that no SLRFU official would sit in the proposed inquiry as there will be partiality on the part of those officials.

Insisting that the Kandy SC players would not be allowed to dictate terms the Minister said “Discipline has to be maintained at any cost however bigger they may be”.

“These Kandy players cannot be permitted to dictate terms to us as to what should be done”. “If found guilty action will be taken against these players for refusing to play for their country”.

Adding to the on-going rugby turmoil a SLRFU Source said that after Chaminda Rupasinghe had tendered his resignation as Manager to the Minister last Saturday, the sport’s local controlling body had nominated Roshan Deen to the post for the approval of the Minister of Sports.