Schoolboy stars for CR and FC

Ranjeeva SENEVIRATNE

The Ceylonese Rugby and Football Club have obtained the services of four outstanding schoolboy ruggerites - Thomian prop forward Sachin David, Isipatana winger Vishwamithra Jayasinghe, Thomian winger and place kicker Arjunan Manoharan and Isipatana and Sri Lanka under 20 skipper Niroshana Fernando for the 2010 rugby season.

This was revealed by the President of the club Jehan CanagaRetna at a press briefing held at the CR and FC pavilion on Wednesday regarding the sponsorship of the club by Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited.

He said that the presence of these four players will be a tremendous boost for the club in its bid to clinch the Caltex 'A' Division League Title which has eluded them since 1998.

CanagaRetna said that the club hopes to obtain the services of two top coaches from Sri Lanka in addition to a consultant coach from abroad.

He also revealed that the club is likely to be led by Sri Lanka No. 8 Dushanth Lewke in the 2010 rugby season and with the support extended by senior players such as Ashan Karthelis, Danushka Boteju, Anuja Perera and the de Costa brothers Lasintha and Ashan it should be able to achieve its aim of emerging league champions in 2010.

The Longden Place club emerged runners up at the Caltex 'A' Division League for the sixth successive year by winning nine matches out of 12 and also came off second best to Kandy SC in the Clifford Cup losing in the final.

The President of CR and FC Jehan CanagaRetna praised HSBC on its commitment and said, that the club is grateful for HSBC partnering it with a brand name synonymous with Sri Lankan Rugby and hope that this partnership grows to the mutual benefit of both parties.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation for Sri Lanka and the Maldives Nick Nicolaou said that HSBC is proud to sponsor the CR and FC rugby team. The sponsorship demonstrates HSBC's strong commitment for rugby in Sri Lanka and its ambition to promote this emerging sport in a developing country.

He said that rugby reflects many of the key principles by which HSBC runs its business worldwide: leadership, integrity, perseverance and courage and we look forward to what promises to be a great year for rugby in Sri Lanka.

The agreement will also serve to continue the expertise of a foreign consultant to work closely with the players throughout the season, with the intention of helping the club become Rugby Champions in 2010. The main tournaments that the sponsorship covers are Inter Club Rugby Sevens, caltex League Tournament, Caltex Clifford Cup Knock Out Tournament and the President's Trophy knock-out Tournament.

HSBC has been integral part of our success and we are thrilled that the Bank has decided to render its support once again, for the 2010 season.

The sponsorship is aimed to develop and promote the competitiveness of rugby and provide the club's top players a platform to improve their skills.

Having provided assistance to the club to build its pavilion in 2007 and the sponsorship of the team in 2009. HSBC's partnership with CR and FC will be further strengthened to promote the club's image in the country and the region.