I was treated harshly - Fazil Marija

Dilanka Mannakkara

The Lankan 7s rugby team painted a sorry picture in the recently concluded Asian Games as well as in the Carlton 7s where they lost to even sides like China and Kazakhstan by huge margins. A surprising factor in the squad selected for the Sevens tournament was that the cream of 7s players in Sri Lanka mostly from Kandy SC were not included.

Fazil Marija who is undoubtedly one of Sri Lanka’s best 7s players was given step motherly treatment by the Selectors as he was axed from the squads citing fitness issues even without conducting a fitness test.

This author met up with Fazil Marija who is also a former 7s Captain who expressed his views about the present standard of Lankan rugby, about Kandy Sports Club and the controversy behind his axing. These are some excerpts from the interview.

1.What can you say about Sri Lanka’s dismal performance in the Asian games as a former 7s captain?

It was a young side with no seniors. I felt that they needed more training and practices together as one team. The best players didn’t play in the tournament and the inexperience caused them defeat.

2.The Carlton 7s was disastrous for us. We were beaten even by the Kazakhs. Why do you think this happened?

All the Asian teams did not send their best teams and yet we could not beat China and Kazakhstan. We were using the same game plan in each and every match and whereas we need to vary the plan according to the team we play against. Our team had played sevens rugby for 5 consecutive weekends.(Borneo,Singapore Cricket Club, Mercantile Sevens, Asian Games and Carlton Sevens)and obviously they were very tired and jaded.

3. You, Saliya Kumara and the Weerarathne brothers were part of the provisional squad for the Carlton. Can you think of a reason as to why your’ll were axed from the squad?

With regards to me, I was practicing for the Asian Games and then on the last day the selectors informed me that I wasn’t fit enough to play even without a fitness test being conducted. Since the Carlton Sevens was after a week and the selectors thought that I was not fit they gave the same illogical reason. About Saliya and Weerarathne brothers I cannot comment as I feel that the selectors would be the best people to answer this.

4. You are a former 7s Captain plus one of SL’s best 7s players. Normally being an automatic choice for the 7s side,how did you feel when you were not part of it for the Carlton?

I made myself available when I was fully fit and after playing in the mercantile sevens tournament for 3 days where I played every minute of every match,including the final one. The day before the team departed for the Asian games, I was told that I was not fit, without even having a fitness test and I feel that I was treated very harshly.

5. You haven’t taken part in the last 5 International tournaments. Any valid reason for this?

I was injured in Singapore during the Asian Five Nation Qualifying matches and encountered an ankle injury and underwent surgery. Although I played club rugby towards the end of the season, I was not fully fit to play international sevens rugby. So afterwards I rested and made myself available at the Mercantile 7s.

6. Many say that many high profile Kandy players including you pick and chose tournaments to play. What can you say about this?

This is not true we always make ourselves available but when we are suffering from injuries we cannot participate and people should realise that no one can perform well when you have to play in 5 sevens tournaments in a row.

7. You were supposed to go to Ireland to join a club. What’s the inside story behind this? what actually happened?

The union did not give me a release letter and instead issued a letter to the Ministry requesting them to give permission. Upto date I have not heard from the Ministry.

9. Critics say that there is a club monopoly going on. Your thoughts about this?

We have no monopoly. The Colombo clubs have so many players to choose from as a very large number of schools play rugby in Colombo. There are only a few schools in Kandy, about 5 or 6, but they produce good players and our players are committed and are well looked after by Kandy Sports Club.

10. Kandy has been dominating the local scene for a decade. How good is it for the game when one team dominates for such a long time?

The other teams must raise their game and you cannot blame Kandy for winning often because we play very well as a unit and are loyal to the club.

11. Last year teams like Navy who are equipped with good players overcame Kandy and CR. Do you think Navy would be your biggest threat for the next season?

But I must say that we won the league and Navy did give us a good fight, but with practice and commitment we will face the next season and do our best and will beat Navy.

12. There is a rumour going on that contracts might be offered for the rugby players. How good is it for the game?

If the union is truly professional, they must offer contracts for the national players and I think it will be good for the game and players would become professionals as well.

13. Don’t you think that having 2 or 3 foreign players in a club side elevates the performance of a side? Your thoughts about it?

It is good but we have to consider the local players. There are only 8 teams in the ‘A’ division and there are so many school leavers unable to find a place. So foreign players would add a lot of competition in the scene.

16. Can we ever compete with sides like Japan and Korea in the 7s format even?

We might not be able to win against Japan but against Korea we have a chance if the proper players play.

18. Are you with the idea of importing players from rural schools and immediately playing them in famous school sides?

We will have to ascertain their performances and if suitable, yes they could play in any famous school side.