Sri Lanka could go far in Rugby Sevens

Anuradha Abeysekera

Sri Lanka's rugby future lies in Sevens as we have the speed and size to match up to Asian rugby giants - Japan, Korea and Hong Kong, said the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU) President and Air Force Commander Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonetileke during a conversation with Daily News recently.

'The success we gained at the rugby sevens in the Asian region is remarkable Sri Lanka has gone up to the 6th position from 10th position in Asian rugby rankings after becoming the runner up at the Borneo Sevens in Malaysia last October while also giving excellent displays in the Shanghai Sevens, Singapore Sevens, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. Coach Imthisham Marikar has done a great job to mould a young side in to a formidable outfit," said the commander.

"International Rugby Board (IRB) has recognized Sri Lanka's improvement and the Asian General Manager of the IRB Gerald Gallagher who came to witness the Carlton Sevens was highly impressed by the presentation made by the Union for rugby development in the country. It is important to make full use of this opportunity to grab IRB funds."

The Air Force Chief further said that the Union hopes to field new teams from Trincomalee, Jaffna, Kurunegala and Galle in next year's domestic tournaments. Initially they will play in the lower divisions with the intention of giving a boost for 15 aside rugby.

"The Union has identified centralizing the game in Kandy and Colombo has caused great hindrance for the development of rugby over the years. When ever a talented rural player emerged Kandy or Colombo would grab them for better prospects. This has prevented the opportunity in forming strong rural teams.

At the same time many ace players wasting their talents on benches in elite teams due to high competition for playing positions during tournaments. To prevent this ill-trend SLRu is going to introduce new contract system for Club players as well.

Then they will have to work out with their teams for a certain period which would ensure a level playing field in club rugby," explained the Air Chief Marshal.

The SLRU President also said that National players will be contracted by the Union before the season begins next year where they should stick to the agreement and put the country first casting aside personal gains.

We should cultivate a culture where the spirit of the sport is preserved from compromising over individual interests.

He said that one way of getting massive crowds for club and school matches is to work out a calender to ensure that there wont be a clash of dates between them. We have to come under one umbrella to uplift the sport in the country. "The standard of the school rugby is very impressive in Sri Lanka as there are lot of talented school players. But unfortunately we have only eight rugby playing clubs to absorb this crop.

We should encourage more clubs to play rugby to give these talents an opportunity.

SLRU will carry out random drug tests during the school and club tournaments in par with international standards.

We have already launched the rugby development plan for Sri Lanka schools with the help of IRB and it will bring up fruitful results in the future," said the rugby chief.

"To up lift the rugby standards referees and coaches training programs would be essential.

We are focusing on producing referees of international calibre as it will play a vital role at the international level in developing Sri Lankan rugby.

As a first step I will get former players of the three forces to take upto refereeing," the Rugby President concluded.