Rankothge in Elite panel
S M Jiffrey ABDEEN- Kandy Sports Corr.
Top rugby referee from Kandy Aruna Rankothge has brought honour to
the country as he was appointed to the Elite Referees Panel (A) of the
Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) this month. He will attend the Level
III course for Rugby Referees which will be conducted in Guang, China
later this month, along with 4 rugby referees from Japan, 2 from
Singapore and 2 from the Arabian Gulf.
Exposure
He will also gain exposure at the highest level in the region when he
gets the green light to officiate in the upcoming Asian Five Nations
Tournament in April this year.
Rankothge is one of the leading rugby referees in the island having
experience in officiating at top level club matches and school matches
including the prestigious Bradby Shield encounter between Trinity
College and Royal College.
At international level, he has experience in refereeing at the Under
20 Junior World Cup and International Rugby Board qualifying matches
played in China (2004), Korea (2008) Phillipines (2009).
He was also picked to officiate at the South East Asian Rugby Sevens
held in Thailand in 2007, Singapore Cricket Club Rugby Sevens in 2007.
He was also Assistant Referee at the IRB Singapore (IRB) in 2005.
Fine performance
Following his fine performance with the whistle, he was given a
promotion and officiated in the big league at the Asians Five Nation
encounter between Arabian Gulf and Hong Kong in Dubair and India Vs
Kazakhastan as an Assistant Referee in 2005. He has also officiated at
the Dubai International Sevens in 2009 and 2010.
Locally he has refereed at a number of International sevens including
Singer SriLankan International Rugby Sevens and the Carlton Rugby Sevens
in 2010.
Distinction
Rankothge is a product of St Sylvester's College, Kandy and coached
his school with distinction when they gained promotion to the School 'A'
Division tournament in the early nineties.
When he coached St Sylvester's the school had the distinction of
defeating Trinity College at the Trinity Rugby Stadium at Pallekelle and
also lost by a whisker to S Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia.
He is now a junior rugby coach at Trinity College. He also
represented Kandy Sports Club as a flanker in 1991.
He is a Personnel Executive at Amaya Hotel, Kandy.
|
