Sean will lead Sri Lanka

Ranjeeva SENEVIRATNE

Kandy Sports Club’s flanker Sean Wijesinghe has been picked to lead the Sri Lanka rugby team in the Asian Five Nations Rugby Tournament which kicks off on April 23 with the game between Sri Lanka and United Arab Emirates at CR and FC grounds, Longden Place.

He was chosen as captain by the five-member Selection Committee headed by Michael Jayasekera which also includes Tikiri Marambe, Pradeep Basnayake, Savantha de Saram and Chandrishan Perera. They also named Kandy SC and Sri Lanka fly half Fazil Marija as the vice captain.

Their names were approved by Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage who returned to the island yesterday after an overseas visit.

Wijesinghe who represented Trinity in his pet position of flanker in 2000 and 2001 joined Kandy SC in 2002 and has been turning out for the club since then.

He first donned the Sri Lanka Jersey against the Arabian Gulf in 2003 and has been a regular member of the national team.

Sean has been a fine attacking player and a fierce tackler and has been a source of inspiration to his teammates and under his leadership the lads from Kandy bagged the rugby double in 2008 - the Caltex ‘A’ Division League and the Clifford Cup - club rugby’s richest prize.

The 33-member Sri Lanka squad for the HSBC Asian Five Nations Tournament

Sean Wijesinghe (Captain, Kandy SC), Fazil Marija (Vice Captain, Kandy SC), Pradeep Liyanage (Kandy SC), Charith Seneviratne (Air Force), Bilal Hassan (CR and FC), Nushal Meepage (Army), Dinesh Sanjeewa (CH and FC), Ishan Noor (CR and FC), Terrence Henry (CR and FC), Achala Perera (Kandy SC), Eranga Swarnatilleke (Navy), Senaka Bandara (Kandy SC), Nuwan Hettiarachchi (Navy), Saliya Kumara (Kandy SC), Yoshitha Rajapaksa (Navy), Sajith Saranga (Kandy SC), Danushka Perera (Navy), Roshan Weeraratne (Kandy SC), Chanaka Chandimal (Air Force), Keith Gurusinghe (Kandy SC), Prasad Chaturanga (Kandy SC), Lasintha de Costa (CR and FC), Chula Susantha (Navy), Gayan Weeraratne (Kandy SC), Kishore Jehan (Kandy SC), Ashen Karthelis (CR and FC), Radhika Hettiarachchi (Air Force), Sathya Ranatunga (Navy), Kasun Yasaisuru (Kandy SC), Sumedha Malewana (Navy), Srinath Sooriyabandara (CR and FC), Shabeer Mohamed (CR and FC), Ujitha Jayasooriya (Kandy SC).

Officials:

Manager Commodore N K D Nanayakkara

Head Coach Ellis Meachen

Assistant Coach C P Abeygunawardena

Physiotherapist A L M Iroshan