I had the best team in the tournament - Fazil

Dilanka MANNAKKARA

The Central Kings team which is owned by the Access group were the dominant force throughout the Carlton 7s tournament in both legs and although beaten by a strong Southern Sharks team in Kandy in the Finals, they came back ever so strongly in Colombo to win the leg and walked away with the overall champions trophy. Daily News met up with the skipper of the team and probably Sri Lanka's best rugby player of the generation Fazil Marija who answered some questions on the tournament, his team and the secret of success.

Q: What is your opinion about the Carlton 7s tournament this time? About the concept of playing for a franchise?

A: It was another great opportunity for Sri Lankan rugby players as well as for rugby fans. We got a superb opportunity to play with star foreign players and it was a thrilling experience. It was good to see local sponsors like Access sponsoring local rugby who sponsored our team. Carlton 7s was another fantastic tournament for Sri Lankan rugby.

Q: What do you think about the structure of the teams? Do you think that there were too many teams?

A: My personal opinion is we could have had more teams in the tournament for more competition and for more matches and the structure of the tournament could have been better. For an example four matches per day was very tiring for us as players. It could have been less than that. Three matches per day would have been ideal. We could have performed better too.

Q: You had two New Zealand stars in your team. What did you guys learn from playing with them?

A: I must say, I'm surprised and proud to say our local players were as good as the foreign players. It was a great experience to play with players like Zar Lawrence and Botica. We learned quite a few techniques from them such as defense, running angles and few tips for the game plan.

Q: You were with the team only for a week, how did you'll make your combinations right? What coaching methods were used to bond players, especially the foreigners with locals?

A: It was a fantastic week and we blend in well with each and every member of the team. We were like a family throughout the tournament. There wasn't a difference saying local or foreign and we all were trying to reach the same goal and succeeded remarkably.

Q: What are the positives and negatives of having franchises in a tournament rather than playing as team Sri Lanka?

A: Positives are, like I said earlier more opportunities for us to play with experience foreign players. More recognition in rugby in Sri lanka, and more financial strength for the game. Nothing negative that I can think of.

Q: What teams impressed you the most in the tournament?

A: All teams were very competitive in their own way. If u ask my personal favorite I would say Southern Sharks because they gave us a first-class game in Kandy.

Q: Who were the players you think were outstanding in the tournament both local and international?

A: Mohammed Sheriff, Chula Susanth, Srinath Sooriyabandara impressed me the most and of course Zar Lawrence and Botica were the standouts from the high profile foreigners. These players are my favorites and they were outstanding throughout the tournament.

Q: What was your secret of success in the tournament?

A: It was my team, we all worked towards achieving the same goal and team work played off. We practiced hard, and stayed focused and our possessiveness played a big part in winning the tournament. I give all the credit to every member of my team and especially to the coach Jeff as he guided us throughout and he was our strength.

We couldn't have achieved so much without him. Our two Mangers Wedakapola and Sheikh Hussain were supportive for us through out.

Q: Do you think you had the strongest team when compared to teams like North Central Typhoons?

A: I was really lucky enough to choose and get players with great skills in my team.

I had a combination of local and foreign players and they were definitely the best, no doubt about it.

Q: What sort of support did Access provide?

A: They were simply the Best. They supported us and motivated us throughout the game. I will take this opportunity to thank ACCESS our sponsors for their great encouragement towards Central Kings. Especially the top brass of Access including Sumal Perera, Ranjan Gomes, Chistopher Joshua, Dharshan Munasinghe and Phillips were pillars of strength for our team.