Asanga at the helm of SLRFU

Ranjeeva Seneviratne

Former Thomian, CR and FC and Sri Lanka fly half Asanga Seneviratne will be elected uncontested as President of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union at the annual general meeting to be held on January 11 (Wednesday), 2012 at Water’s Edge, Battaramulla.

Among his priorities will be to appoint a national coach to guide the Sri Lanka Rugby team which will take part in the Asian Five Nations Tournament in the Philippines in April this year.

He will also strive to improve Sri Lanka’s Sevens Rugby as the country’s future lies in International Sevens Rugby where they can match up to reputed teams in the world.

Asanga will also hope to improve the standard of refereeing in both clubs and schools rugby which has come in for much criticism.

Seneviratne, a brilliant fly half turned out for S. Thomas from 1982 to 1984 captaining the school in his final year.

In the same year he captained the Outstation Schools team which clinched the Noel Gratiaen Cup by overcoming Colombo Schools by 10-6.

Asanga also had the honour of representing CR and FC as a schoolboy along with Janaka Lenaduwa, Ajith Weeratunga and Ajith Gunasekera in the Premadasa Trophy final against CH and FC in 1984 which the Red Shirts won 16-13.

Asanga also turned out for CR and FC with distinction till the early 1990’s and had the honour of leading CR and FC to victory against Police in the Clifford Cup final in 1988.

He also donned the Sri Lanka jersey in the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens (1988), Dubai Sevens and World Series Sevens in Sydney in the same year.

Seneviratne taking over as Army’s coach moulded the Army team into a formidable outfit in 2001 and under his guidance the soldiers ended as runners-up of the Caltex ‘A’ Division League and lost to Kandy SC by a whisker (16-17) in the Clifford Cup final. In the following year (2002) the soldiers finished third in the Caltex ‘A’ Division League and went down fighting (19-26) to Kandy SC in the Clifford Cup final.

As coach of the Sri Lanka Sevens team in 2001 he moulded the Lankans into a formidable outfit and came up with a marvellous display when they went down fighting to mighty Wales (12-24) in the Bowl semi-final having overcome the formidable Kenyans (28-14) in the quarter finals of the Dubai sevens.