Kandy SC will overcome all obstacles, says Malik

S M Jifrrey ABDEEN- Kandy Sports Correspondent

Problems which beset Kandy Sports Club during the rugby season were many but we took everything in its stride and emerged victorious in all. Some of the problems which were faced by us were injuries to key players, crossover to other clubs and player suspensions and though affected our overall strength but it not weaken us as we were able to win the rugby's 'plum' both the Caltex League Championship and the Clifford Club knockout title for a record number of years, said the Trustee of Kandy Sports Club and former President of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union Malik Samarawickrema.

He made these observations when he addressed the Club membership at the 138th Annual General Meeting of Kandy Sports Club held at the Club's Auditorium at Nittawela.

Malik Samarawickrema said that the standard of refereeing in some of the matches were poor and not up to standard and this area needs improvement. The new President of the SLRFU Asanga Senaviratne has assured of a level playing field and has expressed dis-satisfaction of the performance of certain officials of the SLRFU in the past. It is left to be seen whether this will materialise without outside interference.

He said that the SLRFU will permitting every club to field two expatriate ruggerites during the current season and Kandy Sports Club will make use of this opportunity to play two foreign players in the side. The selection of two foreign players will decided in consultation with the rugby coach Johan Taylor and the Rugby Committee. Johan Taylor is expected to return to the country in February. The appointment of the official captain has been put on hold till the return of the coach.

He thanked both Singer Sri Lanka (Pvt) Limited and Etisalat Lanka (Pvt) Limited for sponsoring the club in the past and they will be once again sponsoring the club this season.

He said that he is happy to announce that none of the ruggerites who played for the club last season have crossed over to any of the clubs despite the inducements offered to destabilise the club. They have stood loyal to the club.

Speaking on the newly formed Upcountry Lions Club which is expected to scrum down this season, though the club is reportedly based in Nawalapitiya, around 8 to 10 ruggerites are from Colombo and the rest from Kandy. The formation of another club is good, if it is done with the best interest of rugby at heart. But there appears to be conflict of interest as according to informed sources that the Ministry of Sports is playing an active role and what should be understood is the fact that this Ministry is the Ministry of Sports for the entire country and not one particular region. It is left to be seen whether they could sustain for a long period for which there should be a long- term plan.

He thanked the media for not only reporting all their matches in detail and also reporting on other matters without favour or fear. What is required is fair reporting and they have done their job well even when a T56 rifle was fired in the field by a player but surprising no action had been taken by the authorities and amazingly some officials have gone to the extend of justifying this action.

He said that the club's estimate for the season is Rs 30 million and this may go up when the foreign players are contracted. He appealed to the membership to help the club in its membership drive and also patronise the club more frequently. The gymnasium of the club will be upgraded with the installing of the state-of-the-art equipment. The players should indulge in the off season fitness programme.

Dr Sarath Kapuwatte thanked the membership for electing him as the President for the 19th time since 1990 which in a record for the club. He will be failing in his duty if he does not appreciate a word of thanks for the spectators who turned up in their numbers not only to support the club but also this swelled the gates. The gate collection in one match last season was the highest ever and in fact record for any club match in Sri Lanka.

Dr Kapuwatte said that the club had performed exceedingly well last season and did not yield to pressures or got domoralised at the happenings which is now well known and needs no repetition. It must be mention that the Official captain Saliya Kumara was declared ineligible to play in any of the matches.

The Acting captain Buddhi Talagampola was injured during the first round matches and missed the rest of the season. The stand in captain Senaka Bandara though soft spoked displayed excellent leadership qualities to lead the club to both championship titles.