School Rugby League kicks off

Yasaratne GAMAGE

The Singer Schools Rugby League 2012, organized by the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA) in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU) and sponsored by Singer Sri Lanka was officially launched at the Colombo Galadari hotel yesterday. The tournament which features age category under -20 rugby skills of over 75 schools will kick off in three segments as usual , division one, two and three with nearly 300 matches.

The league will start on April 18 and will continue till June 25.

There will be 30 teams vying in three groups in division one while the same number of groups will include 24 schools in division two. In division three 36 teams have lined up in six groups.

The 2012 schools rugby season will give opportunity for those in division two and three to upgrade to the higher division depending on their performance.

Organizers said that 10 fresher schools will be given the opportunity to play two matches each in order to be competent with those experienced teams.

Speaking at the occasion SLSRFA president Ranjith Chandrasekara emphasized that the aim of SLSRFA is to give priority to education of the school players while encouraging them to take part in the game as an extra curricular activity.

He also said that it is vital to form a good educational background while taking up rugby as a sport since their future totally depends on the educational qualifications they gain as a student thus playing rugby will be an added advantage in their future careers.

It was highlighted by the SLSRFA the fact that reducing playing time to 70 minutes instead of 80 minutes purely for the benefit of the school player.

Commenting on the suggestion SLRFU vice president Lasitha Gunaratne said that the game is played according to SLRFU and IRB regulations in line with the sports act of Sri Lanka which clearly indicate the standards and procedures to conduct the game of rugby in Sri Lanka.

A girls' under 20 rugby tournament will also be conducted after this series, said the organizers. The award ceremony for the two events will take place at the end of thisyear.

Lasitha Guaratne speaking further added that there will be Japanese rugby veteran to train schools rugby coaches for a period of three months starting from May and the training will be provided totally free. There will be random doping tests for school players with the help of Sports Medicine Unit, during the series the SLSRFU revealed.