Great leap forward in Lankan rugby - Greening

Anuradha ABEYSEKERA

The National Rugby coach, Phil Greening said that Sri Lanka has taken a gigantic step forward in rugby with their stupendous performance at the recently concluded Asian Five Nations Division one tournament in Manila, Philippines. He said it was a remarkable performance by the young Sri Lankan outfit ably led by Yoshitha Rajapaksa, who scored two smashing wins over Chinese Taipei (36/8) and Singapore (35/10) before going down fighting to Philippines (18-28). He said so at a press briefing at the CH pavilion yesterday evening.

He said that due to a few mistakes, by the Lankan three-quarters which were capitalized by the Philippines in the first half, we lost the decider. As Philippines were a virtual Australian outfit and some blunders by the referee, the Lankans could not conclude the tournament on a winning note. Phil said the young Sri Lankans gave of their best, especially last year’s schoolboys, winger Sandun Herath and fly half Rehan Weerakoon, who showed immense promise which is a testimony of the talents of the Lankans.

He also appreciated the astute leadership of Yoshitha Rajapaksa who was able to get the best out of his team-mates and the encouragement given by SLRFU President Asanga Seneviratne.

“Dedication, commitment and planning will be the key for the country’s success in the future and will commence training the national team again in August for the Borneo and Shanghai Sevens after four months break,” said the highly satisfied coach.

Speaking about the player analysis system and nutrition planning, coach Phil said that it will play a vital role in making strong players and will also make it easy for the selectors to pick players.

Skipper Yoshitha Rajapaksa said that they entered the tournament, hoping to win it but a few mistakes during the first half of the last game dashed their hopes. Though we recovered in the second half, it was not enough for us to win the game. Our boys played superbly in the first two games and as a team we are highly satisfied with our performances.

He also said that grooming young boys to the National level is very important and young blood in the team is a very good thing for the country’s rugby future. The captain emphasized the importance of team spirit and said that no player is bigger than the game.

Rajapaksa also pointed out that eventhough we had a strong team last year, we did not live up to expectations and this years performance has been a great step forward with a young side.

Answering a question on players who boycotted the tournament at the last moment, the SLRFU President Asanga Seneviratne said that the General Committee of the SLRFU has referred the matter to the Disciplinary Committee comprising Maj. Gen. (Ret.) H. M. N. Krishnaratne, Senior DIG Asoka Wijethileke and SSP (Ret.) Ibrahim Hamid and they will be dealing with them.

He further said that the SLRFU is on the view that action must be taken against those players who did not give priority to the National duty but if the players did not have valid reasons for pulling out from the squad, then they should be banned from playing any level of rugby in the country.

Senevirathne further explained that SLRFU and IRB rules clearly stated that a player must give preference for national duty.

He also revealed that the sponsorship contract for domestic rugby with Chevron Lubricants will be terminated on a decision taken by the general Committee of the SLRFU. Already two firms have expressed their willingness to come forward as sponsors of domestic rugby. He also said that the entire New Zealand first IV squad have signed a contract for bidding for this year’s Carlton Rugby Sevens.