SL Sevens Rugby on the rise

Ranjeeva Seneviratne reporting from Singapore

The Sri Lanka Rugby Sevens Team's remarkable performance to take the Plate Championship of the final leg of the HSBC Asian Sevens Series which concluded yesterday at the Singapore Cricket Club grounds at the expense of China is another milestone in the island nation's rugby march forward. This latest feather in the cap was in the wake of two previous Plate Championship titles clinched in Shanghai and Mumbai to mark three consecutive Plate titles in Sri Lanka's Sevens performances in the last two months at international level.

The only disappointment for the Lankans was their defeat at the hands of South Korea in the Cup quarter finals which dashed their much cherished dream of qualifying for the mega 2013 Rugby Sevens World Cup in Moscow.

The absence of star players in skipper Fazil Marija and Dinusha Chathuranga was a big setback for the Lankans with Marija's inspirational leadership lacking in that crunch game. The emergence of talented players of the calibre of Dinusha Chathuranga, Nigel Ratwatte, Srinath Sooriyabandara and Chula Susantha augurs well for the future of the country's Sevens rugby.

The man who has brought about this remarkable change in Sri Lanka's fortunes is Englishman Ben Gollings, the highest points scorer in IRB Sevens rugby who improved the skills of the players, motivated and moulded them into a formidable outfit. Gollings hard work was clearly underlined by the manner in which the Sri Lankans mounted their play during crucial and critical moments which culminated in that final fruition of three Plate titles.

This outing in Singapore however should be an eye opener to work harder to take Lankan rugby to the next level which is the aim of the SLRFU hierarchy. The performance against mighty South Korea in both Shanghai and Singapore showed that the Lankans have the capability to match up to tough opponents. An improved display should enable them to even stretch Asian heavyweights Japan and Hong Kong in the future.

The biggest tournament upset was the performance of the Phillipines who stunned South Korea by 22-19 in the third place play off to book a place in next years Rugby Sevens World Cup.

The large hearted efforts of the underestimated Phillipines was appreciated by the capacity crowd who gave them a standing ovation at the completion of the third place play off.