Schoolboy players must come out of their shackles

Western Province Rugby Sevens

by A Special Sports Correspondent

The much looked forward to schools rugby sevens is expected to kick off this weekend in Colombo as scheduled unless the restrictions imposed by the Covid pandemic upsets the applecart.

According to school rugby authorities and news published in newspaper, the inter-school rugby sevens tournament will be commenced with a ‘leg’ for Western Province schools at the Royal College Sports Complex in Colombo on December 18 and 19.

It’s good that the schools’ rugby authorities are having the sevens tournament for schools spread out in the provinces and with no involvement of spectators largely to protect the spectators. Just for the record sevens tournaments for schools have been lined up in Central Province (December 27), North Western Province (December 28), Sabaragamuwa Province (December 30) and Southern Province (December 31). We still don’t know whether the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA) would get the winners of each category in these respective provincial tournaments to perform in a final showdown. Even if they don’t this is a good enough start for school rugby because we haven’t seen any rugby with schoolboys in action after March 14, 2020.

Schools produce much talent each year and this helps clubs absorb these products. But over the last two years clubs were severely handicapped because there was no school rugby; hence the feeder system for the clubs was derailed for some time. These sevens events are just what the doctor ordered for domestic rugby. Some schoolboy rugby players, who are hell bent on propping their profiles with sports achievements, had to bid adieu to their schools prematurely and migrate to better their prospects because of the absence of competitive rugby. It’s a small percentage of rugby players who manage both their studies and sports and excel as allround students.

It’s at a time like this that we must mention-despite this achievement being recorded at the Medical College and not in school rugby- how former Royalist Dr Maiya Gunasekera represented Sri Lanka while still being an undergraduate at Medical College. That record still stands; just showing what effort it takes for a player to balance reading for a degree in medical science and balancing sport at the national level.

Coming back to the schools rugby sevens it has been a much looked forward to event. Unlike in club rugby, schools rugby players have often made amends for their disappointments in the 15-a-side version of the game by coming on top when playing this abbreviated form of rugby. One good example came during the 1988 season where the all-conquering Royal College team- led by Lasitha Gunaratne- had to bow out of the semi-finals when they were shown the door by S. Thomas’ in a closely contested semi-final. There have been many memorable moments like that in schools rugby. Once Dharmaraja College, relegated to the B Division, produced thunder at the Royal College Sports Complex in 2012 when they beat Kingswood in the final. Then in 2019 Trinity, under the leadership of Reshan Bandaranayake, played cohesive rugby to down St. Peter’s College in the finals. Trinity hadn’t won this event till 2019 having last won the sevens plum under Ravi Balasuriya in 1977. Two schools which have enjoyed great success in the sevens version of rugby are Isipathana College and St. Peter’s College and both these academic institutes are expected to field teams for the Western Province schools rugby sevens coming up this weekend.

Sevens rugby is dazzling and eye-catching and players who are extremely fit and agile will have a field day. This form of rugby also serves in player identification and finding members for the 15-a-side version of the game.

Rugby Sevens has its own place in rugby union after the expansion of seven-a-side rugby in the world and its inclusion as a discipline at the Olympic Games. Hence schoolboys have everything to play for in the seven-a-side version of rugby union. Let the games begin!