Sri Lanka’s rugby players punished for being unprepared  

Asian Rugby Sevens in Dubai 

by A Special Sports Correspondent  

Sri Lanka’s budding rugby players learned some hard lessons at the recently concluded Asian Rugby Sevens Series in Dubai where they were stopped by United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Plate Championship final.

The most notable feature about the islanders was that they were under-prepared for the tournament. They were severely handicapped with the absence of seniors; these players making themselves ‘uncountable’ given that they didn’t take part in the selection trial which was worked off in the form of a domestic seven-a-side rugby tournament.

But members of a virtual second-string Sri Lankan side played their hearts out during the two days of rugby in Dubai where everyone soon realised that training for at least six months as a team is a quintessential feature in the recipe for success at any form of rugby union. The Sri Lankans also were not fortunate to have the benefit of being in a high-performance centre; a facility that most Asian teams had had before they embarked on their trip to Dubai. Like Sri Lanka all top teams at the tournament didn’t have any domestic rugby, but their authorities had ensured that the players received ample training at high performance centres before booking their tickets to Dubai.

Sri Lanka Rugby President Rizly Illyas when contacted said, “I am here with SLR to take rugby forward after participation at the Asian 7’s in Dubai. We were hurt but we will come out stronger. Talking about the past will not give back SLR rugby the same opportunity for a place in the World Series.”

The SLR President also said that he was in conversation with Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa, who had also underscored the need for extensive training and sessions at a high-performance centre moving forward.

Illyas said that the players played courageously adding, “All the top teams were beatable. The games were very physical and the standard of rugby produced at the tournament was high. Due to lack of preparation, there was no combination among the players.”

Commenting on Sri Lanka’s participation at the tournament SLR President said, “It proved to be an expensive journey for us because we were punished, but it was a good journey after all”.

“SLR will state it’s calendar for 2022 soon and announce the path forward for the 7’s team in preparation for the two big tournaments in 2022 the Commonwealth Games and Asiad,” Illyas said. “We are developing a concept paper on SLR plans which will be submitted to the minister soon,” he added.

Sri Lanka lost out in the battles it featured in on day one against Japan (31-14), UAE (29-7) and China (32-0), but fared better on the second day beating Philippines 28-26 in the Plate Championship semis before losing out to UAE in the final.

The Sri Lanka team led by Adeesha Weeratunga had the services of Kanchana Ramanayake, Nishon Perera, Sachith Silva, Iroshan Silva, Sudaraka Dikkubura, Janidu Dilshan, Samuel Ogbebor, Kushan Indunil, Anjula Hettiarahchi, Ishara Madshan and Nuwan Perera and were coached by Nilfer Ibrahim; the entire squad coming under the watchful eyes of Rugby Sevens Director Ben Gollings.