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The second of the rugby sevens was played last week in Colombo. The starved rugby supporters trekked their way to the Longden Place grounds on the second day and it seemed they thrived on hope of seeing a game that would satisfy to keep alive their hopes for the game. Rugby itself did not reach any dizzy heights to add lasting moments to the life of the rugby lovers.
Kandy Sports club came on top once again leading their nearest rivals by a long distance as they breasted the winning line. Their only moment of anxiety was Navy who took them to extra time in the semi final. The asset in the Navy armoury was their ability to tackle upfront. On the other hand the talented CR side showed reluctance to tackle which proved to be their down fall.
On the other hand the lack lustre games that dominated the first day as well as the morning of the second day could have been avoided. It could have been avoided if there were two in the minimum or possibly three groups of the twenty four teams that took part. If the groups consisted of equals the rugby could have been better .It also would have not discouraged the minnows who got a thrashing on the hands of the first division clubs.
Getting teams together teams to put up a show and to mark the records is not all in running a tournament .To put it right and to give a format that will do justice is not something all can do People who came to mind of having done a tournament draw that gives equity include the late Lal Kumarasinghe, Neil Wijeratne M.S. Zainudeen, Senrath Alwis and Fazal Mohammed. A common factor among them is other than Fazal the others did not do much on the field of rugby.
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| Action at last week’s rugby 7s |
The contribution they made behind the scene was enormous. Have you heard of the old economic concept “the division of labour”? On the other hand modern management calls for the optimum use of specialists. What ever era we fall back to it is best man for the best job. How many Gynecologists would have given birth to a child and experience the real pain? What is it that is different in sports to expect a first hand experience?
Where did most of the twenty four teams which included the minnows come from? A penny for your guess is all I can give in this cash strapped era. Here is the winner: the Western Province. Seems that I am putting my foot into my mouth again?
The good news is that the interim committee met the provincial chiefs to discuss the future of the game. The interim I am told assured the stake holders that they have no intention of staying on and hope to have the AGM in about two months. Good news if they do as promised. Yet some do feel that this could be a show to enlist support with IRB boys due for a discussion. It may be hard to believe for some. I would give the devil its due credit and accept the word that has been uttered publicly. Again I will not blame if the interim has to stay on and it will be because they are forced to do so. This I say because the two power houses in terms of votes: the Central and Southern Provincial Unions did not attend this meeting.
Thus the biggest challenge of the interim at this point is the challenges of constitution-making. How can it be done if all do not work towards attaining that end? The other question that may arise is whether the Interim has mandate to present a constitution. All these I believe are a problem if the changes are done as an extension of the present constitution. That brings to my mind how the then government handled the promulgation of the 1972 constitution.
The debate is about the fundamental reformulation of the SLRFU constitution in order to address its many defects and deficiencies that have surfaced. In this the importance of the constitution is for it to be the primary instrument of management of the game.
In a society such as Sri Lanka, characterised by deep divisions and a history of violence, it is not the culture to accept. There an easy fore to adopt a constitution acceptable to all parties is not gong to be an easy task. Thus consultation consensus and compromise are most important at this time.
In the meanwhile as the background is being reset there is always a need to keep the game alive. That is the task at hand and to balance all aspects is what the interim has to keep in mind. If not we will be turning the clock for rugby backwards. The turn back began not yesterday but today one wonders whether there is more pressure in turning the clock back.
Rugby is about slinging the ball not Mud.
Vimal Perera is a former Rugby Referee, coach and Accredited Referees Evaluator IRB | 
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