Turning professional the route forward for Lankan rugby, du Plessis
View(s):By Vimal Perera
In January South African Ravin du Plessis came to Sri Lanka boasting of over fifteen years of experience and success in senior roles within professional rugby environments in New Zealand and South Africa. Now his accolades will include the ‘Successful Sri Lanka National Coach’ tag to go with other career titles such as National Coaching Coordinator, South African Rugby Union, Head Coach Currie Cup – Griquas Leopards and Eagles Pty Ltd, Springbok Technical Advisor, Rugby World Cup 2003, Assistant Coach: Stormers and Bulls Super Rugby Teams, Director of Rugby, Dubai Exiles RFC, UAE, High Performance Coach – Canterbury Rugby Union (NZL), High Performance Manager/Coach Canterbury Rugby Academy (International High Performance Unit) and New Zealand Rugby Union Resource Coach.
Ravin du Pless
Talking to the Sunday Times in January, he said that it is not the ‘big’ who win matches but the ‘best’. “I know how to get there as I have been with winners, losers and developers.”
He also said: “I want to make sure that they play smart rugby and that they play a style of rugby that suits the team and their strength.”
Now that he has walked the talk, the Sunday Times had another opportunity to have a tête-à-tête with Du Plessis.
The coach explained that what he wanted from the team was to win and win well. He said that the team did succeed in achieving that goal. He went on to say that the team tried to get maximum points in each game and they did it for the team and the country. They used the experience and the impact of staying together as their strength. The boys expressed themselves well on the field by piecing the parts together to get a better result. That was what was important he thought.
Rugby is a popular game in Sri Lanka and will enjoy a better place as the national team does well. It is good for the game to have the support of sponsors such as Dialog and Kukri to take the game forward. Du Plessis believed that Sri Lanka could take their game to the next level if they continued training and made the game more professional.
“That will make available players and officials professional. Players need to be conditioned throughout the season and need to go through individual programmes that have to be monitored. They have to be measured for strength, fitness and position-specific requirements.”
He added that remaining at the Top 5 requires a structured programme involving the schools and clubs that will contribute to the national cause. He suggested the introduction of Elite and High Performance squads whose progress could be monitored and developed. He suggested a Green squad for the Under-17 and Under 20 teams and a Gold squad for the national sevens and 15s sides.
He believes that school rugby has a proud history and that there is healthy competition which is good for the game. However he said that there is a need to improve supply to the national team. From his experience watching school games, he also expressed caution over the exposure to injury of good players, who continued without adequate recovery.
“The need to up skill coaches is a must and having IRB training programmes in Sri Lanka, where more can benefit, is a step in the right direction.”
Asked about his future plans he said: “Maybe I will come back to the country. I have begun to love its passion for rugby and I wish to contribute more to the sport in Sri Lanka.”
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