Do we need school rugby tournaments?
View(s):“It sounds to me Radian, that you are a perfect candidate to ‘rise’ from the armchair and enter the ‘appreciated’ world of refereeing. I’ve always found that some of the best referees never seem to ever wander onto a pitch with a whistle; it is a real shame as it would help 
distinguish between hopefully informed experts and expertly-informed hopefuls. Then, when you’ve walked a mile in such shoes your theoretical mutterings will have a tad more value”–Source rugbyrefs.com.
The impasse that threatened schools rugby became the baby of the Minister of Sports who stepped in to break the deadlock. Joining in this discussion was Asanga Seneviratne the President of the SLRFU and the committee members of the Referees Society .Referees are back on the field with assurances of their safety and a promise that the ear of the Minister of Sports will be open to hear their problems.
A rugby analyst asked me recently, “What safety are the referees talking about when they know they can get assaulted or abused and still referee?” It is a risk they take knowingly and part and parcel of the job they do. He reminded me of the number of times referees have stopped in their tracks only to find somebody taking the job. When it is somebody, irrespective of capability, nobody finds fault. That is because somebody doing the job of a referee is acceptable. It is the perception that creates the problem.
It has been revealed that with the new laws being enacted, the Sports Ministry will have a greater say in conducting the sports activities of the schools together with the Ministry of Education. The Minister of Sports has taken a step forward while the Sri Lanka
Now a common occurence in the rugby field
Schools Rugby Football Association in the past has claimed that they have nothing to do with the Sports Ministry, The SLRFU or the IRB. Ironically they had to seek refuge in the establishment to get along with the tournament.
There are some home truths the SLRFU will have to consider looking at the way forward. Discussions with present and past rugby stalwarts as well as those involved, including parents, have brought about views of breaking the impasse and are given below. An apt comment was that this was all about a piece of worthless metal they want to hold for a year.
The school masters need to be there for the development of the game but need to be professionally-guided especially when it comes to critical rugby decisions including the disciplinary issues. Rugby in schools is not about the match schedule but has many management issues that the pedagogues are not exposed to.
Another pertinent question was whether the trophy has had an effect on improving rugby. On the other hand the view was that it has created conflict and damaged the spirit of the game.
Playing the schools league in the present format with two teams going down and two being promoted has not served much purpose. The schools that go down have always dominated the B league while the teams that have come up have been unable to sustain bar this year. A suggestion is to have the last two plays the first two of the B sides in a play- off prior to the new season and decide on promotion l
Is the proposed alternative of 16 teams to play in 4 groups a feasible solution? If you take the B group other than for 1 or 2 the rest are way behind the top eight. If the top 10 and 2 from group ” B” make the first twelve teams the next four will be also runs and will possibly face huge scores and demoralization. This seems to be ‘A’ carefully planned hypothetical cure mooted to make sure certain schools do not get relegated without a holistic view. This also involves a second stage for the first two of each group to go into a league for the cup and so forth. This will end up in another war zone with overzealous supporter and parent wanting to win and kiss that piece of metal in the shape of a cup.
This will never resolve the present hooliganism and or thug mentality which being associated with the game. The referee’s problem will never be solved. If the problems on the ground are controlled the danger will be outside the stadium and may be at a public area or even at the residence.
Is getting back to the traditional or what is termed friendly fixtures the answer? This will stir an uninformed and a tunnel visional uproar that the game is to be played among the elite. In the past when these friendly fixtures were played they included Royal, Peters, Trinity, Isipathana, St Josephs’, S. Thomas’, Science, Kingswood, Wesley, St Anthony’s, Vidyartha while Ananda Nalanda , Dharmaraja and Lumbini joined in later.
The mess started with the trophy: Teams opted to have a share of matches with less than equal teams and be classed as champions on the number of wins and a point table average.
To get away from a trophy being won by playing lesser fancied teams the new system of Divisions was started with all teams being forced to play each other. This has led to the present of lawless behavior.
A better solution requires that rugby would be a competitive friendly system played in the correct spirit. Whatever is done one has to be aware that sponsorship money is needed to develop the smaller schools and the structure should not upset to build another anti- friendly battalion using the word “elite” to score a point.
Once the SLRFU takes over the tournament and that is if they do as stated by the Minister of Sports the system must be equitable to distribute the funds while having a structure that will clean the game.
So let there be no trophy and no championship. Seed all teams to say A, B, C etc. Let each team play a decided minimum number of matches of their choice. If you don’t behave yourself remember other schools are not going to give you a game. Weight the points depending on whether you play A B or C teams. On the Basis of the number of matches chosen there will be a seeding for next year and perhaps an unofficial champ.
The unofficial seeding will decide the composition of “A”, “B” or “C” but they can still play teams of their choice. If a “B” team beats an “A” team then the weight is for more points.
SLRFU as organizers with the Ministry of Education take the sponsorship money for ground and advertising rights help the schools in the lower divisions and fund the support structure. The next issue is the inability of the schools to piggy back on rugby to do a total package to run sports that cannot attract sponsors.
-Vimal Perera is a former
Rugby Referee, coach and
Accredited Referees Evaluator IRB
Follow @timesonlinelk
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