Sri Lanka poised for European doubleheader in October
View(s):“From ninth place a year ago to fourth place in the Asian Sevens circuit is a great achievement.” That was how the President of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union Asanga Seneviratne described the performance of the ‘Tuskers’.
Sri Lanka in action against Malaysia in the quarterfinals of the HSBC Asian Sevens Series in Kuala Lumpur. - File pic
He went on to say, “The boys did well through commitment and played their hearts out.” He was of the view that getting to second position was within our capabilities and that the Sri Lankan Tuskers will achieve this soon. “The change of the tournament calendar as well as playing more Sevens was also a contributing factor. If we were to play the Sevens in the midst of a 15-a-side tournament it would have been a difficult task to change course and style,” Seneviratne said
When asked about the need to use the eligibility criteria of the IRB to our advantage as done by Japan and Malaysia (who fielded players with a Fijian background) Seneviratne’s answer was, “We will take things one step at a time and slowly we will be there to be number one in Asia and then to the IRB World Sevens Series as well as in the Olympics.”
Seneviratne added, “We are not stopping at Sevens but hope to lift the 15-a-side games too now that we are in the first five.” He confirmed that Sri Lanka is poised to play a double header with two European countries in October with a view to improve the 15-a-side game and also prop up their IRB ranking. The IRB will fund these games to encourage the 15-a-side game in Asia. “In this quest Sri Lanka will flag off the IRB effort of Asia. This will serve to give more exposure to our players before the Asian5Nations.”
The Council he explained is doing everything to keep Sri Lanka among the best rugby-playing countries in Asia. Discussions are being held with Germany ranked 27, Moldova (30), Belgium (25), Poland (28) and Ukraine (36). He also said that the CEO Alastair Saverimuttu initiated the move and is expected to blow the final whistle soon.
Germany has a rugby history starting in 1850 while the first form of national competition started in 1900. The present IRB Referee Development Consultant Bernard Gabbei is also from Germany. The other countries, as ranking show, play good rugby and Sri Lanka will benefit from the arrangement.”
Sri Lanka was placed fourth in the Asian Sevens Series played last week in Malaysia. This is one place up from the end of the series last year where it ended up Plate Champions. Third place was well within the grasp of Sri Lanka who led Korea at halftime and scores were level at fulltime. They eventually lost in extra time; 10-5.
At end of full time when the kick was taken for a restart Sri Lanka did well to change direction. When the kick fell short of the ten probably you could have let Korea play the ball and then pinned them down somewhere between their 10 and the centre. Possibly the free kick may have been avoided. When we decided to first play it was a free kick that gave Korea an advantage and they made use of it. Similarly we kicked the ball twice into the hands of opponents and gave good ball away. Kicking is giving the ball to the opponents and is something that you rarely see in Sevens. On the other we kicked and successfully charged for a score twice. The ground was all soggy and looked a paddy field probably prompting Sri Lanka to kick and chase.
This is the highest Sri Lanka Sevens has reached in the Asian Sevens Series. A reflection on the talent and skill we possess to possibly be among the first two in Asian Sevens Rugby. People who are accustomed to a Plate or a Bowl might think about the metal that is absent. The real situation is that the plate is 5th and the bowl is 9th.
Something I observed was the inability of Sri Lanka to win their scrums as they were pushed. Another was the inability to get a firm stance at a ruck after a tackle thus losing ball. That is where we may gain a lot if we have at least two players who may not be Sri Lankan Nationals but can play under the eligibility rule.
Possibly another area would be to take at least two more reserves as the law allows five replacements and has been in operation last year too. The number of injuries in five matches too took its toll on the team.
Things don’t happen overnight nor do they happen on their own. It is a matter of a plan and having a strategy in place to get to where you want to be. The good thing is that it is happening and happening well. The need for discipline is present more than before as you take your place among the best of Asia. Discipline is the mental requirement associated with the demands of a faster stressful game. Discipline is to know what you want to do and work to get there.
-Vimal Perera is a former Rugby Referee, coach and Accredited
Referees Evaluator IRB