Melbourne Rebels to fly with Lankan rugby
Sri Lanka’s love for Rugby Union and its honeymoon with international players in recent times at the local International Carlton Sevens has reaped the rewards for effort with one of the top teams in world rugby, the Melbourne Rebels, pledging their unstinted support towards lifting the country’s profile on a global scale in this very popular sport.
Melbourne Rebels Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rob Clarke speaking exclusively to the Sunday Times in Sri Lanka, and the Lanka Times Melbourne, said that the Rebels have built up a special rapport with Sri Lanka Rugby over a number of years and now that the new Australian franchise is at the top level of the Super Rugby competition involving Southern Hemisphere nations, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, it feels that its link with Sri Lankan rugby would be important towards the development of an Asian nation to step up to the world stage.
What we saw in Sri Lanka at the Carlton Sevens recently convinced us that Sri Lanka has plenty of potential, tremendous talent and passion for the game The atmosphere at matches was fantastic”, he said.
Clarke’s sentiments were echoed by former Wallabies captain and Rebel Stirling Mortlock who was arguably one of the greatest players to pull on an Australian jumper. He was unable to conceal his delight at the quality of rugby dished out at the local level and was quick to underline the distinct possibility of a Sri Lankan rugby star stepping up to a Super Rugby level in a Rebels jersey in the near future.
“It is a truly great time to be a Rugby player in Sri Lanka.” Said Mortlock, “Sri Lankan Rugby now sits on the cusp of having a true presence in world Rugby, a lot like the Rebels did”. With the suggested changes to Super Rugby and its expansion throughout Asia in 2016, a relationship with the Rebels could certainly assist in taking Sri Lankan Rugby to the next level, and integrate some Sri Lanka talent into the Rebels Rugby program.
This would be fantastic for the local game which has a history of over a hundred years since the English introduced it to the country during their reign to fill in their off work time in the island nation.
Former Wallabies skipper Stirling Mortlock
There have been many great players over the decades but the lack of exposure internationally has kept their talent hidden within the waters of the Indian Ocean. The only exposure they have had on a global basis has been at the Hong Kong Sevens and Dubai Sevens where they have at times tasted success at the Plate and Bowl levels.The Melbourne Rebels high powered team of administrators were adamant that their foray into Sri Lankan rugby welfare was very serious and their ultimate aim was to “position the country on a global stage through rugby, and ultimately, as one of the best tourist destinations in Asia”.
“The SLRFU have got some very energetic and knowledgeable people handling its administration at the moment and the backing of the government and the Sri Lankan national airline, SriLankan Airlines may be pivotal to making the dream of a top Rugby nation and tourist destination seems very realistic”, a rebels spokesman said.
There is also an awareness of Sri Lanka’s elevation to the top rung of Asian rugby and their recent success at the Malaysian and Thailand Sevens where they ended up a creditable third on both occasions to the Asian powerhouses, Japan and Hong Kong.RaboDirect Rebels CEO Rob Clarke and Rebels Foundation Captain (now Board Member) Stirling Mortlock were both invited to Sri Lanka recently, with the pair both eager to explore the dawning of a new horizon in world Rugby.Clarke and Mortlock met with senior ranking rugby officials including those from Sri Lankan Rugby Football Union (SLRFU), along with local government and business leaders, to explore how the Melbourne Rebels could forge a strategic partnership to help develop the game of Rugby in Sri Lanka.
With Rugby being the second largest participation sport in Sri Lanka behind cricket, both were surprised, but delighted, by the passion and the talent within the local Rugby community.
“It was a wonderful experience,” Clarke said. “I was not only captured by the country’s passion for Rugby, but by the beautiful nature of the Sri Lankan people. This was no surprise with the great Sri Lankan population we have here in Melbourne.”
Clarke and Mortlock witnessed the quality of Rugby first hand, having attended the Carlton International Sevens in Galle, with Clarke identifying many opportunities for the Rebels to partner with a variety of organisations to help propel Sri Lankan Rugby on to the world stage.
comments powered by Disqus