Is rugby in Sri Lanka remote controlled?
I strolled into Sri Lanka rugby’s new season format knowing of its reported upsurge in world recognition but quite unaware of what has helped the game improve in leaps and bounds, during my recent visit to the island after a considerable period.
Not knowing what has spearheaded the welcome change to the game that has endured over a hundred years, (more than some of the newer powerhouses in World Rugby Union), I was at first taken aback when I showed up at my old club CH&FC to watch them match it with fellow cellar dwellers Sri Lanka Air Force. I was visibly unable to comprehend what made the game so great over there watching two wretched teams lacking basic skills trying their utmost to orchestrate a win. And after ninety minutes of boredom, I thought that world rugby had sunk to a new low if that was what a top club tournament could dish out in a reported developing country.
Rugby in Sri Lanka is turning out to be a multi facet entertainment and a newsmaker lately - File pic
Luckily for us there was another game a few kilometres away from this venue featuring top team Havelocks and Kandy Lions soon after, which my cousin Vasantha and I wisely decided to travel to and compare what we were just subjected to. It was of course a total contrast to the dismal show we witnessed and the standard was top shelf. Our disillusionment quickly evaporated.
Yes Rugby Union in Sri Lanka has risen to great heights, but it quickly made us realize that rugby in the land of our birth draws many parallels with the economics of the country which is starkly divided between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’.
Money and dictatorship is believed to be controlling the club game and the governing body the SLRFU are considered by many as the puppets of the puppeteers who pull the strings from behind the scenes much like the country’s cricket administration, disillusioned fans told me.
Sad as it may sound, the game itself has made giant strides, but its fortunes are governed by the affluent clubs such as the Navy, with the country’s President’s three sons being members of, then comes last year’s surprise winners Havelocks and the other contender is the nearly two decades consecutive champions Kandy Sports Club who are being systematically broken down to ‘also rans’ after their dominance over a long period of time.
What irks me is that the controlling body, the SLRFU has taken a back seat as it watches the unfolding drama in the background, seemingly powerless to make decisions that can and should even out the competition for the good of the game on a national scale.
I was told by people in the know that the cream of emerging talent is snapped up by the powerful groups either by monetary enticement or by force if they attempt to align themselves to a team of their choice. Money these days has overshadowed the pride and loyalty attached to the jumper players pull on and this is a sad indictment of how rugby is viewed unlike in the old days, a die-hard fan told me.
Crowds are scarce at matches as I saw for myself in the CH- Air Force game at Maitland Crescent where the home team’s meagre support group was swamped by ‘compulsory’ fans from the forces who are ordered to form cheer squads when their team plays.
Is thuggery a way to prove yourselves the best in sport? Well this appears to be the popular mindset among some in the sports mad island nation these days, I learnt.