Schools Rugby seek Education Ministry permission to select national Under-19 squad
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When Sri Lanka took on the Hong Kong side on a previous edition of the ARFU Under-19 15s Championship - File pix
The Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA) has sought permission from the Ministry of Education to form a National Under-19 rugby pool, targeting the upcoming ARFU Asia Under-19 Rugby 15s Championship to be held in Chinese Taipei during April.
Despite the inability to hold the Schools Under-19 League and Knockout Championships in 2020, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, SLSRFA and Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) are eager to make early preparations in case the regional tournament takes place in 2021 as scheduled. Selection of players to the national youth rugby squad will be carried out by both SLR and SLSRFA.
The Schools Rugby body has planned to hold training camps at different parts of the country, before the final squad is picked and brought to Colombo for training. Accordingly players selected from Galle and Matara regions will be called in to a centre located in the South Western region, while players picked from Kurunegala, Kegalle and the Central region will be directed to the centre designated in Kandy.
The General Secretary of SLSRFA, Nirodha Wijerama, explaining the process stated that official permission from the Ministry of Education will be mandatory when calling in a squad of school players and that SLSRFA has already made an official request from the Ministry’s Secretary.
“To implement and plan out the process, we must have the official approval from the Ministry of Education. If we receive the official permission, the SLSRFA will have the ability to initiate the plans from January 10 and move forward with the planned process,” stated Wijerama.
The Asia Under-19 Rugby 15s Championship was scheduled to take place during December 2020, but the global condition and travel restrictions, created due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was moved forward to April 2021. SLR has officially confirmed Sri Lanka’s participation at the competition to the regional body, Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU).
President of SLR, Rizly Illyas claimed that the intervention of higher authorities is a much needed aspect with the present situation to resume all sports, including rugby, which has been inactive for almost an year since March 2020.
“We cannot afford to forego 2021 as well, thinking about the risks of the pandemic. We are pleading health officials to instruct SLR with a guideline, where we can hold events under official health guidance. We hope at least this year will be a good one to all sports, including rugby,” Illyas said.
The Asia Under-19 Men’s 15s Championship was postponed from 2020 to commence on March 31, 2021 and will serve as the pathway to the Junior World Trophy 2021, featuring Chinese Taipei, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Hong Kong.