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Kandy SC did not let ‘em down
By Vimal Perera
The rugby league championship is over and the winners Kandy Sports club has been the toast in the rugby crazy hill capital. Now we move on to the Clifford cup knock out, with the finals to begin on 4th September and most probably once again at Nittawela. The crowds will once again be in their numbers. It seems the faith the sponsors have kept to promote the game of rugby in Sri Lanka is paying off.

The crowds at the venue as well as live coverage have no doubt given the much needed exposure to the corporate sector and will continue into the future. Rugby at club level draws more spectator interest than cricket matches among the clubs. Here therefore is a product that is marketable to the sponsors as well as to the fans. While the game is in its forward march management at club level need to contribute to spectators continuing their interest. We have seen a few occasions of over enthusiastic spectators behaving in a manner that will do harm to the game.

The fans who come for entertainment will not want to be part of the unruly behavior. The clubs should take note. With technology available one could identify the miscreants and may be bar them from entering the ground and or evict them during matches. This has happened in curbing spectator hooliganism in sports.

The development of interest is such, we see in production an action shutter profile “UPFRONT”. Have a look. The pictures look nice. It is not only the pictures of players some of you fans are there too. The domestic rugby season will be followed by the Singer Sri Lankan Rugby Sevens. This will be an IRB Satellite event, to be played on the 9th 10th and 11th at Nittawela.

The 9th and 10th morning will be for the schools, up to the quarter final Stage. The same weekend will see the Bradby First round played in Kandy on Saturday the 10th. For the fans it will be another weekend of rugby in Kandy. Enjoy the weekend and see two events and have some fun. This will be an opportunity that should not be missed. I understand that there will be no enatrance charge for the Singer Sri Lankan Sevens. That is what the game could offer when there are sponsors. More turn out, in numbers, the better it will be for the future of the game.

This year’s tournament is among Asian Rugby Playing Nations. With a number of International Sevens tournaments being played this is an opportunity for Asia to compete among them and better their standards.

Asia being potentially a huge market, the IRB thinking possibly is to promote the game among Asian countries. A question if any is the non Inclusion of India. Here numbers can be vast. India having beaten Malaysia and Guam in recent times must be feeling bad that they have been left out.

A question I hear being asked, is Sri Lanka safe after the recent events and the imposition of emergency. I fail to understand whether we should bother with these questions. Was the US considered unsafe after September 11th or England considered a security risk after the recent events.

One of the better ashes events is fought out there just at this moment of time. What about a tsunami and or an earthquake that can happen in parts of Asia? Japan has been exposed often to tremors. So What? Interesting talk whenever people attracted to the game meet revolve on how CR managed to win and loose the game. The topic gets hotter if the discussion is between periods of charging with the spirit that cheers.

Various theories are put forward and or spun around the performance. It is not on how good the game was and what quality rugby was played. It is about who was responsible for the defeat and why. The talks of suspicion started before the match and have been a topic of discussion. This is not the first time. The game is over; the speculation continues. How and what can be expected if one fails to trust the team and start suspecting some of them. Who will not give the best. It is best to talk analytically of the game and its players than to give vent to perceptions which may not necessarily be true.

Kandy Sports Club while basking in glory has to be mindful of its supporters. The folly of a few can bring greater discredit to the club and the game. Emotions are expected to be high in a final. The fans need to understand that every decision given against their heroes is not necessarily wrong. And also to play the game you need another side. If there will not be opponents and there will not be officials the game will not be able to proceed.

The ultimate loosers will be the rugby community and the club. Irresponsibility can lead to harm. If a player does wrong he will be penalized according to the laws of the game and that has to be expected. Once a decision is given there is no point of swearing. That is when good leadership takes over from just being another. Confronting behaviour leads to fanatical supporters going crazy. The moment’s glory can give a lifetime’s misery to the game. Therefore take stock of the mistakes and correct them. That is a need.

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