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Sports

“Where have all the gentlemen gone?”
Priyantha Ekanayake who has been elected to serve a second term must be fully aware of role of the captain having been a successful one during his playing days. The role of a captain in a Rugby Team is both challenging as well and rewarding to a player. His role as President of the SLRFU would not have been very much different.

The achievements of the SLRFU speak for itself.
The accounts show an excess of expenditure over income of only Rs 93,605. This is very much lower than the excess expenditure of Rs 7,505,209 during the previous year. That is after accounting for Rs 2.45 m of development expenses relating to the previous year. Obviously good leadership and better management have resulted in a better income and expenditure statement. The Treasurers report notes the unaccounted expenditure of the previous year. In reality the team of the SLRFU has done well.

The success of the game cannot be measured only from the management of finance. Yet it is an indication of strength as there were always more expenses than income in the recent past. The performance on the field has been creditable with Sri Lanka climbing the ladder in both the Asian as well as the world circuit. In the shorter game we have regained recognition lost at the Hong Kong sevens. Today the trial is for the team. The ‘match’ is to take appropriate action arising from the findings of the disciplinary committee.

Different people have had different approaches in their success. The role of the captain remains central to the team’s performance. In the council the need for leadership has arisen.

It is no secret that in the position of captaincy the hardest part is the “mental aspect”. The need to stay focused on issues and be prepared to take the correct decision at the right time under intense pressure is the need of the hour.

The media has reported the findings, of the disciplinary committee. It is to the council to decide. The reports if accurate throw a new dimension to the disciplinary process. As judiciary has proved over time it is the not the law but the application and interpretation that gives meaning to the laws.
The disciplinary committee thinking is a caution for all. The end result of the actions on the field was bringing the game to an abrupt halt. This was the final of the “Sevens”. The spectators were denied of the entertainment they expected having made the choice to watch rugby. The sponsors too were letdown by the perpetrators of misconduct {as in rugby).

There is a greater threat for the future if the incident is treated lightly.
Who are those responsible? Is it the players who were involved in the fracas and those players who walked out? The issue to be considered is who did the greater damage? It is apparent from reports that recommendations are being made for them to be punished.

There are others in the cast who cannot be forgotten. They are; the intruder and officials who pushed the team to the action they have taken. The players, or else will be the pawns of the politics of officials. The question asked is whether the disciplinary committee can recommend sanctions which are more than the punishment of the referee.

The question that should be asked is whether the players did punch. Was there misconduct that has brought disrepute to the game? Was discipline and sporting behaviour maintained?

The officials must not solely rely on match officials to arrest foul play and misconduct. Officials too should be responsible for conducting the game in manner where discipline and sporting behaviour are maintained. There cannot be a hiding behind technical issues. They must cooperate and stop the game they love being brought into disrepute. I quote below a paragraph from the Ceylon Daily news of 4th June 1974.

“John Banks the President of CH stated; before the SLRFU could decide what penalty should be enforced on the CH team and its skipper they thought it would be better to act first. The prop forward John Hempsworth’s behaviour being considered not in order, we will not play him in matches for the month .We will not wait for the Union to take action” This too is about a walkout. Almost thirty years later we are reminded to ask “where have all the gentleman and sportsman of rugby gone”.

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