“Look seriously at rugby ‘80”

Sri Lanka rugby needs to seriously embrace Rugby 80 in 2007 if they endeavour to gain international recognition similar to their cricketing heroes.

This was the important message sent by Rugby 80 President Dilip Kumar who also said that it was also imperative for Sri Lanka to establish a structure that is professional in its outlook and is in touch with the latest coaching methods implemented by some of the best teams in the world.

Kumar said “You can be in exactly the same weight category as your opponents but it counts for nothing if you do not hone your skills and training programs to meet a very high standard”.

To be among the worlds best is a tough enough task particularly due to the fact that Rugby Union is played by nearly every country in the world enjoying a following that may only be second to Soccer. That being the case, the competition will be fierce and the varying styles adopted by different countries will demand continuous evolution to the coaching manuals.

To achieve the required level of competence Sri Lanka needs to throw open their resources and aim to get only the best coaches and support mechanisms if they are to progress to a noticeable level Dilip Kumar said.

Sri Lanka’s search for expertise from Asia and the Pacific Island nations will not serve its purpose if they aim to reach elitism because the experience they gain will be limited as the results of these countries international commitments will reflect, Kumar pointed out.

He said that Sri Lanka has made the right indications by seeking Australian expertise as the coaching standards are pretty up to date and thorough in this region. Other options could also be from New Zealand whose all conquering efforts over the past few years make them the best choice available. Then from Europe there is England who have lifted their profile in the world game.

Sri Lanka need to look at changing their brand of rugby to one where the players need to be aware that possession is the key to winning games. To this end they need to concentrate on conditioning their players to a more physical game in keeping with the world trend. Possession, speed and good hands is the recipe for success and some of these characteristics that appeared to be lacking in the teams that played in Thailand recently, Kumar pointed out. “They have good hands and flair as they showed against some of the top sides in Thailand, but let themselves down by kicking aimlessly when they needed to assert their authority on their opponents” he said.

Kumar’s assertion was that Sri Lanka rugby which is currently enjoying a revival of sorts with its fans thronging the venues once more needs to look at 2007 under its new administration legacy left behind by Priyantha Ekanayake to take the game forward and into an era that will be remembered as one where they will gain world recognition.

This project needs to be nurtured at a grassroots level for ongoing success and will provide a constant availability of talent from around the country to boost the national pool. Sri Lanka need not commit to Rugby 80 only if they aspire to match it with Asia’s best. They could implement a strategy similar to that of New South Wales rugby union in Australia where a couple of days a week is dedicated to Rugby 80 and the rest to the world game. This gives the players a choice of lifting their work rate at both formats of the game, Kumar says.