To bury the hatchet!

The stay order barring Issipatana has not been extended. This will be welcome news to their supporters who will now expect the school to continue with their game. It is now for mature individuals of both schools to get together and resolve any issues that will continue to hinder the relationship. Royal has been leading in many ways. So has Isspatana in contributing to the game of rugby. They have produced many national sportsmen. It is therefore upto the leaders to show that they can fight, as on the field, but bury the differences and continue with the relationship.

This is what rugby is all about. In the recent past the governing body has taken the initiative to lead discussions and attempt to resolve issues. Discussions have been held with the schools rugby authorities and acceptance reached to work and improve the game. The SLRFU has indicated their willingness to impart to the schools section the input from the knowledge and resource reservoir it possesses. It has also shown and conveyed its willingness to facilitate any discussion that will help to improve the game by resolving issues where two of the leading rugby playing schools is involved. It is now for the grown up individuals to shed aside emotional considerations and to start discussing on a logical base to put behind what has happened. To think of tomorrow with real interest of tomorrow is the need of today. Hopefully the next few days will shed more light which will be used to the betterment of the game. We hope that the two schools will continue to honour each other’s fixture which is enjoyed by many rugby lovers.

The game in the schools is fast approaching the end of the season with the St. Peter’s having a clear lead but can be challenged particularly by Issipatana who have dropped only one game so far. Yet the question is whether they could complete all the matches before the deadline date that is fast approaching. This week will see the team from Bambalapitiya play Kingswood in the hill capital. A win in this game will virtually seal the fate of the cup for St Peter’s.

On the club scene it seems that Kandy Sports Club and CR and FC are heads ahead of the rest. CR notched up the highest score this season while the Police team gave a fright to the Kandy side. Air Force who has been threatening from the sides beat Havelock’s Sports club giving them the much needed booster to their morale. The weeks to come will see some good rugby games in the club scene. It will be a battle now virtually between CR and Kandy to stay at the top. On the other side the battle will also be at the lower level to ensure that they do not end up at the bottom.

This month, on the 19th, CR and FC will move into their new pavilion offering more facilities to the members as well as the public. The spirits will flow from more comfortable environments and we wish CR will continue to dish out champagne rugby from the new surroundings. The facilities will include corporate boxes, TV viewing and fine dining. There being competition from different forms of leisure activities to attract customers CR has taken a bold step in this direction. . Good things do not come cheap and in the process there can be brickbats thrown. The leaders will have to face such swipes and carry on if they are to achieve what they have promised to deliver. This column wishes C R more success as they move ahead with the face uplift.

There is also disturbing news from the schools rugby section. Taking top place is the inability to give direct answers for decisions regarding discipline. Decision must be taken right or wrong and taken quickly. We hear of more issue being postponed and new issues adding to the queue of unsolved crimes. In deed it would be unsolved crimes as offences even minor lead to greater offences when left unchecked. It is the small trees that grow to be large and make it difficult to be felled. There is news of crowd invasion and match disruption from the south. We also hear of players being ordered off. There are rumours of players taking the field but alleged to be not eligible. I hope this is not true. There has been lots of pressure and the focus had been to be answering issues in courts. Yet one cannot neglect burning issues at home. If not the home will face destruction and you will be exposed to the sun and the rain. This is what will happen to schools rugby if we not step on the gas.