What a great spectacle it was

Thoughts on Kandy Rugby Sevens

By Aubrey Kuruppu,Pix by Shane Seneviratne.

It is a tad surprising that the 9th edition of the Singer SriLankan Airlines Rugby Sevens 2007 was conducted sans any major hitches. There were pull outs and threats of pull outs but ultimately only the top seeded Japanese and Arabian Gulf team turned don the invitations. The success of the Sevens can be gauged by the following comments.

Thailand vs. Kazhkastan. On the whole it was a tournament that was conducted with a lot of professionalism.

“Congratulations on successfully conducting the Rugby Sevens. As next year will be a milestone of ten, we should look for a difference.” Hemaka Amerasinghe, Chairman Singer. “I am pleased that all has gone well and that the tournament was a great success”.

Beth Coalter (IRB Manager for Rugby Sevens) “Congrats to all involved” Jarrad Gallager IRB Regional Manager for Asia.“Quick thanks you for the great times Trevor Gregory (President J\Hong Kong RFU) and I had in Sri Lanka at the Rugby Sevens. Everything went on very smoothly”, Ross Mitchell, General Secretary Asian RF Union).

There were some minor irritants. China complained that Malaysia fielded three Fijians and questioned their eligibility in terms of IRB regulations. The Malaysians Union certified their eligibility. Ross Mitchell conducted the preliminary inquiry. The matter has not been swept under the carpet and the inquiry by the IRB is pending.

A couple of teams criticized the assignment of referees (China among them), a task that was carried out by the local body. The matter was inquired into by the Disciplinary Committee headed by Attorney at Law, Neil Wijeratne. The citing officials (one Thai, one Malaysian) complained about an incident in the Sri Lanka – Kazakhstan game which neither the referee nor the Touch Judge spotted. The offending Kazak was severely warned about a repeat performance.

TWO MATCHES IN PROGRESS: Action between Kampuchea

A minor irritant was the shortage of water at the stadium on days two and three. This happened as the bowsers were not allowed to come in and fill up the tanks. On the much speculated topic of security for the Sevens, it has to be said that security was at its peak. While the grounds and the Hotel came under STF cover, every team had an escort from the Ministerial Security Division. SSP Jagath Abeysiriwardena was in overall charge.

Coming to the actual play, Hong Kong provided the shocks by annexing the cup beating the much touted Koreans. Sri Lanka had two good outings against Korea and Hong Kong but failed to capitalize on potentially winning situations. Hong Kong’s Keith Robertson won the award for the most valuable player. As for next year, the organizers plan to hold the Sevens on September 5th, 6th and 7th, as the Japanese have expressed a desire for those dates.

The successful staging of another International Sevesns tournament is a feather in the cap of Izwan Omar, Chairman organizing committee. He has been involved in a big way from the inaugural Sevens in 1999. The committee of Kandy SC backed him to the hilt.