Emjay jaywalk the rest of the pack

Emjay International grabbed the spotlight in their maiden voyage in the preliminary rounds of the Mercantile Rugby Sevens 2007 played Longden Place yesterday. Led by the dynamic due of Nalaka and Eranga Weerakkody, Emjay booked a berth in the Cup quarter finals which will be played today at the same venue.

Emjay have a host of stars including Senaka Bandara. But they face a stiff task in the top eight as they take on John Keells Holdings (JKH) who are not lacking in star players by any means. JKH proved they were in this Dialog sponsored tournament, to win by notching the highest victory margin of the day. Led by CR and FC’s captain Anuruddha Dharmatilleke playing alongside Sri Lankan Hooker Senthil Kumar and Suranga Pushpakumara, JKH demolished fellow cup contenders Aamana Takaful ‘A’ by 43 points to 7 points. Earlier in the day they defeated Sampath Bank by 26 points to 5 points.

Defending champions Seylan Bank ‘A’ who have the likes of Sri Lankan scrum half Amjad Buksh, his half back partner Farziil Marizar and Tuan Shamrock play Aamana Takaful for a place in the semi finals. Amana who do not have any big name players barring Imran Marso possess a hitherto unknown game breaker by the name of Irfan Lye who has impressed many with his all round sevens skills. National coach Rob Yule who was watching the proceedings said: “As you know sevens rugby is very different from the 15 a side game. I have seen some good players who to my mind do not feature in the club level.”

Cup runners up last year Ceylinco Group will be hoping to go one better this year. Ceylinco have the likes of Sri Lankan caps Saliya Kumara and Senaka Bandara. And they take on a relatively young Commercial Bank team.

Organized by the Mercantile Rugby Football Union, the last quarter final game sees an intriguing clash between Mas Holdings and Sampath Bank. Mas will hope with players like Anuruddha Walpola, the Costa brothers – Lasintha and Ashan and flyer Dinesh Kumara, they can overcome the bankers who have Imran Bisthiman and Dilip Selvam at their disposal.

The losers in the cup quarter finals will play in the plate semi finals. And all the action kicks off today at 9.45 in the morning. Given that this tournament brings the curtain down on the domestic rugby season, it should not be missed.by any follower of the sport.