By and by the Sri Lanka Sevens team seems to be getting into shape. Getting into shape does not happen overnight. Neither in rugby nor any other sports nor in most cherished ornaments or goods.
A beautiful Crystal glass does not come in the shape that is most admired. Crystal is more commonly perceived as glass.
The glass is composed of three ingredients Sand, Soda Ash and Lime stone .The ingredients for the crystal are mixed and heated at high temperatures. Crystal is blown glass, it is necessary for four or more people to work with it. The crystal begins as nothing more than a ball of molten glass. A glass worker will blow through a tube to form a hollow sphere. Once the crystal has been cut, it is placed into a mixture of hydrofluoric and sulfuric acid. The crystal is then rinsed, and transforms into a sparkling piece of art.
The sevens rugby team needs the much needed cut and polishing. A job that cannot be done overnight nor could be done if the ingredients are not there. Given the ingredients the process may be shorter than when you start from scratch. I have been saying in the recent past; if all the best material are not available then you have to cultivate from the seed that is raw. When you start growing and tendering there cannot be another tree grown over to cover and deny the sunlight.
A team with some has been and some unknown have now stuck together for three tournaments. That is the Commonwealth Games, the Borneo Sevens and the Singapore Sevens. In Singapore they played as the Colombo Cavaliers and ended up winning the bowl. It is passion, guts and hard work that is needed for rugby sevens. Is there a development towards this as a young team keeps playing more and more sevens against International teams?
This can be measured only if there are milestones that are set. Yet it is not easy to set that landmark as we play against different types of sides. Some should be to get the exposure while those at the Asian circuit are where the mark has to be set. In this regard an important event will be the Asian games. The performance there will be worth watching. Will that mean bringing together others who have not contributed to the pot.
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| Lankans in action in Hong Kong |
What should be is to groom the young and may be bringing in a few as time goes by. And I understand in the reason past there have been times that there have been less than seven at practice. There has been no numbers adequate to cover two teams so that there can be opposition at most times. The coach cannot put together two teams so that they play against each other and the selectors are there to see and make their choice.
These may be practical problems faced in a current scenario. How one is to overcome them is the question that needs answers. This requires planning the planning because at that stage you should be able to see the difficulties. Then you could add contingencies at all levels. I wonder whether what I write in this paragraph is trying to preach to the converted. At the helm of rugby in Sri Lanka is a veteran of these strategies and tactics. To emphasize on what I say let us look at some areas where we could have planned to defeat the natural enemy.
One may say to have foresight in hindsight is easy. Hindsight however can be light for the future. We knew that there was a 7’s at the Asian Games. We knew that there was a Borneo 7’s. We knew that there will be Mercantile 7’s. We know by experience as to what happens when it comes to the National team. We could have talked to the organizers of the Mercantile Sevens and arranged to play early or middle august.
The selectors then could have seen around thirty players. That could have been the nucleus of your training than wait to see a few at a trial where you cannot get two teams together. Then leaving room for drop outs you could have had a pool for the coach to cut and polish. On the other hand you could build a development squad that is being funded and nurtured by the union. They then will have to be available to practice and provide opposition. On the other hand there are pools of players in the clubs that are sponsored by the services.
The end result will be that they will come into the reckoning for national duty due to the action of others. Then there is no point in blaming them as you will continue to lose players who want a place in the national team. Unlike in the past the ground situation is different. You need to counter with what you have so that there might be a boomerang of this irregular action that is becoming a regular pest.
Vimal Perera is a former
Rugby Referee, coach and
Accredited Referees Evaluator IRB |
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