Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union’s decision (SLRFU) headed by Asanga Seneviratne to appoint Englishman Phil Greening as the national coach has received whole hearted consent following Sri Lanka’s dull form in the international arena. At the same time when experienced local coach Sanath Martis was appointed as assistant to Greening many received the news with mixed feelings.
Though there were many pleased with Martis’s appointment, there were others who had different views. Some said that Martis was not in good terms with the Old Boys’ Association (OBA) of St. Peter’s College, where he has coached since 2005.
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| Sanath Martis |
There were others saying that Martis was kicked out by the school authorities after he spoke on behalf of a group of players who were suspended by the Father Rector. However the Father Rector and the OBA of St. Peter’s rubbished these assumptions while commenting that their relationship with Martis was healthy and it still remains strong.
“We are upset that we lost his services suddenly. He has done a great job in to restructure our rugby. But the loss of a great navigator in the coaching staff is a great setback for us. We would definitely love to have him back but we have to understand that he is serving a more responsible job at the national level,” Suranga Seneviratne, a senior member of the St. Peter’s OBA said.
Martis considered as one of the shrewdest tacticians of the game, played for Isipathana in 1983 and 1984 as hooker. He played for CR & FC from 1985 to 1988 and also represented national Under-20 and Under-24 teams in 1985 and 1987 respectively. In 1985 Martis began his coaching career with the Isipathana junior teams while in 1987 he took over the 1st XV team.
In 1993 he moved to Kurunegala as the coach for the North Western Province while guiding teams such as St. Anne’s and Kurunegala RFC to many famous victories. In 1997 he took over Wesley and went on to coach his former club CR & FC and Isipathana before taking over St. Peter’s in 2005. In between he has coached mercantile and armed forces teams towards many championships. He also served as the Sri Lanka Under-20 assistant coach from 2002 to 2004 and as its head coach twice, from 2006 to 2008 as well as in 2010. A fortnight ago Asanga Seneviratne, the new head of SLRFU, stated his reasons for picking Martis as the head coach of rugby development.
“Martis is the ideal candidate from Sri Lanka as he has fulfilled several of our anticipations. I’m sure we can implement our development programmes affectively with Martis around,” Seneviratne told journalists last week.
Meanwhile Reverend Father Travis Gabriel, the principal of St. Peter’s stated that the school suffered a major blow by the sudden exit of Martis. He admitted that the coach had done a good job in helping St. Peter’s to maintain its rugby standards.
“It is a big loss for the school. But he is reaching the next step in his career which is the national level. That’s a level I’m sure any coach would like to reach and why should we hamper his progress. We will surely miss him and would love him to return if he wishes to,” Rev. Fr. Gabriel said.
Martis meanwhile commenting on his new role said that his aim is to brush up the talents from the rural areas and help outstation rugby playing teams give the much stronger sides in Colombo and Kandy a run for their money. This is the sort of challenge Martis has been facing since his coaching days in 1985.
“It’s glad to learn that Asanga Seneviratne and his committee have confidence in me. I bade adieu to St. Peter’s very reluctantly. This was something I anticipated for a long time. I have fond memories with St. Peter’s and should thank all those who assisted me in producing so many players to the national level since 2005. This was my objective in coaching. I made this move because I can clearly see good times ahead for rugby in Sri Lanka. On my part I’m willing to give my fullest to unearth and develop rugby players and coaches and its infrastructures to serve Sri Lanka rugby,” Martis said.
Martis’ agreement with the SLRFU as the head of the development will be for three years from February 2012. As the SLRFU makes efforts to restructure the lost prestige domestically and globally, Martis’ involvement will be vital. He vows to help SLRFU in maintaining a national squad that is strong and open for any skilled player. |
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