Asian Sevens 2017: Sri Lanka in tough group

By Shamzeer Jaleel

The Sri Lanka Sevens rugby team will face Japan in the second leg of the Asian Sevens 2017 at the Namdong Rugby Stadium in South Korea today in the first game of the day for both teams.

Sri Lanka was placed 5th in the opening leg in Hong Kong and will be looking for a better ending with two experienced players Dhanushka Ranjan and Chanaka Chandimal returning to the squad after missing out on the first leg in Hong Kong. Ranjan, one of the most feared players in the Asian sevens circuit, led the outfit last year when Sri Lanka ended second to Hong Kong, where the ranking to date is the best by Sri Lanka in the shorter version of the game. Buddhima Piyaratne, who had a grand debut at the Hong Kong leg, missed the Korean leg due to a bike accident just before the team’s departure to South Korea but is  now out of danger. He was replaced by Srinarth Sooriyabandara.

Sri Lanka will need to beat China and Taipei if it they are to book their semi-final berth. Taipei looks to be the target of the rest of the three teams in the group. A win against China and Taipei will see Sri Lanka dating either South Korea or Hong Kong in the top 4 encounters. The top two teams in the Asian Sevens series will not only qualify for Rugby World Cup sevens 2018 in San Francisco but also for the Hong Kong Sevens 2018 as well in the 12 emerging teams event.

The women’s outfit, after doing remarkably well in Borneo Sevens, winning the Cup, will be hoping for a good run in the tournament. At present the Sri Lankan women’s outfit are placed at number 5 in Asian region.

Sri Lanka Men’s squad

Sudarshana Muthuthanthri (Captain), Naveen Henakankanamge, Tharinda Ratwatte, Danushka Dyan, Srinarth Sooriyabandara, Hirantha Perera, Chanaka Chandimal, Kevin Dixon, Dhanushka Ranjan, Sudam Sooriyaarachchi, Jason Dissanayake, Omalka Gunaratne

Head Coach –Peter Woods (NZ)

Men’s

nGroup A – Japan, China, Sri Lanka, Taipei

nGroup B – Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea

Matches day 1 (September 23) Sri Lankan time

vs Japan 7/14 am, vs China        11/32 am, vs Taipei 2/28 pm        

Sri Lanka Women’s Squad

Randika Kumudini (Capt), Ayesha Perera, Nadeeka Munasinghe, Dulani Palukondage, Theekshana Liyanage, Sanjeevani Wijethilake, Kumari Dilrukshi, Dasuni De Silva, Thanuja Weerakody, Wasani Weerakody, Ayesha Kaluarachchi and Anusha Attanayake

Head Coach-Sudath Sampath

Women’s

nGroup C- Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Kazakhstan

nGroup D- China, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, South Korea

Matches day 1 (September 23) Sri Lankan time

vs China 7/58 am, vs Hong Kong        12/16 pm, vs South Korea  2/50 pm