Rajeev and Lasintha appointed coach of Sri Lanka Under-20 rugby outfit

By Shamseer Jaleel

Sri Lanka National Assistant Sevens Coach Rajeev Perera and former Isipathana and CR&FC player and Isipathana coach Lasintha De Costa will both be in charge of the Sri Lanka Under-20 unit for two encounters against the Hong Kong rugby team which will be played in December.

Perera assisted Peter Woods at the Asian Sevens while De Costa has rendered yeoman service for the Isipathana outfit. Their new positions will offer a real tester for both men. Both men are World Rugby Level 2 accredited coaches and have gotten through the first part of Level 3.

Former Trinitian, CR, Kandy and Sri Lanka winger Inthi Marikar will be in charge of the overall unit as the High Performance Director of Sri Lanka Rugby.

Further, former Thomian, Sri Lanka Under-18 and Under-20 Sevens skipper and Sri Lanka Sevens player Naveen Henakankanamage was appointed the captain of the Sri Lanka Under-20 rugby outfit. 

The first encounter will take place on 10 December at racecourse grounds while the return leg will be played at the Hong Kong Football Club (HKFC) grounds at Causeway Bay in Hong Kong on 16 December. Earlier, defending champions Hong Kong, Taipei and Sri Lanka were to play for a berth at the World Rugby Junior Trophy (JWRT 2018) Asian Zone Division 1 but with the withdrawal of Taipei only Hong Kong and Sri Lanka will battle it out in a home-and-away encounter to determine the JWRT 2018 qualifier from Asia other than Japan. The Sri Lanka Rugby National Selection Committee headed by Michael Jayasekera shortlisted a 37-member pool from 60 players and the pool will be brought down to 30 players within a week.