Junior national rugby squad at training camp in Diyatalawa

By Shamseer Jaleel 

The Sri Lanka junior rugby players commenced their ten-day training camp in Diyatalawa two days back. Sri Lanka will be participating at the Junior World Rugby Tournament (JWRT) Division I in the Asian region which will take place in Singapore from 13-19 December. Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Taipei and hosts Singapore will lock horns in the league-format tournament. The winner will get their berth at the 2016 Junior Rugby World Cup.

The Sri Lanka youth squad was picked last week by the national selectors headed by Michael Jayasekera with the support of Aruna Uduwelagedera, Sajith Mallikarachchie and Rohan Abeykoon. The selected 35 players are undergoing the ten-day training camp while the final 23 on tour will be selected soon afterwards.

Veteran Sanath Martis will head the coaching unit. Martis, the former Isipathana and CR&FC player, coached St. Peter’s College and he is the current Head Coach of Royal College. He brought back the Bradby Shield to Reid Avenue after a four-year wait. He also coached the Junior Asiad in South Korea in 2008 when Sri Lanka finished number three and produced some outstanding players such as Sooriyabandara, Sranaga, Vishwamithra and Sharo who are currently playing at club level and for the senior Fifteens and Sevens at national level.

Collin Dinesh will assist Martis with Budhika Kulatunge as the Team Manager. Former Isipathana player Omalka Gunaratne, Joes number 8 Tariq Salih, Trinitian Isuru Rangala and Peterite Kevin Dixon are the front runners for the leadership on tour.