Martis to coach junior national team

By Shamseer Jaleel

Former Isipathana, CR&FC and St. Peter’s head coach and present Royal head coach Sanath Martis will take over Sri Lanka’s junior rugby outfit for the Rugby Asiad, which will take place in Singapore from 13-19 December.

Sri Lanka will lock horns with Hong Kong, Taipei and Singapore in the group encounters.

The winner will get a chance to represent Asia at the Junior World Rugby Tournament (JWRT) as the second Asian country after Japan.

Martis, who was very successful in his stint with the Petrite outfit, bringing them to the top level in schools rugby before later moving to Royal and helping them bring back the Bradby Shield after four years. He is one of the most respected coaches in the country.

The Sri Lanka youth team will be selected after a trial game on 23 October at Havelock Park between the Western and Central Province teams. Martis will take charge of the Colombo outfit with Colin Dinesh assisting him. Viper (Junior) will be in charge of the Central Province outfit with support coming from Nalaka Weerakody and Pradeep Basnayake.

A touring squad of 22 players will get a chance for a training camp of 10 days before their departure to Singapore. Last year’s event saw Sri Lanka’s juniors finish second behind Hong Kong. The Colombo outfit is likely to be led by Peterite Kevin Dixion while the Kandy team will be led by Isuru Rangala.