More focus should be given to Sevens rugby in Sri Lanka

By Shamseer Jaleel

Former Isipathana, Police SC, Kandy SC, and Sri Lanka Sevens sensation Sudath Sampath who is also the Sri Lanka Under-20 Head Coach along with the women’s outfit, feels the country has lots of talent, especially in the shorter version of the game.

The nippy scrum half said: “I believe that the huge experience players gained at club rugby and the exposure they obtained by playing in the Mercantile Sevens helped the national team to win the cup in the first leg at the Asian Under-20 Rugby Sevens in Malaysia. A majority of them (national players) in the under-20 side are virtual club players and have left school, but were eligible to represent Sri Lanka at this Sevens tournament and in keeping with the World Rugby rule, they have completed one full club season which is very good in terms of maturity for them. Furthermore, a majority of the 12 players represented the same tournament last year in Malaysia and Hong Kong.”

Speaking further Sampath said: “I studied the pattern of playing of the other teams by watching video footage of matches played at the Asian rugby tournament in 2015. We won five matches and lost only to Japan by one try difference. Japan will not be coming to Hong Kong. This gives us even more of a chance at the second leg this weekend.” Sampath thanked the great work done by Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU) High Performance Director Inthi Marikar within a short span of time.

Sampath said: “SLRFU should ensure that these players are nurtured and nourished when planning their futures, so that they will be available to turn out for the senior national team in upcoming Sevens tournaments.” He added that these Under-20 players should now get exposure at tournaments abroad and take their focus on Sevens rugby beyond the boundaries of Asia which is our future as Sri Lankans if we want to do something exceptional.

He ended by saying: “With the Asian Games in 2018 along with Commonwealth Games the same year, rugby football will be played for medal and a majority of these players will be much more mature at that time in order to represent the country and our hopes to bring a medal will be assured with good performances. These boys are lucky; during our playing days two decade ago there was no Sevens tournament at Under-20 or Under-18 level. Now the exposure is given by Asian Rugby from junior level of 16 years which is good for the game in Asia.”