Naming of final 12 for Asian Sevens 2016 delayed 

By Shamzeer Jaleel

The Sri Lankan Sevens outfit under skipper Dhanushka Ranjan will kick-off the last and home leg (3rd) of the Asian Sevens 2016 at the Race Course rugby grounds on 15 October. The naming of the final 12 was delayed due to injuries and fitness worries over a few players before the vital final leg in Colombo.

Three injured players who missed out on the Korean leg, Jason and Dixon along with Muthuthanthri (missed the Hong Kong and Korean legs), are likely to make a comeback into the final squad of 12 players for the Colombo Leg. Dixon missed out after injuring himself at the HK leg where he performed well. Jason too played a vital role at the first leg where he sustained an injury for his club Kandy SC when they toured UAE last month. The team missed the Second leg in South Korea due to this injury. Muthu who was out for both legs too recovered from his injury and will be closely watched by the national selectors before drafting the final 12 which is likely to take place next Monday.

The men’s team will face Taipei (1.12 pm), Singapore (16.04 pm) and China (7.04 pm) while the Women’s will be in action with Hong Kong (12.06 pm), China (14.40 pm) and Singapore (17/.8 pm) in their group outings before moving on to the knockout stage on day 2 which will commence in the afternoon of 16 October.