SSRFA and SLRFU need to work together for betterment of the game - Nazeem 

By Shamseer Jaleel 

The Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA) came under heavy criticism when it failed to get approval from the governing body, the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU), to conduct the inter-School Under-18 Division II Sevens Tournament, which was scheduled to be played at the Ananda College grounds in Rajagiriya last weekend. 

School officials and parents blamed the SLSRFA for failing to obtain the approval of the SLRFU on time and for wasting the valuable time of schoolboys, who will be sitting for their G.C.E. O/L examination at the end of the year. The SLSRFA had not even obtained approval from the Ministry of Education. 

SLRFU Secretary Nazeem Mohamed said: “What took place is unfortunate and should not happen again under any circumstances. They had sent a letter to the SLRFU with the tournament rules asking permission at the very last minute, not even giving a day’s notice. Further, the approval sought was for a 10-a-side tournament and not for a seven-a-side competition. There are two completely different rules for seven-a-side and 10-a-side rugby.”

“We have put in place a framework for high performance, which we want to expand to the Under-16 and Under-14 age categories in the near future. It is vital that the SLSRFA works closely with us and shares the same goals and objectives. The SLSRFA’s current focus is merely on running tournaments. We want them to work closely with us and have indicated our intentions to them on several occasions. We have seen recent success at the Under-18 and Under-20 ages groups at the Asian level. We also have potential to progress in the longer version of the game in December at the Junior Rugby Asiad since, with Japan already qualifying, the winner here will book a berth in Uruguay to play in the World Rugby Tournament at the Under-20 level which is a unique opportunity. Unfortunately there has been very little action taken by the SLSRFA with less than six weeks remaining. This is a sad state of affairs and we are now in discussion with authorities to take this under our wing as a damage control measure. Non-participation may result in serious complications for us with the governing body,” he added, 

After this recent incident, SLSRFA appointed a five-member committee which will work closely with the SLRFU, with an equal number of members looking into the running of the tournament, sponsorship, strategic areas, etc. Both parties agreed to work as a team.