Two down, two more to go; Sri Lanka will be battling in India in the Asian 7s circuit this weekend after two commendable performances in Malaysia and Thailand where the Tuskers emerged 4th and 3rd respectively.
Photo Credits: Dennis Muthuthanthri | SLRFU
The Lankans will look to compete with the more established power houses Japan and Hong Kong in this tournament in order to establish themselves as another serious contender in Asian Sevens Rugby.
The Tuskers who convincingly beat South Korea in the third place encounter in Thailand will have to keep up the momentum in order to surge ahead in the overall points table where Sri Lanka currently is positioned at fourth place.
Sri Lanka will once again be spearheaded by ‘Mr. Reliable’ Fazil Marija, but it is the scrumhalf and speedster Srinath Sooriyabandara who has impressed the most this season with his scintillating bursts of speed that leave defenders crawling.
The Tuskers have been heavily reliant on their speed and will have to up their performances as a team in order to combat the strength and size of the more physical Japan and Hong Kong sides who will pose the biggest threat to Sri Lanka. The Lankans are extremely dangerous in open play, but often concede too many times through set pieces and will have to improve defensive coordination to better their performances. Scrums and breakdowns will be vital going into the knockout stage especially against the bigger teams as Sri Lanka will be looking to put up a well rounded performance.
Sri Lanka have been drawn to Group ‘C’ along with Thailand and UAE. Thailand who is currently 5th in the overall rankings will pose stiff opposition to Sri Lanka’s bid to reach the Cup Quarterfinal and proceed from there on in the tournament while the UAE are also formidable opponents who have been in the Asian rugby circuit for quite some time.
If the Tuskers top Group ‘C’ which will be most likely considering the past performances against the same teams, Sri Lanka will realistically face Phillipines or Chinese Taipei in the Cup Quarters. A win at that stage could set up a very interesting clash against Hong Kong whom Sri Lanka is yet to play at the semi final stage of the tournament since in both previous tournaments Japan had been Sri Lanka’s nemesis.
Nilufer Ibrahim has had a very successful season as the National 7’s coach thus far and has added a few young players to his arsenal in order to mix experience with youth with the likes of Jason Dissanayake and Shehan Pathirana impressing for the Tuskers.
ThePapare.Com wishes the Tuskers the very best in Mumbai!
Fixtures:
Saturday – 12th October
Sri Lanka v UAE – 2.20pm
Sri Lanka v Thailand – 4.20pm