Sri Lanka will be expecting to see a brand new center combination for the country with a whole new midfield set to debut at the Asia Division I Rugby Championship.
According to the coaching staff, there is a major overhaul in the 12 and 13 numbers and the responsibility will be vested on two youngsters.
The Havelock midfield from the Dialog Rugby League 2018/19, Theekshana Dassanayake and Dinuk Amerasinghe will be the national combination, but this time things will be a little different.
Amerasinghe, who has had a reputation to play the inside center option will win the #13 jersey while his teammate will be the #12 option.
The former Peterite centre, Theekshana Dassanayake built a reputation for himself during his school’s rugby days, while the concluded Dialog Rugby League was Dassanayake’s best professional season wearing the Havelock jersey.
The coaching staff vested Dassanayake to fill in the void from Iranga Ariyapala who had to leave mid season and the 21 year-old not only made certain that he becomes the starting choice for the club but also that he earns himself a national call up.
Meanwhile this year’s fifteens tour will be another feather in the up and coming Dinuk Amerasinghe who has already made his mark in the shorter format. The former St. Anthony’s College captain sprung to the spotlight in the 2018 Asia Under 20 Sevens Series firing in all departments to take Sri Lanka’s title winning hopes high.
Since then, everything this 21-year-old kid from Kandy has touched has turned to gold with him making the national sevens debut at the Asia Sevens Series and concluded last year’s Dialog Rugby League cementing his name under the #12 jersey.
Over the years, we’ve witnessed many 12/13 combinations with the Gayan Weeraratne-Danushka Ranjan combo being the best. However, hope is with these two youngsters when they make it to the field in Taiwan as Sri Lanka fight to bring back the Division I title home.
Read more: www.thepapare.com/video-the-newest-tusker-dinuk-amerasinghe/
“It is a young combination and a good one. Both these players have played together and I think they will get along well. I’ve seen them in training and it is a good option” added assistant coach Fazil Marija on the new-found combination.
With his offloads and his strength, Dinuk Amerasinghe will be given a lot of breathing space at the outside channel but will definitely be a huge challenge for him to adapt.
For Dassanayake, who’s played in a series of national squads starting from the Under 20 sevens to the Under 19 XV’s, will be a chance to shine as he takes pride in wearing the prestigious number behind his back.
In 2015 when Sri Lanka won Division I, Danushka Ranjan was phenomenal. A man of the match performance in the final ensured Sri Lanka winning back the title after 2013 in Philippines.
Both Amerasinghe and Dassanayake have been playing together in the Sri Lanka Under 20’s and the Under 19’s for the last two seasons
This year there is no Danushka Ranjan or Gayan Weeraratne. For two seasons in 2016 and 2017, Sri Lanka have come close and failed.
This 2019, when Omalka Gunarathane’s team makes it to the field, it will be upon this combination, to win Sri Lanka the title.
