Sri Lanka Rugby has gone back on their original decision to appoint Matt Lee as coach for the Asia Rugby U19 Division II Championship and has put forth three new candidates for the job.
Accordingly, experienced coach Viper Gunaratne will oversee the operation as Head Coach while CH & FC captain and former national representative Rohitha Rajapakse and Rajeev Perera will be his assistants.
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This move comes as a result of Matt Lee’s other commitments as he is also in charge of the Navy team in the Dialog Rugby League.
Viper Gunaratne needs no introduction to the rugby arena with years of expertise under his belt. This year he oversaw the Isipathana College side and is currently the head coach at CH & FC. Former national player Rajeev Rodrigo has overseen a few national outfits in his time with the national body and will bring in expertise in the forwards department.
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Meanwhile, this will be former national cap Rohitha Rajapakse’s first stint as a coach with a national outfit. Rajapakse represented the country in the 15’s format in 2013 and has represented Army & CH & FC since then.
“We have finalized a side after the selection game that was held last weekend. We have a good side and I hope that we can do something in the week we have” added Gunaratne on the team and the progress they’ve made in the run up to the Asia Rugby U19 Division I Championship.
Last year the Junior Tuskers finished last in the top division, losing out to hosts Chinese Taipei and later Korea. This has forced Sri Lanka to the Division I tournament where they will face Thailand, Philippines and China.
The 34-member squad that has commenced training will be trimmed to 25 players who will get the opportunity to wear the Junior Tuskers jersey.
