Hambanthota Sharks was established to provide opportunities for the outstation players to get involved in professional rugby. Financial backing is assisted by Mr. and Mrs, Johnston Fernando and Namal Rajapasha.
Adventure travels became a great benefactor to the club by donating a sum of Rs 5M. The establishment of the club is expected to take off in a mammoth scale, with the newly constructed Hambanthota Sports complex serving as home grounds to the Sharks. The ground is tipped as the biggest rugby stadium in Sri Lanka with 80,000 seating capacity.
Although it is a recently established club, Hambanthota Sharks have already played four matches. The first match was played against the Indian National team. This was followed by a match against Navy, CR and finally a match against the Sri Lankan National team. “Since the first match we’ve made a significant improvement. The match against India was a good experience,” laments team coach Nihal ‘Viper’ Gunarathne. “They scored almost 20 points against us which brought to attention the discrepancies of our defense mechanisms; we have very few players above 100 kg, which calls upon for a whole new strategy. The second and the third matches against Navy followed by CR were similar occurrences. The opponents were able to score five to six tries in every match; however we were able to score three tries against CR which was impressive.”
Experimenting their game plan thus, Hambanthota Sharks had been ultimately able to establish their strategy in the fourth match. Playing against the full-fledged Sri Lankan national team the sharks fared well, limiting Sri Lanka’s game only for three tries. According to the stature of the players the Sharks have included lot of tactics in their game play. Most of the players are less than 100 Kilos in weight, making the whole team smaller than other clubs in Sri Lanka. In order to compensate for the missing weight, running angles and different alignments are used in practice sessions. Hambanthota Sharks almost scored twice with the novel techniques in the match against Sri Lankan National team. “We are known to play fast rugby within the test matches itself. Part of the reason is because we have very strong players under 100 KG in weight. So it has become an advantage make fast moves,” points out Shiran Hettiarachhi, an experienced club player who is currently representing Hambanthota Sharks. “But our defense needs some heavy players. Currently we are managing with weight training”
Ben Perera is handling the fitness training for all the players. He had been physical trainer at St. Peter’s College. One of the strengths of the Hambantota Sharks is there lean body shape which allows them to move swiftly within the ground. The upcoming plan is to preserve this strong point while focusing on weight gains.
Being ‘One of the fittest’ sides in Sri Lankan is the aim of the coach. Though currently the weight requirements of a strong team is not met, the supplements program is about to kick off in the coming months. “We will be ready to attack from anywhere, fast flowing rugby in action,” notes Mr. Gunarathne.
As the name suggests Hambanthota will be the home grounds of the club. However formal practice sessions may take a while due to construction of the fully-fledged sports complex. Currently practice sessions are taking place at the Race Course grounds and Science College grounds depending on the availability.
Gym facilities are provided for the players separately in Colombo along with room and board; we even provide meals, medical services and other requirements for the outstation members of the squad. “As a new club providing us the opportunity to take part in professional level rugby, we can be truly satisfied of the facilities. Our ground, gym facilities and other basic requirements are already met, so that we can focus on the professional game. I have to speak highly of the administration; they have done a remarkable job in such a short period of time.” player Dimal Jayasinge explained how they are trying to face the season as a team from the available resources.
The Hambanthota Sharks team consists of 25 to 30 outstation players, out of which many have been already issued contracts for permanent membership. These outstation members also signify areas such as Matara and Galle which have never been represented in club rugby before. “Some members are raw materials to rugby, never been exposed to the professional game. Though they have been playing for schools in the South” explained Gunarathne.
The Kandy representation makes up for the missing experience; many of the players are from leading schools with a significant rugby background –St. Anthony’s College, Kingswood College, Vidyartha College and Trinity College. Many of these players have represented Under20 National Team as well.
“I’m sincerely proud of our side. It is a new team, we face a completely new set of challenges. In the last couple of games we had to follow new techniques; it was very interesting. As a Kingswood rugby player I’m excited to play with this upcoming club. There are many young vibrant players in the club, some soon after school. However, I’m optimistic of the outcome,” Mohammed Rizvi speaking from his experience at Hambanthota Sharks.
Hambanthota Sharks have already contracted 20 players to the squad out of the 70 initial participants. Another 10 to 15 players are contracted in the upcoming weeks before the season. These contracts are to include foreign players alongside the local team mates recruited from all over Sri Lanka. “Our team is filled with new players. Having foreign players in the team will be very helpful. They will be sharing experiences with us and that’s what we are waiting for” stated Shiran Hettiarchchi, another team member.
The club has not finalized the squad as yet
Hambanthota Sharks is passing on the tough early days of the establishment. Proper resources and financial backing is yet to be sorted. However, their high spirits and the courage to take on challenges will help them through the upcoming rugby season. They are to face extremely experienced sides as the first few matches; for example, the last season winners as the first match.
