Nilfer Ibrahim, coach of the newly crowned Inter School Under 19 Sevens champions St. Joseph’s College, will oversee the Sri Lanka Under 20 sevens team that will play in the Asia Under 20 Sevens Series that will take place on the 11th and the 12th of August 2018 in Hong Kong.
Ibrahim will succeed former under 20 coach Sudath Sampath who took the Sri Lanka side to a series win in 2016 and to a runner-up finish in 2017 under the captaincy of Naveen Henakankanamage.
Read more: Heartbreaking loss for the Junior Tuskers; Finish second
An experienced coach, Ibrahim was coach of the national sevens team in 2014 and was also in charge of the Sri Lanka Under 19 side for the Asia Rugby Junior Asiad in 2016. The current CR & FC head coach will have a huge role to play as the junior Tuskers look to go one up from last year’s performance.
In 2017, the Junior Tuskers, under the captaincy of Naveen Henakankanamage were exceptional all throughout the tournament but lost out to hosts Hong Kong 36-0 in the final.
Players who represented their schools in 2017 are also eligible to participate in the tournament, as returning player Naveen Henakankanamage looks most likely to take on the role of captaincy for yet another year. The stand-out players from the recently concluded Inter School Under 19 Sevens that caught the eye of the selectors will also be called for training as the governing body looks to field in a complete side that will take flight to Hong Kong next month.
Read more: Junior Tuskers rewrite history with Under 20 Sevens win
In 2016 the Junior Tuskers won their first ever Asia Under 20 Series title when the side won the two -legged tournament under the captaincy of Kevin Dixon. This to date is Sri Lanka’s biggest achievement in a regional tournament.
