Second leg of the Asia seven’s series will kick off in SCG Muang Thong stadium in Bangkok this weekend. Sri Lanka finished 4th in the first leg in China early this month. The final leg will be hosted by Sri Lanka on 10th & 11th October at the Race Course International grounds.
Captain Marija missed out the first leg due to a spinal injury but he is looking fit to lead the Tuskers. It was not a convincing performance in China as the Tuskers had the opportunity to finish second. In the semifinal the team led by Sudarshana Muthuthantri could not overcome the hosts China as they went down 22 – 12.
There is some apprehension whether Sri Lanka will be able to hold on to their 4th ranking as the Chinese men coming from nowhere finished runner up in the first leg. Also China stunned the defending champions Hong Kong in the quarter final, Hong Kong finished 5th in China.
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Nevertheless, Tuskers struggled in terms of decision making and game management three weeks ago. Although Dhanushka Ranjan was impressive with four tries, it was only Srinath Sooryabandara in the bottom of the top ten list of point’s scorers with 23 under his name. Gayan Weerarathne also made some great yards and scored couple of tries.
However, experienced player Dinusha Chathuranga who missed out first leg due to a niggle, is back in the training squad along with Nigel Ratwatte who also missed out due to his piloting studies. Coach Mathew turner believes that Tuskers could play better than they were in China as they have speed strength and especially experience coming inn.
The Tuskers spent the weekend in Unawatuna, Galle with a team building session, they will start training today before the departure on Wednesday night. If Marija, Nigel and Chathuranga made the squad most probably Dulaj Perera, Hirantha Perera, Lavanga Perera or Kanchana Ramanayaka would miss the second leg. The final squad will be confirmed later today or tomorrow morning.
