Prolific wing-three quarter and former Thomian skipper Naveen Henakankanamage is set to captain the Sri Lanka u20 team that is set to defend their title at the upcoming Asia Under 20 Rugby Sevens to take place at Kings Park Stadium in Hong Kong.
Undoubtedly the best sevens player graduating from the schools rugby circuit, Naveen Henakankanamage will lead a 12-member team as the Junior Tuskers are set to go with intentions of retaining the title which they won in Hong Kong last year under the captaincy of Kevin Dixon. The appointment was confirmed by the Sri Lanka Rugby chief of selectors Michael Jayasekara.
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The selectors have made the correct choice in captaincy with Naveen Henakankanamage being the highlight in the concluded four local sevens tournaments. The Henakankanamage led S. Thomas’ side went on to retain the Schools Sevens title that they won last year while he made his debut to professional rugby with the Etisalat Panthers in the Sri Lanka Super 7’s.
Being amongst the top try scorers in the Super Series, Naveen also played for the Access Group team at the 47th Mercantile Sevens.
This will be Naveen’s third stint as captain for a national team and is one of the most experienced campaigners in the team. Last year the Sri Lanka Under 18 team toured Hong Kong & Chinese Taipei under his captaincy and won the Plate and the Cup championship respectively.
