Sri Lanka who fielded their top team in the recently concluded Shanghai sevens failed to impress yet again. They finished their campaign in the cup quarter finals losing to a well oiled Korean unit who eventually ended up winning the tournament beating hosts China 38-17.
Summary of the tournament
The Lankans who had a tough draw had to face the ‘Goliath’s of Asian rugby Hong Kong , who gave them a warm welcome to the tournament beating them convincingly 40 points to 07. The team lead by Kandy centre Pradeep Liyanage then faced the second hurdle in the form of hosts China where they displayed some guts but failed to make any headway losing the game 21-19 in a closely contested affair. Philippines who have not yet mastered the art of professional rugby then met our boys who in-turn gave them a thumping greeting to international rugby beating them 36-14.
Sri Lanka then lost to winner South Korea in the cup quarter finals 21 points to 14 in a closely contested match.
The upbringing
Sri Lanka is known to have one of the toughest and most competitive schools leagues in Asia with a dozen teams vying for the all important premier spot. The 2009 and the 2010 season has by far been the most competitive out of the seasons played over the past half a decade.
The skills, power, stamina, and blood thirst which are shown by the players as well as the administrators and not to mention the spectators are second to none in the Asian region. Then why do we fail to make an impact when we reach the national level?
Stagnant progression
One of the main reasons for the stagnant progress over the years is the backward mentality of the administrators who are running the sport. The ‘Old school’ approach which is still carried out by the administrators in the country has wounded and slowed-down the progress of rugby in the Island.
Revamping the whole system
The ancient system that we still live by has to be changed if we are to be a competitive force in Asia. The national team should not be made to only practice one or two weeks prior to the tournament and go and represent the country in the international arena.
The Sri Lanka juniors who are the third seed team in Asia accomplished this feat after training for just ten days with coaches Sanath Martis and Viper Gunaratne. Just imagine what we could have achieved if we would have given the youngsters a good three months of proper training and nutrition.
The same goes to the senior team. The interclub sevens tournament which ended on the 15th of August gave the Lankan seniors just two weeks to train together as a team under coach Imthias Marikkar.
In many of the Asian countries the under 16 format of the ’12 aside rugby’ or the under 18 format of the ’10 aside rugby’ is unheard of. lower age group teams in countries like Japan start off with the 15 aside format from the tender age of 14 which falls in to the category of the under 16 rugby in Sri Lanka. The duration maybe not the same but the exposure, and the experience the junior players get will be an ideal stepping stone to the national team.
The familiarities which will be incorporated with these formats will not only help the schools, but it will also make the league more competitive and rugby in Sri Lanka will benefit as a whole.
The respective bodies should take the necessary steps to improve the structure in Sri Lanka and think about the next step which is to contest in the international arena. Countries such as Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea have made giant strides in rugby while we have not progress for more than three decades. The top dogs in rugby should consider adopting the formats which are used by the said countries and try to get an idea of their structure.
