A substantially primed and truly determined Sri Lankan 7’s team left the island today to the Hong Kong nation ahead of the first leg of Asian 7’s series this weekend. Last year, the Tuskers finished 3rd in Asia after competing in four legs in Asian circuit. As a result the Tuskers were invited to play at the prestigious IRB Hong Kong 7’s tournament.
A star studded team will feature in the opener as all the players have been playing continuous 7’s rugby for the last 5 months (Hong Kong 7’s, Mercantile 7’s, Inter Club 7’s, Commonwealth 7’s and the Carlton 7’s)
Once again captain fantastic Fazil Marija will lead the young team whilst Hirantha Perera debut in the Tuskers shirt. Perera (20) a product from Isipathana played for the Up Country Lions and Club 7s for CR & FC. He certainly is an exciting package and finds entry having played remarkably well during all the recent local 7’s outings in the Carlton 7’s for the North Central Typhoons.
Sandun Herath who made the historic try in Glasgow at the Commonwealth games against the Aussies is also in sound touch playing for the Uva Vipers at the concluded Carlton 7’s. Both Herath and Shehan Pathirana (Lema) would have gained a wealth of experience and some technical and tactical exposure in playing with the likes of the ALL BLACKS 7’s captain DJ Forbes and Co who were a part of the Uva Vipers team they represented.
Sudarshana Muthuthantri was outstanding both with his attack and defensive game as he played a massive part in the Gladiators win in the finals of last week at the Carlton’s. His team mate Danushka Ranjan has displayed capabilities of scoring tries against any team and has proved his might even in the 15s format. The speedster took on Gillies Kaka of the All Blacks in last weeks’ Carlton 7s, when he challenged him to a catch-me-if-you- can chase which Kaka lost much to the delight of the local crowd.
Richard Dharmapala and Lavanga Perera, are two individually brilliant players who have got yet another opportunity to shine for the Tuskers. Nigel Ratwatte toured for Hong Kong 7’s but missed out the Glasgow 7’s and has made a valiant effort to claim his position back.
Gayan Weerarathna will add a wealth of experience to the side and together with Dinusha Chathuranga will play a significant part for the Tuskers success. In addition to this, all eyes will be on Anurudda Wilwara who perhaps had the season of his life thus far, as he has been in astonishing form in the last few months becoming the player of the tournament in the Mercantile 7’s and was the highest try scorer in the Carlton 7’s Koggala-leg.
Sevens sensation Srinath Sooriyabandara who was awarded the player of the tournament at the Carlton 7s will misses-out due to a knee injury, whilst Yoshitha Rajapaksa, Shenal Dias, Mithun Hapugoda and Roshan Weerarathne are the notable absentees for the first leg of the Asian 7’s series. However, it is expected that these players might be shuffled during other the remaining series depending on the current performances and sustained injuries etc.
Full team photos here
Sri Lanka will be taking on Chinese Taipei followed by China on the first day in pool C, and the Tuskers are a formidable enough outfit to beat both the teams and go in to cup quarter finals. Nevertheless, any team can win in the format of rugby 7’s at time and the 2 point conversion kick will have a significant impact at the final whistle. As Sri Lanka is always challenged heavily by Hong Kong and Japan, those will be the countries to beat and fans will be optimistic for an upset based on the stature of the current squad.
The Asian seven series is generally played in 3-4 countries of Asia each year and a culmination of points accrued in each of these events decides the Cup, Plate, Bowl, Shield winners.
In the last series in 2013, the Tuskers finished 4th in Malaysia, 3rd place in both Thailand & India and won the Plate in Singapore and as a result obtained 3rd place overall in the points. This was however, under the coaching of Nilfer Ibrahim who carried out the engineering and architectural class in coaching where Ben Gollings also influential having coached the Tuskers over a period.
The new coach legendary Fijian Setefano Cakaunivalu is no stranger for Sri Lanka as he’s been in the island during the last couple of years playing for Navy SC and knowing the local players and their strengths. Furthermore, he won his first silverware in coaching the Tuskers winning the shield at Glasgow in Commonwealth games this year.
Sri Lanka will meet China on 23rd August (11:34 a.m. Sri Lanka time) and Chinese Taipei (2:44 p.m. Sri Lanka time) in their men’s group matches. In the women’s encounters, Sri Lankan girls will meet Hong Kong on 23rd August (6:34 a.m.), China (10:06 a.m.), Thailand (1.02 p.m.).
