There will be no foreign players in action at the Dialog Rugby Club 7’s despite the best intentions of Sports Minister Harin Fernando and Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) to make the tournament an international event but there will be foreign flavour in the form of a referee from Dubai James Fairbourn.
“The minister was very keen to give two foreigners each for the eight ‘A’ division clubs to provide international competition for our players and to make it interesting for the public. But we could not get the release of players from other unions at short notice,” said SLR deputy president Rizly Ilyas unveiling their Sevens programme during the launch of the club tournament at a press conference on Tuesday at CR and FC.
The Sri Lanka Sevens team will have a busy schedule for the next five months as they are scheduled to take part in the three-leg Asian Sevens Series and Olympic qualifiers.
“A national pool will be selected after the Club 7’s this weekend but we are keen to form a dedicated Sevens squad leading up to the next Asiad. The honourable minister (Harin Fernando) has asked us for a blueprint to take Sevens forward together with Dialog. We are looking forward to the 2022 Asian Games and targeting to win a medal,” he said after Sri Lanka missed out on a medal narrowly at last year’s Asian Games.
“We are in search for an incubator. We want schoolchildren and talented players to be in this incubator. They would only play Sevens rugby and take part in international tournaments. We want to put a structure in place for the next three or four year to produce a world-class team. We have the talent and skill,” declared Ilyas.
Sri Lanka Rugby got a positive endorsement from a major stakeholder in the sport Dialog.
“Sports is one area where Sri Lankans get highlighted in the international arena. Rugby is also an avenue. Like winning the cricket world cup, in rugby also we see potential for us to one day win the world cup… you never know,” said Harsha Samaranayake, Senior General Manager, Brand & Media, Dialog Axiata PLC.
“Any proposal for the development of the sport, we will support. Actually that is the intention of supporting all these sports also. There have been ups and downs in every sport. We will support until the sport reaches the pinnacle,” said Samaranayake speaking to the Daily News.
The Dialog Rugby Club 7’s which will be held at the CR and FC grounds on June 29 and 30, will provide an opportunity for some teams to pit their skills in the big league.
“We needed 16 teams and also take the game to the provinces. We are spending so much on provincial development, if they don’t get opportunity to come and represent at the top level the whole effort is gone. I think it is important to give exposure to them as well. If you don’t allow a platform for them to represent, I think we have failed.
These teams are brave enough to come forward and take up the challenge,” said SLR general secretary Thusitha Peiris when asked about the inclusion of sides like Malay CC and Galle RFC in the competition.
However, he admitted it was a concern for SLR that top clubs apart from CH and FC could not field a second side in this tournament and schoolboys not being able to participate because the school season was still going on. Peiris also confirmed that national players Theekshana Dissanayake and Sajith Saranga would not be seen in action at the tournament since they are serving a suspension pending disciplinary inquiries.
0 comments:
Post a Comment