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| Sunday, 25 April 2004 |
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Decline of rugby standards cause for worry Straight Talk by Lal Gunasekera What ails our rugby? This is a very serious matter that has to be looked into by the hierachy of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU) even now. It's better late than never. My memory goes down to the late 1960s through to the early 90s. There were thousands of spectators at every game and the rugby dished out was of outstanding quality, and tickets were not priced so high as it is today. There were no overseas professionals (certainly not up to the 1980s) except for the foreign planters attached to the tea estates and mercantile sectors. It was during this period that Sri Lanka's rugby was pretty good. We even reached the final of the Asiad staged at Longden Place under Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy. We also won the Bowl category under Hisham Abdeen at the Hong Kong International 7's. Since then, what has been our standings in the international arena? The International Rugby Board (IRB) has ranked us 63rd out of about 90 countries, while we are somewhere between 5 and 7 in the Asian region according to the CEO of the SLRFU. What has been our performances on the international scene in the very near past? At the last Asiad in Bangkok, we lost to Kazakhastan and Thailand and beat India who got into the ARFU only a few years back. What happened at the Hong Kong 7's? Last year (2003) Sri Lanka lost every single game and were "kicked out" of this tournament this year. We have been playing in Hong Kong since the inception, if my memory stands correct. Then again at the Dubai and South Africa 7's, once again, Sri Lanka could not win a single game, although winning the Plate category at the Singer-SriLankan 7's at Bogambara. Then at the IRB-ARFU Quadrangular, Sri Lanka again lost all. What has gone wrong? In my opinion, I really put the blame on the schools - the cradle of not only rugby but any sport for that matter. Apart from certain schools, the majority certainly lack good qualified and dedicated coaches. The schoolboys certainly lack the basics and then when they move up the ladder into club rugby, the coaches, certainly do not have the time to teach these youngsters the basics which should have been taught to them at school level. Who suffers? It's the clubs and national outfits in the end. Basics should be taught at junior level. The development programme of the SLRFU is very important, but has it really been productive ? Provincial Unions have been set up in the Western Province, Southern Province, Central Province, Uva, and Sabaragamuwa with good intentions. The SLRFU have officials based in these areas to spread the gospel of rugby, but have they succeeded? What happened to the suggestions made by former SLRFU big wig Y.C. Chang who headed the Development Committee of the SLRFU sometime back? Emphasis must be on development. The entire infrastructure of the local tournaments must be looked into, not by people with club affiliations, but in my opinion by former senior and knowledgeable persons. Apart from a handful, some clubs are not worthy to play in the 'A' division. It's not the quantity, but the quality that counts. There has to be a demotion cum promotion scheme in operation. Take for example, Kandy Youth SC. They pulled out even before the tournament got under way last Friday (April 23), citing lack of funds. Why did they wait for so long to find sponsors. Then what happened to Kurunegala RFC? They were brought into the 'A' division sometime back, but where are they now? What about the SLRFU spending so much money on George Simpkin, a New Zealander, who is now designated (this is stated on a letterhead of the SLRFU) as national coach. I understand that he is paid Rs. 2 million a year and negotiations are "supposed" to be on to pay his arrears or even cut it down. Don't we possess qualified coaches among our own Sri Lankans ? Has our standards really improved with overseas professionals representing clubs ? It is understood that these players are being contracted on US Dollars 600 to US Dollars 1500 per month? Should not these monies be put into better use? |
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