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by Lal Gunesekera

Will Sri Lanka be able to beat both China and Hong Kong in the Rugby World Cup (RWC) Asian qualifiers and be ranked No. 3 in Asia to qualify to play in the Cup category together with Japan and South Korea at the 20th Asian Championships to be worked off in Colombo from November 16 to 25?

This question will be answered after April 29 at Longden Place when the islanders take on China and battle Hong Kong on May 14 in Hong Kong.

New Zealander George Simpkin's sudden resignation as Sri Lanka's national coach is certain to have a big impact on the team's performance in the remaining two RWC qualifiers.

He was physically threatened by a "senior player" at a practice session and although he is not prepared yet to make a complaint to the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU), I understand that Sri Lanka born Alvin Salley writing in the South China Morning Post (a newspaper published in Hong Kong) had interviewed Simpkin, who had again not mentioned the name of the "senior player" concerned, although it's a well-known fact.

Since Simpkin's resignation, his deputy Chandana Abeygunawardena has taken over the reigns with the training of the national pool which presently stands at 40 players, continuing uninterrupted at the Royal Sports Complex and University grounds, while weight training is held at the CR & FC gymnasium. Training of the national pool will continue upto the Asiad in November with the players being accommodated at Football House.

According to the Chief Executive officer (CEO) of the SLRFU, Dilroy Fernando, there has been plenty of inquiries made about a replacement for George Simpkin from overseas, particularly from New Zealand and the United Kingdom, (UK) but a final decision will be taken by the Council who are also to ratify the draw for the Caltex League Championship scheduled to commence next month (May) on a new format.

It's understood that the national pool will be reduced after a "trial or two" for the games with China and Hongkong and that Sajith Mallikarachi of Kandy Sports Club will continue as skipper.

In the previous RWC Asian qualifiers, Sri Lanka beat Thailand 48-38 at Supunbari, beat Singapore 34-17 at Longden Place, lost to Kazakhastan 19-25 at Almaty, but beat the Kazakhs 24-12 at Longden Place in the "return".

The format for the 20th Asiad was discussed by the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) in Hong Kong recently and finalised with Japan, South Korea and either Sri Lanka, China or Hong Kong figuring in the Cup category, while the rest of the sides (12) will be divided into two groups to fight it out for the Plate and Bowl titles.

The other sides to compete in Colombo will be Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Arabian Gulf, Kazakhastan, India, Pakistan, Guam, and the Philippines. The Asiad in Colombo is to cost anything between Rs. 12 to 14 million with Singapore, Hong Kong and Arabian Gulf already indicating that they are unable to stay in the island for more than six days.

Brunei will not be participating. Sri Lanka finished in 10th position out of 12 countries that took part at the 19th Asiad staged in Hong Kong in 2004, ahead of only India and Pakistan.

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