Shifting from 15-a-side to Sevens in short time main cause of defeat

Jatila KARAWITA

RUGBY: The difficulty in having to shift from 15-a-Side rugby to Sevens within a short time frame and the inadequate preparation time were cited as contributory factors for Sri Lanka's 14-28 semi-final defeat to Korea in the Cup Championship of the concluded 10th Singer-SriLankan Sevens by captain Pradeep Liyanage.

"By the time we faced Korea in the semis, the team was virtually knockered," he told Sunday Observer.

"We also had swiftly moved from 15s rugby to Sevens after a long and tedious League and Knock-Out Tournament.

"And the limited time we had together also was a contributor in the players not being able to give off their best", Liyanage said.

Malaysia bolstered by the presence of five Fijians in their ranks, beat fancied Korea (31-21) to win the Cup title for the first time in the history of the Singer-SriLankan Sevens on last Sunday.

Liyanage, however commended his outfit for faring beyond expectations and beating the likes of Singapore, Kazhakstan and China along with Chinese Taipei before meeting the mighty Koreans, the eventual finalist in the Cup semis.

Training too short

"We had only a short period for training and for getting to know other members. So, considering all the handicaps, it was quite pleasing for what we finally achieved," the Lankans Sevens skipper Liyanage said.

He insisted that in the Cup semis, his side always stood a chance of upsetting Korea, but, declining energy level and injuries too had taken its toll on his players. Pradeep Liyanage, who was leading his country for the second consecutive Singer Sevens International Tournament in Kandy, observed that all his players had contributed their might towards Sri Lanka's cause and that the Sevens' future looked bright with the team.

The Kandy SC centre-three-quarter also commended the input of the two new South African coaches (Dawie Snyman & Norman Laker) who were entrusted with the task of training the national Sevens squad for the International Sevens.

"The handling of the team by them were indeed quite impressive". The Sri Lanka captain said speaking of the two coaches.

The two coaches are also well-versed in Sevens rugby and the best part of their coaching ethic is that they are prepared to do it by themselves and show it to the rest. This is something positive and it augurs well for our rugby.

More exposure needed

The dusky and speedy centre Liyanage lastly called for more exposure and training if Sri Lanka is to give improved showing at the Singer Sevens in the future and stressed that his team was keen to make an impact at their next international assignment in Hong Kong.

Sri Lanka is set compete at the forthcoming Rugby World Cup Sevens qualifiers which is slated to be held in Hong Kong on October 4-5 this year.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's South Africa coach Dawie Snyman airing his views to Sunday Observer stated that 'it was disappointing for his 'charges' not to have won the Cup and believed that crucial mistakes in defence and handling the ball had led to their exit from the semis.

"Overall it was a disappointment not to have made it to the final and won the Cup", Snyman said. "But, taking into account the limited time we had of playing together and the results we achieved, we had some positivies that we gained from this tournament."

Snyman emphasised that if Sri Lanka is keen to maintain the momentum from the Singer Sevens, then it was imperative that they are given more exposure and top-class training if the gains from the Nittawela tournament are to be preserved, he said, and added: "Sevens is all about training and playing in as many international tournaments.

That is the surefire way for any team to make the grade in this version of rugby and Sri Lanka is no exception to that rule."

Lanka has potential

The South African opined that the potential was there for Sri Lanka to climb the international Sevens rankings if they could compete against big nations more often than not.

He also pointed to the aspects of improvement individually and building confidence when playing in crunch games as other aspects for Sri Lanka to look at seriously as far as their Sevens rugby is concerned.

Snyman had a world of praise on players like Mohammed Sheriff, Sanjeewa Jayasinghe, Saliya Kumara and last but not least skipper Liyanage for their satisfying performances throughout the Singer-SriLankan Sevens.

Hosts Sri Lanka ended the competition in fourth place after Sri Lankans were beaten by China 5-24 in the play-off match, but they emerged group champs by beating Singapore, Kazhakstan, Chinese Taipei, but did somewhat well winning the group match.