Behind-the-scene play catches Minister on the blind side

Bundled into touch by a headless Sri Lanka Rugby Union:

by Callistus Davy

It was perhaps the only sport that was spared of government bureaucracy given its origins, how it was administered in the past and its image as the sport of the elite.

Now an unsuspecting government that inherited the quagmire of political wrangling and legal mutiny is forced to admit a dismissed rugby administration had worked behind the scenes or touchlines to keep afloat a sport that has gone through some of the most troubled times in recent history.

For more than six months the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU) had been in the hands of a government bureaucrat said to be a Competent Authority whose identity many rugby followers did not even know and the fallacy of such a shadowy caretaker unfolded on Wednesday when the sport's suspended chief Asanga Seneviratne bragged he was able to bag an undisclosed sum of money to prop the women's team at an Olympic Asian qualifying tournament that is now underway in Hong Kong. "We don't see rugby under government control", Seneviratne said in the presence of Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera as the women's team came together for a send-off after accepting a sponsorship from their new godfather, South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT).

The deal was nego tiated by Seneviratne.

"We are not going to abandon a journey we started and I don't intend to stay on", said Seneviratne who is expected to be back in the saddle in two months time after the government amends a disputed Sports Law to fall in line with world sport governing bodies that eventually enables him (Seneviratne) to stay on as SLRFU president until 2017.

A onetime supporter of the toppled previous government, Seneviratne now wants to open a new chapter in rugby development and even revive a controversial showpiece that was called the Carlton Sevens, an extravagant commercial concept of past political vanity that fell flat. Although the Carlton Sevens attracted world stars, it also caused backstage stirs in its final season in 2014 after local exponents complained they failed to procure what was promised while players with government clout pocketed more in millions.

If revived the Carlton Sevens could be kicked off possibly under a new name and Seneviratne hinted that Minister Jayasekera was backing its re-launch.

"I am not concerned about under what name it could be played, but the Minister is supporting me on this with a plan, and we are looking forward to starting the Sevens again", said Seneviratne.

He said one of the factors for restarting the franchise Sevens was to enable the women's team with more room for investment to meet opposition from international players who will compete in a separate segment.

In his first public appearance on the rugby platform Minister Jayasekera could only pledge that the sport's welfare will once again be in the hands of elected officials which he said would be the result of a government Gazette regulation which he has already signed to be tabled in Parliament for approval.

"I am pleased that rugby unlike some other sports has been able to sort out their problems. The government does not want to get involved in the day-to-day business of rugby. We only want to work closely with them and in future there won't be a need for Interim Committees or Competent Authorities", said Jayasekera.

He even congratulated Seneviratne before he could be installed as the next head of the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU).

But Seneviratne also knows that all positions he could hold will count for little or nothing if his continuous plea for government intervention to set up what he calls a High Performance Centre for Sri Lankan players, falls on deaf ears.

The facility, Seneviratne contends, will enable players to keep abreast with international demands where strength training and staying power combine to make the finished player.