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.
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