Up-Country Lions to ROAR this Season

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Category: rugbyfootball

Published on Tuesday, 24 January 2012 00:50

Written by Inshaf Caffoor

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The Up-Country Lions Sports Club will be the newest addition to the Club Rugby league in 2012. The Club was launched on the 3rd of January at the Galle Face Hotel with the participation Hon. Mahindananda Aluthgamage, the Minister of Sports.

Taking rugby to a higher standard being the major aim of the club, the organizers also intend to formulate a team which would enable rural youth to get exposure to the sport. The team will compromise of talented youth from the Sri Lanka 7’s and 15’s teams while the management hopes to contract players from New Zealand in the near future.

So far the team has signed up 40 players which includes some star players from sides such as CR & FC and Havelocks SC. Players such as Srinath Sooriyabandara, Vishwamithra Jayasinghe, Sharo Fernando, Gayan Ratnage, Hasitha Perera and Nigel Ratwatte were some of the players who were signed up for ULSC from CR & FC.

Former Kandy SC and Havelocks SC player and Trinity coach Dilip Selvam is also said to have signed up with ULSC. Air Force's Dilan de Zoysa, Migara Wijeratne, Uchitha Jayasuriya, Sasanka Ariyaratne, Radhika Hettiarachchi are also expected to play for ULSC this year. It also consists of the talents of some former Sri Lanka Youth players such as Kingswoodian Rajitha Sansoni and Trinitian Kanchana Ramanayaka.

The Management however hopes to sign up more youth in the near future and preventing valuable talents going astray. Based in the Central region, the newly formed Club will help to introduce rugby to rural areas around the region and encourage youth to participate in the sport.  With the new club, there will more games played in Kandy which would allow the local community to enhance their knowledge on the sport and also enjoy watching.

The team has already received a sponsorship contract from Crysbro Poultry Farms for the 2012 season and looks strong and positive of performing to their utmost best in the upcoming season.

The team will be coached by Former Air-Force and Sri Lanka Sevens Coach Imthi Marikkar while Siva Subramanium; a former Trinitian and Ruggerite, will act as the team’s chairmen. Hasan Singhawansa, the former chairperson of the Isipathana Rugby Committee will act as the Manager for the team.

The Up-Country Lions Sports Club which will make its mark this season and will surely be a team to watch.

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