Amidst much controversy over the past five years Sri Lanka Rugby has faced many highs and lows in its performances. Many factors contributed to this inconsistency in the National Rugby arena but finally with the change of guard two years ago, progress has been made.
A solid platform has been laid by the Administrators who did an exceptional job last year to finish 6th overall in the HSBC Asian sevens series. They also finished second in the Asian 5 Nations division one championship behind the Phillipines in Manilla.
In both the sevens and fifteens outings Sri Lanka put forward a formidable outfit, but never actually threatened with full force. The reason for this can be just put down to politics, money, administration messes, player egos and injuries. Fortunately the administration banned together and put forward a full strength national side that can threaten any force in Asia with the proper guidance; and that is exactly what they have done over the past week.
Under the guidance of the vastly experienced and educated South African Ravin DuPlessis and a legend of the sevens circuit Ben Gollings Sri Lanka ran riot at home. The Tuskers rampaged over Chinese Taipei, Thailand and Kazakhstan to qualify for the HSBC A5N of 2014.
In their first performance Sri Lanka came out tentative. They appeared to be battling nerves early on but laid the platform to unleash in the second half. After the break the fans were treated to some spectacular rugby and thereafter Sri Lanka’s dominance was maintained all through the tournament.
The hosts began working as unit with the tight five laying the platform in set pieces to unleash the lethal back line. The massive mass of humanity that is Kishore Jehan, Terence Henry and Namal Rajapakse were absolutely solid up-front with the scrums and lineouts being virtually perfect for the Tuskers. The Sri Lankan loose forward trio put up a stellar performance all through the tournament. All the members of the third row appeared to be anonymous right throughout and were most certainly the unsung heros of the series. They were ruthless at the breakdowns and time and again came to the aid of their team mates in the loose.
The combination of Dinesh Sanjeewa and Shenal Dias at lock is a new one. The old war horse Sanjeewa has been around for many years and has proceeded to be a great mentor for Dias. Dias was one of the star players of the 2012 club season and showed exactly why in his performances here. The youngster towered over his opponents in the line outs and was all over the park in the loose.
The halves combination of Roshan Weerarathne and Fazil Marija combined exceptionally well as they have done over the last four years for Kandy. The loud mouthed Weerarathne was brilliant at marshalling his forwards whilst feeding the backs with good clean ball. Marija who is undoubtedly one of the best five-eights Sri Lanka has produced, showed off his skills pulling the string and controlling the game. He flatfooted the opposition over and over with his precise kicking and accurate passes. Time and again Marija sliced open his opponents setting up the centers Weerarathne and Liyanage.
The no 12 Gayan Weerarathne and 13 Pradeep Liyanage of the side are the two most experienced players for Sri Lanka. Despite controversies with the administration in the past, both these men have shown their loyalties lie with putting Sri Lanka Rugby on the map. These two centers, playing together for years showed-off as they penetrated the defenses with raw power and immense speed. Weerarthne the bigger of the two carried the ball forward sucking in defenders whilst Liyanage used his speed and agility to create space for his wings.
The two young yet lethal wing three-quarters Chamara Dabare and Sandun Herath were a crucial part of the Tusker’s herd. Dabare was exceptional through the first two games as he on more than one occasion shrugged off defenders and bolted to the line. Herath on the other hand took a while to come into his own having missed a number of opportunities in the first game. Although his try against Thailand where he links up in support of Fazil and finished off the score with a powerful fend and corner flag sprint, showed exactly why the lad was the part of this unit.
Reza Mubarak who played in the number 15 jersey was a rock as the last line of defense. He was also the wild card in the back line causing trouble for defenders whenever he stepped in to join the backs in attack. The full- back’s stellar boot helped Sri Lanka pile on the points as he knocked over almost anything within 40 meters.
Sri Lanka’s strategy was simple from the get-go. The coaches seemed to have drilled the basics into them and it showed. There was very little flamboyance and showmanship and lots of simple tactical rugby. The Tuskers relied on holding their set peices and grinding out the opposition which they did well.
Head Coach DuPlessis’ technical background seems to have paid off as Sri Lanka dispayed perfect techniques. To name one instance, the first try of the Thailand game where Saranga and Marija combined to send Herath over the line. The play started inside the Sri Lankan half and with just the basic draw and pass Sri Lanka had scored. Its testament to perfectly timed and accurately placed passing, simple but effective!
Although Sri Lanka trounced their opponents in all three encounters they will need alot more work if they are to challenge for the world cup qualification in next year’s top 5 competition. Firstly they will need to build up their fitness. On all three occasions the players seemed depleated by the 65th minute and to paraphrase Ravin DuPlessis “we lost abit of composure towards the end and we need to play the full 80”
The second weakness for Sri Lanka is their defense. This is a problem Sri Lanka has faced for decades. They struggle to hold a defensive structure and more importantly they miss tackles. Sri Lanka conceded soft tries late in each of the three games which could be costly against more formidable opponents.
Although Sri Lanka has now been crowned the division one champions the job is only half done. The island nation has a golden opportunity of actually qualifying for World Cup in 2015. Although it is rather optimistic to believe Sri Lanka can qualify, there still remains an outside chance. If the administration are able to hold on to this coaching team and help them build the squad over the next year, the possibility is ever-present.
If Sri Lanka were to win the A5N next year, they would automatically qualify for 2015 and if they finish as runners up the Tuskers will be drawn into a qualifying play-off tournament against the runners up of the European, African and Americas qualifiers. Sri Lanka’s target for next season should be to at least finish second in the A5N and compete in the play-off. This would be a great place to begin a build up and climb up in the IRB rankings.
