Sri Lanka U24 club championship

Picking up where we left off from last week, as per, draft proposal #1, we roll on to my (proposed) #straightup undercard or emerging players competition. This very competition will be the life line and breeding ground for constant player supply to A division club rugby.

The future, bigger, brighter and better competition– starting 2020.

As with any player draft, not everyone will make the cut. Our research shows that almost 73% of exiting schoolboy players discontinue competitive rugby. 72.16% to be precise.

ICYMI: Sri Lanka (club) rugby reforms bill

That may be for a variety of reasons. Some choose an academic pathway to their careers. Others enter the job market to make a decent living. Then there are those who move overseas for either education or employment, a category I fell into, in the year 2001– after winning the A division premiership with CH&FC. Just a few of the obvious.

That said, by and large, given that there are only 8 clubs to absorb this plethora of talent, the attrition rate even before any thought is given, to continue playing professional rugby is minimal. My stats_pert table below, clearly illustrates this.

*SSL season 2018 1st XV exits (D.O.B 1999) V A div. Contracted players © #stats_pert and Boa Athu.

*B Maliyadeva promoted from B division to the A for season 2019

It’s an interesting table and some remarkable reading. A total of 16 players, out of 125 exiting the 1st XV age grade in 2018 were offered A division Club contracts. 4 of 16, that’s 25% of these players came from 2019 new entrants to the A division, last year’s B division Champs in Maliyadeva. All 4 contracted with Kandy. None of whom got regular game time in the DRL.

The other 12, cut across 7 clubs based in Colombo and arguably only 1 player in Janindu Dilshan was good enough to get a “regular” start. Everyone else, had a share of game time in varying degrees. Mostly, off the bench.

So, what happens to everyone who misses the cut from my proposed, #straight up draft? How do we do to accommodate and allow for this very large talent pool which goes untapped?

For a start, anything would be good. Why? At the moment, there’s nothing.

#straightup U24UCC(™) or UCC

Therefore, cutting straight to the chase and looking at some of the key members within the current playing rosters of the club circuit, pin pointing to the 2013 SLU20’s, including the likes of Omalka Gunarathne and Kevin Dixon, starting next season 2020, it is time to inaugurate the #straightup U-24 undercard comp (U24UCC).

I am not going to divulge too much but from an immediate impact, roping in key players will widen the audience both on and offline by rekindling some terrific form from 5 years ago. It will also be time enough for players from 20-24 years to grow and integrate.

It will be a shadow competition to the main A division DRL (Dialogue Rugby League). Just as the U-18 fixture is a curtain raiser to a schools 1st XV game, the U24UCC (Under 24 Undercard Championship) will be the club-curtain raiser. For example, when CR play CH, their U24s open the card and give spectators a 2 for 1 experience.

This will force a couple of critical issues.

1.Utilise the 1st XV exits who are fresh and wanting to continue “professional” rugby who miss the #straightup DRAFT.

2.Utilise the same school rivalries and affiliations to link up with clubs based on current and historic trends. Such as St Peter’s and Havelocks, Royal and CR&FC, The Kandy schools and…of course, Kandy SC.

This will open the door for clubs to tap into the schools following and their fans, which will click through the turnstiles. Making more gate sales and bring in crucial revenue. Afterall, sports entertainment is about turning a profit and being sustainable.  

I would happily state that my proposed U24UCC would outsell the current A division market in gate sales by 5 to 1, if and when enacted. Good thing is, piggy back and double up on the undercard-main event promotion.

Furthermore, this will allow non A division clubs such as old Zahira, old Isipathana and even lesser profile tier 2, tier 3 clubs such as Malay SC to button up and field very formidable sides. Rather than wallow and waste their energies in lower competitions which don’t exactly serve or inspire much meaning.

Lateral hires and “bolters”

Another aspect of significance is how this competition will allow for athletes and potential “bolters” to enter mainstream rugby from other than a traditional (school) channel.

Athletes and physically able young men who can try their hand at it– and if good enough, continue and grow. The best example being Havelocks prop forward Dushmantha Priyadarshana. Having had never touched a rugby ball at school, he is easily the country’s best front rower.

What’s more, rugby attracting the money it does and payouts it makes for players, it is a lucrative career prospect for an athlete from another code to make something of himself, along with a decent living.

#straightup #statspert

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