ThePapare.com in conversation with Mr Hassen Sinhawansa, Manager of the Upcountry Lions Club on their recent victory at the at the inter-club 7s where the Lions being a new team inducted into the A league just last year, stormed into victory beating all elite clubs in the country.
Mr Sinhawansa, spoke on the secrets behind their achievements, their long time plan and his personal perspective on rugby clubs in Sri Lanka.
‘Up Country Lions’ is a club based in Nawalapitiya. Why was such a remote area selected as the clubs location?
Sure it may be a rural area but let’s not forget that Kandy is a birthplace for many outstanding rugby players. Though the location is not enriched with infrastructure and facilities for Rugby, it’s an ideal location to have the only outstation rugby club situated. There are around eight schools who maintain exemplarity rugby standards in kandy: Trinity College, St. Anthony’s College, Dharmaraja College, Vidyartha College, Kingswood College, St Sylvesters College, Rahula College and etc. But there’s only one club to accommodate all of them. And most of the time the best players don’t get the chance to make it to the Kandy club because players from Colombo vie for the spots in the club. These are the issues we wanted to address by taking the club all the way to Nawalapitiya – an area where a lot of Rugby was played before.
What has been the administrative support for the launch of the club, particularly considering the location?
Off the top of my mind is that the sports minister is from the area. He backed it to launch a team called Upcountry Lions. Most of all we had an amazing sponsor, Chrysbro- Gampola, who partnered with us for the financial backing. Apart from that once we opened up the applications a lot young boys from nearby schools were genuinely supportive of the cause. We opened up the team launch in 2012 January and many skilled players joined us. Not forgetting the rugby union too was constructive of the takeoff.
After launching in just January 2012, how did you all make up the requirements to compete in the A division 7-a-side league by 2013 April?
It was challenging. Based on the concept we had – to give an opportunity to outstation players – there were many obstacles; for an example, it is necessary to have certain number of national players to compete in the big league according to the rugby union. By then some of the players from the Air Force were leaving the club due to a management change. So we made a good deal and signed three year contracts with them making sure both parties will benefit equally. The coach, Inithi Marikkar, being a trainer even in New Zealand also had huge say in this. He brought in players of national standard from New Zealand to suit the requirements.
How was the preparation for the 2013 game? Did you guys have a head start?
We sure did. We focused on all aspects of the game ranging from fitness to training to conditioning. I am confident that no other team competed in the tournament was as prepared as us fitness- wise. I was taking all factors into consideration while looking into fitness -the climate conditioning, nutritional intakes and supplements, working out schedules etc. Even Chanuka Ratwatte as the rugby chairman helped a lot to manage the team. Then we trained the players to always work as a team and face the challenges rather than worrying about their personal interests.
What were your goals as you started the club? And what are your goals now?
As the rugby events calendar was out in February we scheduled the training. The players who were in the 15-a-side were practicing separately for their matches and the 7s separately. That’s a belief which I and the coach have that the two teams should practice separately. So our first goal was to win the 2013 7s tournament. As per now we are planning the 15s games this November. The 15s game is a rather slow training process. So am really glad that sponsors have sided with us for another year to carry on with our work
How do you manage the practices in Kandy while the coach, some players and the managers work in Colombo?
We have a schedule and we practice around two days before a match. We have the training grounds open only while the coach and I are present but we make sure they get enough practice before a match. Usually it’s on a Thursday and a Friday. We have to compromise on our office lives but we are happy to do so.
What are you priorities? Contribute to the local rugby or improve the national rugby standards?
We always consider the national rugby team with utmost importance. Many other clubs worry about their own performance and don’t limit their contributions to national rugby. They constrain the number of players that can attend nationals. However in our brief history we have given our level best to keep national rugby running. Two players who were taken into the national squad couldn’t play for the team due to injuries during practices. It was a loss for us. Still we see that as a great involvement and never think of it as a waste.
We know the victory of Upcountry Lions against Havelocks was achieved in the final few seconds of the match. Can you share with us how you felt in those final moments?
Wow, breathtaking is an understatement. In the last few minutes the score was 7-12, with the Havelocks leading by 5 points. At that time I saw a kick and I knew this is going to be a try, but what I was worried is will there be time for the penalty. Last year at the semi-finals it was 32-31 and we lost because we missed the final penalty. Those were the most anticipated seconds of the match and finally we made it. I believe it was the moment the Upcountry Lions made history. Taking on senior players like- Chamara Dabare,Mithun Hapugoda,Shenal Dias and many more went well for us. Havelock is a very strong side considering star players; you name it and they have it. We were gathering school boys from outstation villages but we acted as a team and brought home the victory.
Finally, what are your long term objectives?
We want to attract more players to the game and our club. It’s not limited to national players but overseas players as well. This will boost the sponsors greatly. Most of all we want to make Upcountry Lions a consistent club. We see magnificent performances from certain clubs but they fall soon afterwards. I hope Upcountry Lions will live long and thrive.
