The Chairman of the IRB Bernard Lapasset visited Sri Lanka on a two day visit last week, where he addressed the media regarding rugby in Sri Lanka.
The IRB being involved in popularising rugby around the world, is currently seeing Asia as a region with the most growth in the recent years. Sri Lanka is considered to be a very important country in the region especially since it is a traditional sport, and has been part of the culture for quite some time
Mr. Lapsset who was instrumental in propelling Rugby into becoming an Olympic discipline spoke on his vision for the sport, and the future of rugby in terms of the Olympic Games where he claimed that the qualification system has still not been decided, but Rio 2016 is definitely a good option for Sri Lanka to target.
He also mentioned, that the inclusion of rugby at the Olympics has also made it necessary for the development of the women’s segment as well, since it is mandatory for a sport to have both genders involved at a particular discipline.
On his visit, Mr. Lapasset who met HE Mahinda Rajapakse claimed that there is good support from the head of state as well which is fantastic for the development of the sport. He also admitted that the SLRFU is currently in good hands, and that he will have to review and strategize a rugby plan in order to develop the sport from the grass root level to make it a key sport in the country.
Mr. Lapasset addressed the issue on match officials by explaining why referees are the key in rugby, and also the fact that there should be respect on the field for both players and officials alike. And a country can really become the best, if they have the best coaches, referees and players, as all three are essential for the development of the game.
He also stressed on the importance of the link between the schools and the national set up, and that the SLRFU has to work closely with the schools to ensure that national goals could be met.
Since the Rugby World Cup 2019 is going to be in Japan, he exclaimed that this will be a huge opportunity for Asian countries, as Japan will automatically qualify as the host nation, leaving another Asian spot open. However, there could be further reviews for the 2019 World Cup in terms of regional slots, which would depend on the performance of various regions.
In the light of the recent situation with referees, Mr. Lapasset also stressed on the importance of referees and acknowledged that the match officials were the key to development of the game.
