The Sri Lanka Rugby team will take part in their 1st sevens tournament of the year when they travel for the Borneo Sevens Rugby Tournament that will take place in Sandakan, Malaysia from 16 – 18 March 2018; the tournament is set to host more than 20 rugby teams in both the male and female categories.
The Borneo 7’s Rugby Tournament has been around Sabah, Malaysia, in some shape or form, since at least the year 2010. Originally called the IRB Borneo Sevens Rugby Tournament, it has ebbed and flowed in popularity and associations, and is today known simply as the Borneo Sevens.
Last year
It was a disappointing finish for the Sri Lanka men’s team last year after the Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) team triumphed over Sri Lanka in the plate final 33-15. The Tuskers were only able to beat Malaysia 26 – 05 in the plate semi-final. Prior to the team’s departure last year, head-coach Peter Woods clearly stated that the team did not meet the sevens fitness standards as the Tuskers fell short not only in the fitness area but in restart, kick-off, breakdown, lineout and execution. Lack of preparation was a major cause for the poor performance last year as Sri Lanka only had three weeks of training ahead of the tournament.
Meanwhile, the narrative was quite different for the Sri Lanka Women’s team last year as they were able to claim their first ever Borneo Seven’s Cup Title after defeating Thailand 12 – 05 in the final. The islanders also beat Malaysia 29 – 05 in the cup semi, Sabah Eagles 48 – 00 and Thailand 26 – 05 in the pool stages. It was their best performance last year according to coach Sudath Sampath and the team will aim for back-to-back title glory going into the tournament this year.
This year
Sri Lanka will field a younger team this year which will most likely be led by Sudarshana Muthuthanthri under the guidance of head-coach, Peter Woods. In order to avoid last year’s disappointment, the team has been training for quite a while this time around, aiming to make the podium at not only the Borneo Sevens but also in the tournaments that will follow.
The likes of Omalka Gunarathna, Kavindu Perera, Dhanushka Ranjan and Jason Dissanayake will be missed due to injury.
