Sports

Sports

Debacle in Hong Kong
It’s the will that matters
By Vimal Perera
The Hong Kong Sevens 2006 ended with England beating Fiji in the final to take the cup championship. Wales took the plate championship while China won the bowl. What is in all this for Sri Lanka? They beat USA in the bowl quarter final. USA is classed among the first twenty rugby playing Nations in the world. After this, it is surprising that they lost to Chinese Taipei in the Semi Final. Cannot be that they were overawed by size or was it that they were beaten by speed?

The semi final of the bowl championship was an all Asian affair with China meeting Hong Kong and Sri Lanka playing Chinese Taipei. China’s win of the bowl is their first ever in the Hong Kong sevens. They beat Chinese Taipei in an emphatic win of 47/0 in the finals.

China having beaten Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei in the sevens is gradually marking their existence. They are climbing in the Asian rugby circuit. Sri Lanka is to meet China in the next round of the RWC Asian region matches in late April. They must be aware that China will not be a push over side. Neither will Hong Kong be easy meat. It is necessary that they practice harder if they are to achieve more. It is the preparation that brings out that ability ahead of the others.

Having beaten USA what is it that went wrong as the Lankans lost to Chinese Taipei. The blow hot blow cold performance must trigger the thinking process of the Lankan rugby hierarchy. Answers must be found to ensure that they blow hot all the time. Is this a case of underperformance? Increasing the training workload to remedy poor performance is not the correct answer.
It is more important to identify the factors that cause underperformance and give necessary guidance.

This poor performance may be due to injury, fatigue, loss of confidence/motivation, relationship problems, external stress, and discipline. Discipline, relationship issues and external stress issues are not in short supply. In a highly demanding sport, from a physical stand point, rugby needs men who have character, men who take pride in their performance, and men who have the confidence. It is the mental side of the game that separates the best players from the rest. Improvement in pride, confidence and character will lead to better performance. The focus must be to develop a winning attitude while all else around them are distracting. The politics of clubs must be left to be handled by the administrators. The players have to stand away and get on with their job of playing.

If there was sympathy for the inability to tackle the bigger boys what excuse do we have for being unable to tackle the smaller made Taipei side? Is this a problem of attitude? What could be done to overcome the barrier prior to the visit of the Chinese team and going to Hong Kong. There need to be some serious soul searching? Is it time that the rugby authorities started to look at a sports psychologist as part of the training squad? Maybe not would be the argument among some. Yet, as we go up and meet the better sides the mental state should be conditioned to take the bigger boys of Asia.

It is this little edge that the Lankans do not possess that makes them come second to others. Is this brought about by fear or just indifference? The last match against Chinese Taipei, in Hong Kong, was a case in point. They let away the chances they had of winning the game. Missed tackles or was it tackles avoided. A fast breaking third row lets a heavy footed bulky man get away and thereafter allows him to get under the post. How does this happen?

The game needs to go on. The Lankans must strive hard to achieve success in the forthcoming matches. The objective should be to win and not say we played better than before or be happy that we have come to this level. The mental blocks have to be cleared if we are to progress.
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from indomitable will”. Mahatma Gandhi

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