Sports - Feeder system needs development

The CR and FC lost to Kandy Sports Club and with it the “Caltex” league title. It was a game that was enjoyed by all who were present. The possibility of victory swinging either way provided more excitement. The Kandy side scored early in the first half through a drop goal from Weerakkody who once again did think out of the box. They held to this lead up to the break. In the first minute after resumption CR crossed the line and followed up with another try in the seventeenth minute. This being converted the scores were in favour of CR by 12 points to three. However CR once again lost their way as they have done previously and Kandy ended winners by 17 points to 12.

In another game last week Havelocks gave in to the pressure of CH. To the CH this was the best game they played this season. It was inspiring to see the CH being on their feet at tackle ruck and maul situations. This gave them additional numbers in attack as well as in defence. This was in contrast to their opponents who were not staying on their feet. This is not only a problem that bothers Havelocks but troubles other teams too. The man on the ground is out of play and can do little contribution to his side. Maybe Coach Jeff has been able to instill the basic understanding. We hope that CH will continue to be on their feet in the knock out stage.

With crowds coming back and the thrill of close margins giving excitement we should not be lulled to accept that everything is fantastic and rugby flows at its best. The need to take stock is important.

The first phase of the season being over it may be opportune to review as we approach the Asiad. One nagging weakness is the inability to keep possession of the ball. The other sore point is the non interest to stay on their feet.

I have heard the comment very often that there is no flow as referees tend to whistle and halt the game. Is this the main reason one may have to ask? They argue that in international matches the games flow more and the referee whistles less. This is forgetting that the games seen are of the best of the world with skills levels being very high.

The statistical review and game analysis of the top games in the world have some areas that need to be considered. This is to look at how good our game is . An important aspect is the need to convert possession to tries. The average scores in a match at the upper level are around 45 points and with about 7 tries. What is in the game at home?

I noticed the better teams have an average of 245 passes in a match. How does it compare to the game in Sri Lanka. Here it is around 120 Passes. What is it that one can learn if the game is to improve? The passes being less a case in point may be that the ball never travels down the line. Is his the reason why speedy wingers such as Jayasinghe are starved of the ball?

Similarly the Average rucks and mauls in a game are around 145 whereas in the best of the games at home it works out to around 90. How many phases of play does the game continue before a break down? More often than not it breaks off after one or two phases with a possibility of a knock forward or a ball being dropped. There are also penalties which give a turnover. These happen very often at the tackle and ruck and maul situation. In the international scene the number of penalties are around 20 while there are 20 scrums and around 32 line outs. Compare this to the game at home at the club level. There are over 32 scrums, 30 line outs and over 30 penalties with most being at the tackle ruck and maul.

Is there any story that needs to be understood when we look at development of the game. How does this effect the flow that one may want as the spectator interest keeps growing. As we prepare for the forthcoming Asiad do we have to look at the skill levels of our top players? If they need to be corrected it has to be done.

When we look at the future the skills improvement have to start at school level. Is there adequate quality assessment of the game and its improvement? With development in the hands of capable people what they would need is more and more information to manage and improve. We should get the services of the many club coaches and the foreign coaches to report to the union on a structured format of how the game is played this school season. This should not be confined to top schools but also to the emerging ones. That is where the talent comes from.

If there is data to work, the game can improve. This may require spending some of the development money to acquire game analysis tools and training people to provide information. This will also help those in development particularly coaches who impart knowledge at the foundation level.