Sports

Sri Lanka has done well; There is scope to shine

The top seed in Asian 5 Nation Division 1 Sri Lanka will met the third seed the Philippines for promotion to the HSBC Asian 5 Nations Top 5 competition in 2013.

The Philippines Volcanoes are one of the most improved nations in Asia over recent years in their climb up the A5N pyramid, and the 36-8 win over Chinese Taipei was a family affair with three sets of brothers in the starting line-up out doing Sri Lanka who had one set of brothers on the field.

What was supposed to be the rag bag and bob tail unit of Sri Lankan Rugby that left the shores have proved that they had more than what was seen from the eye of the complicated. Sri Lanka disposed of Chinese Taipei quite convincingly proceeded to do the same with Singapore. Philippine as a team that has not been heard of much around in Sri Lanka beat Singapore first and Chinese Taipei and remain the sole hurdle left in the Lions attempt to climb the ladder to be among the first 5 Nations of Rugby in Asia.

When one looks at the scores of both Sri Lanka and Philippines against Chinese Taipei and Singapore the margins look identical and possibly suggest that the two teams are evenly matched. The match to be played on Saturday will be most interesting with the Philippines having the home advantage and the numbers that will be there. The Volcanoes the name by which Philippines are known have a strong side with much weight in the side. Sri Lanka on the other hand have an agile and not too small a side that can definitely match the Pilipinos.

Sri Lankan Captain Yoshitha Rajapaksa receives a memento prior to their match against Chinese Taipei which they won 36-8.

Credit so far goes to the young side with not much experience that left the shores and has done well so far. In both matches there had been much running with most scoring done by the backs for Sri Lanka.

Both Sri Lanka and Philippine had an easy passage on the first day of games against Chinese Taipei and Singapore. On round two the Philippines had it easy against Taipei scoring 34 points before any points were scored against them. Sri Lanka had to fight hard against Singapore in the first half. Just as much as Sri Lanka were shown three yellow cards in the first match they also received two yellows in the second match which made it hard for them in the first half of the game against Singapore.

Additionally there were a number of penalties that were given against Sri Lanka in both matches. The irony is that same two front row players were carded in both matches. if my memory serves right it was this same front row players that attracted yellow cards a few years ago in Chinese Taipei in the Asian 5 Nations Division 1 tournament .

This is something you cannot afford to let go as we need to reduce the number of errors that put pressure on yourself and cannot be repeated in a winning drive. It will be an interesting final with Philippines too needing to cut down on the indiscipline that earned them yellow as well as stacked penalties against them in the first two games.

The Sri Lankan team has already proved a point that they are a better team that has left the shores with a will to win. If they reach the top spot and are the team that will be promoted to the join the first five then they are the best. Even with less experience they have shown that they are mentally tough to face opposition and overcome odds and record the most important win. The Philippine side consists of players who have played in Japan as well is Australia. The Sri Lankan team consists of seven players who earned their cap for the first time and five of them are nineteen year olds straight from schools rugby.

Sri Lanka like Philippines is much happy with the victories taking them in sight of being the top team in Division 1. However both teams will know that improved discipline will be the key to their success on Saturday Night. By the morning we would know the result of the Saturday night match.

These HSBC Asian 5 Nations Division 1 matches were the first Rugby World Cup 2015 qualifiers in the Asia Region and IRB Council Member Koji Tokumasu was in the crowd to offer official IRB support for the series. Also on display was the RWC trophy the Webb Ellis Cup, which was big hit with the Volcanoes’ rugby fans. The Webb Ellis Cup had never been in the Philippines before. Rugby has taken root in Philippines who it seems are destined to be a force in Asia in the future. The youthful less experienced Sri Lankans have done well and it looks as though there is scope to shine in Asia.

Vimal Perera is a former Rugby Referee, coach and Accredited Referees Evaluator IRB

Top to the page  |  E-mail  |  views[1]
SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend
 
Other Sports Articles
Malinga refuses to sign central contract with Sri Lanka Cricket
IPL: The devil’s alternative and cricket ethics
Sri Lanka has done well; There is scope to shine
Thanga growing in stature
Salgado leads as end draws nearer
Royal overcomes the ‘DS’ challenge
St. Sylvester’s no match for the Thomians
Philippines edge out Lankans in tight game
Why cricket needs an IPL
Sports in brief
Renown to take FFSL to court
Ratnasiri Mahagalaella at the helm of MHA
Bashing them around
Olympic Qualification in Badminton
Kingswood win
Trinity huff and puff to down Science

 

 
Reproduction of articles permitted when used without any alterations to contents and a link to the source page.
© Copyright 1996 - 2012 | Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.Colombo. Sri Lanka. All Rights Reserved | Site best viewed in IE ver 8.0 @ 1024 x 768 resolution