Sri Lanka’s women Sevens Rugby squad has qualified for the first time to participate at the Commonwealth Games to be held in Birmingham. With that the men’s team too will be sent for the event that is scheduled to begin on July 28.
Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) is determined to send the two teams and as the cost of travel to Birmingham is very expensive they have been able to attract sponsors to support their travel.
Quite willingly Nippon Paints, Signature, Webxpay and True Digital Printing have come forward to support SLR in making the trip a success. SLR has also obtained the fullest support from World Rugby and the National Olympic Committee who also have chipped in considering the chaotic situation in the country where little rugby was played these past few years.
“I am very thankful to them for having come in to support the teams despite restrictions on the display of their names on the jerseys that will be worn by the players. It is a Commonwealth Games rule that only big names such as Adidas can be displayed on the jersey. However, I was able to obtain approval to display their names on the jerseys,” said Rizly Illyas the president of SLR.
“Rugby is a big spectator sport with a big following in Sri Lanka. It has been a tradition in our country so rugby is a passion in our family. We will be part of the sport and want to take it forward so that they can enjoy it on the field,” said Nimantha Abeysinghe General Manager of Nippon Paint.
Regarding the training of the players Illyas said that he had consulted Ben Gollings who advised SLR to conduct team building sessions at least once a week.
Gollings said that not every country has great players but they have team building sessions. Sri Lanka too will put their players through this process by having the player to do running in an unknown venue on Wednesdays.
They will also have training for three days on the field and two days of weight training in the gymnasium.