Carlton rugby sevens going big

The Carlton rugby sevens which was a huge hit last year is looking to go big this year around. Having invited many top teams from around the world they will look to bring the highest levels of rugby to Sri Lankan shores. This tournament will be organized by Tharunyata Hetak and the SLRFU under the guidance of Mr. George Simpkin who will be the tournament director. Simpkin has much experience under his belt in organizing seven’s tournaments having run the biggest sevens tournament in the World, the Hong Kong sevens for 16 years. 

 

The tournament will be played on the 27th and 28th of November. 16 teams will be taking part in the tournament this year. However unlike last year there will not be a schools competition or an Asian competition. The organizing committee has decided to have just one international segment where countries from all over the globe will participate. 

 

Top sevens teams such as Fiji, New Zealand, Samoa, Australia, Kenya, South Africa are expected to take part in what is deemed to be the most spectacular Rugby tournament Sri Lanka has undertaken of late. Spain, Germany, Scotland, Wales, England and Portugal are some of the European teams invited to participate while Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, China and Sri Lanka are some of the prospective Asian teams.

Many teams will be using the Carlton Sevens as a warm up for the upcoming sevens World Series which is scheduled to kick off in Dubai the following week. Fiji coach Iliessa Tanivula has picked a 24 man squad for the first leg of the seven’s series. 12 members of this squad are expected to come to Sri Lanka in to play in the 2nd edition of the Carlton Seven’s. 

 

The 24 man squad is as follows:

 

 Seremaia Burotu, Sitiveni Waqa, Malakai Kuribau, Timoci Vakadranu, Vilitati Sokiveta, Watisoni Votu, Josaia Lotawa, Emosi Vucago, Ilai Tinai, Eroni Ravaga, Saimoni Nuku, Joeli Lutumailagi, Nemani Nagusa, Risiate Tadulala, Samu Saqiwa, Penaia Naweilulu, Mitieli Nacagilevu, Sisa Vosaki, Nasoni Roko, Semi Keli, Orisi Sareki, Kitione Kamikamica, Josefa Bole, Semesa Gonevou.

 

Last year’s highest try scorer William Ryder is one of the missing names in the squad. Ryder turned on the heat at the Sugathadasa Stadium last year scoring 15 tries and 4 conversions giving him a full point’s tally of 83 points. 

Chaos runs in the veins of sevens

 

The Sri Lanka sevens squad that is due to leave for the Borneo sevens tomorrow morning at 7: am. The team (with minor changes)which last set-out to Delhi for the Commonwealth games a few weeks ago will now make an appearance in Borneo for the Asian Rugby Football Union ranking tournament due to commence on the 29th of October and conclude on the 30th of October. 

 

Names of the squad for the Borneo 7s were mysteriously released this morning by certain newspapers despite Sports Ministry approval not being received for the team. Speaking to SLRFU officials, ThePapare found out that the squad had in fact not been approved until this evening. 

On the matter of the resignation of coach for the Borneo 7s Inthi Marrikkar, the union stated that Inthi had decided to remain as coach at least till the end of the Borneo sevens. Christopher Jordashe will go along with Inthi as the manager of the team. 

The ministry ratified squad representing Sri Lanka is as follows;

 

Radhika Hettiarachchi (Captain, Air Force), Chanaka Chandimal (Air Force), Charith Seneviratne (Air Force), Dilan de Zoysa (Air Force), Srinath Sooriyabandara (CR and FC), Dinusha Chathuranga (CR and FC), Wishwamithra Jayasinghe (CR and FC), Sajith Saranga (Kandy SC), Saliya Handapangoda (Army), Romesh Archarige (Police), Shenal Dias (St Peter’s), Anuruddha Wilwara (S Thomas’) or Mithun Hapugoda (Air Force).

 

Radhika Hettiarachchi (captain)

The power house Air Force full back will be leading the Sri Lankan 7’s contingent for the games. He will bring in a lot of power and is the man the coaches will turn to for the bursting runs. He will be vital at the breakdown points a s his tall bulky stature that enables him to counter- ruck the opponents. 

 

Sajith Saranga

The Kandy SC second rower will be playing a very supportive role in the side. His big hit- ups and powerful rucking will give the young outfit some much needed mass. Sajith will be the go- to- guy in the lineouts for Sri Lanka. Saranga will be vital in defense, especially against the much bigger teams of Australia and England

Vishva Mithra Jayasinghe

The CR and FC hero of the year for his magnificent interception in the dying stages of the league game against Kandy will need to conjure a bit more magic. The raw pace and ability to step his way around any defense is a huge advantage for the Lankans. He will be playing in his regular position on the wing and can cause a lot of trouble for his opposition. 

 

Shenal Dias

The lanky Peterite lock will find tremendous advantage through his height. Being one of the two school boys in the squad along with Sansoni does not seem to faze the Sri Lanka youth skipper. His natural ball handling skills and strong ball carries will be a useful component for the team.

 

Romesh Archirige 

The tall police lock will be wearing the national jersey for the first time in Delhi. Relatively new to the game of sevens Archirige was picked for his great counter rucking skills and to bring some size to compete with the immense opposition. Romesh was noticed by the selectors after his great performances in the recently concluded inter club 7’s tournament.

Dinusha Chaturanga

The former Pathana skipper who has been in and out of the national 7’s circuit is making is return to the side after the Carlton 7’s last year. The big CR winger will be used for power runs and corner flag dashes. His size is a huge plus when considering defense. 

 

Srinath Sooriyabandara 

The nippy CR half back will be playing the role of the link man for the lions. He too has been in and out of the 7’s squad but has been recognized for his talent for the shorter game. The fast quick- stepping ‘Soori’ a former school boy sevens player of the year will bring quite a bit of experience to the side of youngsters. 

 

Saliya Handapangoda

The young lad from the army has been the surprise star of the squad. After his outstanding tour of Shanghai he now has the experience to go with his side stepping and darting pace. The coaching staff will be looking use him in the corners to sprint his way around the much bigger opposition 

 

Dilan De soysa 

The small but powerful scrum half from Air Force will be lethal in defense. His ability to get into a much bigger opponent and drive him back is quite an amazing site, considering his size. Also his great ball skills make him an ideal half back for the game of sevens.

 

Anuruddha Wilwara

The young Thomian center will bring immense speed and power into the side. He will be used in the short bust hit ups. He will also be used as a sprinter on the wing where the Lankan coach will use him to outpace the opposition. 

 

Charith Seneviratne & Chanaka Chandimal

The young duo from Air Force having gained experience at the Shanghai 7’s will now look to bring it into play when they are sent onto the park. They will use their play making skills in order create overlaps out wide for the speedsters. Both players are also known for their gutsy defense and ability to evade players.

 

Mithun Hapugoda

Mithun Hapugoda will be a standby for Wilwara who is suffering an injury and is still awaiting the results of his physical test. Mithun is a youngster from Air force who will use his nippy footsteps to wrangle his way around the opposition.

Agreement at last for the common cause

The stand-off between the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union, Mercantile Football Association and CR & FC rugby grounds on the matter of the Mercantile Rugby 7s tournament has finally ended when parties came to an amicable agreement last evening.

 

A much hyped-up Mercantile 7s rugby tournament which somehow ended up clashing with the Borneo 7s for which Sri Lanka rugby was sending a team has been postponed to the 12,13,14th of November 2010.  The CR & FC ground booked for a tag rugby carnival organized by Dilroy Fernando and Wild Elephant falling on the only available weekend was causing the blockade.  

 

 

Alls well that ends well as the CR & FC has released itself to the MRFA to hold the Mercantile 7s tournament on the November weekend ending the enpasse and enabling the Sri Lanka Rugby players to represent the country for the Borneo 7s

 

The corporates refused to release their top players for national duty over the Mercantile 7s and the  SLRFU had to seek the help of the Mercantile rugby Football Association to change the dates of their tournament.  

 

All parties having co-operated in the face of national interest, is the biggest plus coming out of this entire fiasco and the rugby fraternity hopes that the trend will continue towards the betterment of Rugby.

 

Hopefully now  the SLRFU nominated 53 member pool for the Borneo 7s, Asian Games and Carlton 7s are able to go ahead with their pool practice. Rugby was at a stand-still the last week and its refreshing to note that all sides have co-operated to this common goal of sending out a strong rugby sevens sides as opposed to 2nd and 3rd string sides of the past.

 

It is hoped that with the advent of George Simkin who is undoubtedly here to shake up Sri Lankan rugby, the SLRFU, players and other authorities will continue the co-operative streak  not giving way to personal agenda’s which has inundated rugby thus far, to bring highs in the sport.

Lankan Sevens in the limelight again

The ever-popular Sri Lanka ‘sevens’ squad is making headlines once again. With three vital tournaments, the Borneo 7’s, Asian Games and the Carlton sevens in the offing the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union selectors have picked a massive pool of 53 players who will contend for slots in the squads.


The Borneo sevens will kick off on the 30th of October and conclude on the 31st. The Asian games  commences three weeks later in China on the 22nd and 23rd of November. Rounding-up the sevens season for Sri Lanka will be the all important Carlton 7’s tournament played on our very own square at the Sugathadasa Stadium on the 27th and 28th November 2010.
Fifty three players comprise of the entire club circuit. The Air Force seems to have produced big numbers with Radhika Hettiarachchi, Chanaka Chandimal, Mithun Chamil, Gayan Iddamalgoda, Fazly Mohamed, Rajitha Sansoni, Charith Seneviratne, Dilan Soysa, Lakith Perera, Prabath Jayalath and Milinda Jayasinghe while Saliya Handapangoda and Gayan Ratnayake represent the Army SC. From the CR & FC it is Ashen Karathelis, Dinusha Chaturanga, Ishan Noor, Lasintha De Costa, Reza Mubarak, Vishwa Mithra Jayasinghe, Dhanushka Perera and Srinath Sooriyabandara. Thusitha Somathilake is the only player from the Havelocks. Kandy is at full strength as usual with Pradeep Liyanage, Gayan Weeraratne, Saliya Kumara, Mohamed Sheriff, Sanjeewa Jayasinghe, Fazil Marija, Sajith Saranga, Roshan Weeraratne, Chamara Vithanage, Kasun De Silva, Dilip Selvam and Dharshana Ethipola. Nuwan Hettiarachchi, Niranjan Wickramaratne, Chula Susantha, Ravindra Pushpakumara and Kalana Amarasinghe are the sailors included in the pool. Romesh Archirige is the lone policeman in the squad.
Thirteen school boys who inspired rugby this season have also been included in the squad. Devinda Prasad (Isipathana), Mayura Sanjeewa (St. Josephs) Shenal Dias, Sandun Herath, Dhanushka Ranjan, Banuka Nanayakkara and Keith Gurusinghe (all from St Peters), Anurudhdha Wilwara, Shaveen Kapuwatte, Sudharshana Muthuthantri (S. Thomas’), Shehan Pathirana (Royal) Kanchana Ramanayake (Trinity) Chethiya Wadugodapitiya (Kingswood)
Christopher Jordashe will be the manager of this squad whilst Inthi Marikka and George Simpkin share the coaching duties.
All 53 players were notified by the SLRFU and been asked to attend practices at Havelock Park today. However 35 out of the 53 selected have notified unavailability for national duty sighting various different excuses, depleting the national squad yet again. The excuses vary from the very plausible injuries to not being allowed leave from their respective companies. Such a wave of pull-outs must have an obvious answer which is seen as the upcoming mercantile 7’s competition. This raises the question ‘is it fair that companies prevent their employees from representing our nation just so they can field a strong side for a intercompany tournament? ‘
This callous disregard to the national cause is disturbing especially because most of these players represent top corporates in the country. To be fair a paradox exists for the companies as most of the players are employed specifically for this reason and it is not fair by the company to have them missing at that crucial time.  The SLRFU for their part has put out their tournament calendar ahead of time and has no choice but to go with the international agenda.
In a hopeful answer to this entire fiasco the SLRFU secretary Shane Dullawe has requested that the Mercantile sevens tournament dates be shifted at least till after the Carlton sevens tournament.
We keep our fingers crossed!!

THEPAPARE BEACH RUGBY FEST NOV 2010

Beach rugby was once a flourishing pastime and thepapare.com pledges to enliven the beach by reviving this lost sport. Inculcating the schools rugby passion, organizers have open the games to the respective schools and their old boys to form groups and enter teams. This will create the opportunity to relive old rivalries and the players will get a chance to play for school pride all over again.  An open event will also invite any other group that wishes to combine a 7 and together with the over-30 event, will added the needed impetus. The beach rugby tournament will then be followed by an after party at the Golden mile restaurant in to the late hours in the night. 

 

 

 

 

WHEN: 27TH NOVEMBER 2010

 

WHERE: GOLDEN MILE MOUNT LAVINIA BEACH FRONT

 

TIME: 10AM TILL DAWN

 

AUDIENCE: ALL SEGMENTS OF THE POPULATION 

The tournament 

 

 Beach rugby was once a flourishing pastime and ThePapare.com pledges to enliven the beach by reviving this lost sport. Inculcating the schools rugby passion and pride of donning your school jersey one more time, we throw open these games in order for you to relive the old rivalry and camaraderie.

 

 This ‘touch’ rugby tournament scheduled for the 20th November 2010, on the Golden Mile beach in Mount Lavinia will be worked off in teams of sevens, 5 players and 2 reserves

 

 An open event will also invite any other group that wishes to combine a 7 

 

 The participating teams will have to group themselves into schools and sport an arm-cut jersey (given by ThePapare)in school colours

 

    Organizers have envisage a number of 24 teams which will play each other 3 times in league format with quarter-finals, a semi final and final worked off

separately 

 The event will be worked off in carnival style and open to families with entertainment and amusement in store for everyone 

 

 A bottle of liquor will be provided per team to enhance the spirits

 

 An after party will carry the event to the wee hours of the morning

 

 The prize will be a sensational surprise

 

 A registration fee of rupees 5000/- will be taken per team which will include seven players 

 

o ThePapare.com which undertakes to provide sports entertainment unlimited invites you to join the quest

THE FIESTA

 

 FOOD STALLS

 LIVE / DJ MUSIC 

 GAMES OF SKILLS 

 KIDS PLAYING AREA

 FACE PAINTING

 KIDDIES BOUNCERS 

CONTACT INFORMATION 

 

 Email address – sankha@coyote.lkThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it /         sankha_dlt@hotmail.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

 Tele – 0777683197 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              0777683197      end_of_the_skype_highlighting (Sankha de Livera Tennekoon)

Lankan 7’s team dumped in Delhi

The Sri Lankan rugby squad was welcomed by a heavy battering at the hands of rugby Giants England and Australia today. Sri Lanka who fielded a below par team came out with more than what was expected from them by keeping the opponents to respectable scores. 

 

 

 

The Sri Lankan sevens squad led by experienced Radhika Hettiarachchi met a strong England side who meant nothing but business hammering a whopping 59 points to 07 in their group ‘D’ played today. The Englishmen who are one of the favourites in the tournament scored heavily in the first half not giving anything away to their Sri Lankan counterparts. First half ended with the scoreboard reading 33 nil with James Rodwell scoring three superb tries. 

The second half saw the Lankans putting up the first points on the board through nippy half back Srinath Sooriyabandara in the 2nd minute with skipper Radhika putting the extra points. It was then England who took charge to win the game 59-07 with the England skipper Gollings leading the way with two solid tries. 

 

Sri Lanka in their second game against the Ausies gave in a better performance by limiting the score under 50 points. The Wallabies who were much stronger and heavily built gave the Lankans a torrid time in the first half scoring 35 points and it looked as if it will be a another cake walk for the Kangaroos. The Sri Lankan team then came out with a superb display of character when they scored through CR&FC scrum half Srinath Sooriyabandara who scored his second try of the match to make it 35-07. Srinath and co. though small in stature battled it out against the bigger opponents from down under to retain them to just 07 points in the second half. At one point the Ausies looked a bit amateurish with the Lankans creating gaps which almost resulted in the second try of the game for the Lankans. Australia went on to lose to England in their final pool match 21-19. 

 

The third game which was against Uganda was a closely contested one with both teams going in neck to neck trying to get in to the next round. It was our own warriors who scored the first try through Saliya Handapangoda from Army SC in the 2nd minute of the game but the Ugandans proved to be far more superior in open play and in the breakdowns which cost the Lankans the game. Uganda who led 21-05 went on to add 14 more points to finish 35-05 at full time. 

 

Lankans go down to Papua New Guinea

Sri Lankan who lost all their first round matches yesterday met Papua New Guinea in the quarter finals of the bowl segment today. PNG who have the legendary Waisale Serevi as coach came out with a good all-round performance to beat the inexperienced Lankan side led by Radhika Hettiarachchi. Final scored 26-12 in favour of PNG. 

 

 

 

PNG who opened scoring in the 3rd minute through Levi Albert Junior led during the initial part of the game but the young Sri Lankans hit back in the 6th minute of the game Air Force fly half Chanaka Chandimal to draw level at half time. Going in to the second half the New Guineans regrouped to put up a superlative effort to bring down the strong resistance by the Lankans by scoring three more tries to one of Sri Lanka’s which was planted by Kandy SC third row forward Sajith Saranga. It was a fighting effort by the Sri Lankan contingent as they held their defence in most parts of the game but lacked the experienced needed to topple the PNG side.  

 

The New Zealand team look to be the favourites yet again having not lost a single match in the commonwealth games from its inception in the year 1998. 

SL rugby Press conference for CWG

Standing from left to right - Milinda Jayasinghe, S.Sooriyabandara, Charith Seneviratne, Dinesh Chathuranga, Sajith Saranga, Shenal Dias, Romesh Archirige, Chanaka Chandimal, Saliya Handapangoda, Dilan de Soyza. Sitting from left to right - Imthi Marikkar (coach), Radhika Hettiarachchi (captain), Air vice Marshal Roshan Gunathileka (President SLRFU), Shane Dullewa (Secretary SLRFU) and George Simpkins (Head coach). 

The SLRFU (Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union) held a press conference yesterday at the union before the Sri Lankan rugby team headed by experienced back Radhika Hettiarachchi left to India for the 18th Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

At the head table, secretary of the SLRFU Shane Dullewa, manager of the Sri Lanka rugby side Imthi Marikkar and the captain of the side Radhika Hettiarachchi were present. Sri Lanka who are facing some tough opposition on the 11th of October will be going in with a young inexperienced side. Captain Radhika and Air Force scrum half Milinda Jayasinghe are the only two who have some kind of experience under their belt playing in these tournaments which are considered to be of the highest quality. Talking at the press conference, manager Inmhi Marikkar said that they have fallen in to a very tough group and will have an uphill task against the English and the Australians who are ranked 2 and 6 respectively. ‘Uganda seems to be our only hopeful match but that too since it is our last one might be a problem’. He went on to add that this tournament will be of the highest quality and also there will be talent displayed in abundance. Nine out of the 12 top teams in the world will be competing and they will be coming out with their strongest squads since this tournament will be a practice before the all important Hong Kong 7’s which is considered to be the pinnacle in 7’s rugby.

When you take the composition of the Sri Lanka 7’s side, the significant factor is that there is only one Kandy player – Sajith Saranga. All the others have backed out of national duty either due to injury or on other personal reasons. Imthi mentioned that it will be quite a difference without the Kandy players and having them would have definitely helped the composition of the side.

The manager of the national side assured that the team that is touring for the common wealth games though being young will give out their best and play their hearts out. One important fact that coach George Simpkins brought out was that comparing Australia with Sri Lanka the drastic difference in experience the two sides had was fascinating. Each Aussie player in the current squad has an average of 100 national caps and if you compare it with the current Sri Lankan squad they cannot make 100 national caps collectively. That’s how drastically different the level of experience is in the two countries. He was also saying that a revamp is needed in the system for us to move forward.

The Sri Lankan side is going against 3 tough oppositions on day one which is on the 11h of October. Thepapare crew wishes them the best of luck for the Commonwealth Games.

Saliya to lead Kandy SC in 2011 Saliya to lead Kandy SC in 2011

The ‘top dog’ of the local rugby arena Kandy SC has announced that the reins of captaincy will be passed on to senior player Saliya Kumara who has been a integral part of the Kandy SC line up during the last couple of seasons. 

 

Saliya will take on the responsibilities from team mate Fazil Marija who skippered the side in the 2010 season to a league and knock-out win for the umpteenth time this year.  Saliya Kumara who began his rugby at Vidyartha College moved to Trinity College where he blossomed in to a solid player. Soon after his move from school he joined Havelock’s sports club where he made his debut in club rugby. After a stint of three years at Havelock’s he then moved to CH&FC where he played for two years before moving back to the hills to represent the local rugby giants Kandy SC where he has been for three years. 

 

 

 

Kumara who made his debut in the Sri Lankan line up in the year 2006 has been a regular member of the side manning the number nine position. He is one of the most versatile players in club rugby and has the capabilities of fitting in at any given position in the three-quarter line.

An uphill climb for Lankan sevens squad

The Sri Lanka sevens team led by veteran Radhika Hettiarachchi left the shore today and will have a daunting task ahead of them. Sri Lanka who will be competing in group ‘D’ will have some heavy artillery with last year’s tournament runner’s up England and commonwealth games fourth seed Australia going up against the inexperienced Islanders from Lanka. 

 

 

During the last commonwealth games finals it were the New Zealand All-blacks who secured their third successive title beating a strong English line up with a final score of 29-21 at the famous Telstra Dome stadium in Melbourne. 

 

During the last commonwealth games Sri Lanka failed to impress and were giving a battering at the hands of Australia, England and the Cook Islands. The Lankans who met the Ausies in their first match received a thumping welcome going down by a whopping 73-00. Another interesting fact was that the Lankans were not able to cross the line during the tournament suffering to a 61-00 drubbing against England and 47-00 loss against the Cook Islanders. 

However the inexpert Lankan squad will be up against some of the legends of the game with players in the caliber of England skipper Ben Gollings, and Mathew Tait (England rugby union player) and Wallabies winger Lachie Turner representing their respective countries. Ben Gollings who is a legend of the shorter version of the game has an astonishing 2374 points in the IRB Sevens World Series and is by far the highest by any player. 

 

Uganda who will be the fourth member of group ‘D’ will also be a tough competitor. They had a commendable 2006 CWG by beating a strong Tongan side 24-14 after Tonga beat the South Africans 26-19. The East African nation will go without Allan Musoke, who captained the side at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. 

 

Australia is in England’s pool again this time with the key Day 1 game in Delhi following clashes with Sri Lanka and Uganda.

“It’s going to be a big game against Australia, who are a massively improved side, so that’s exciting,” added Gollings

.

“The other teams in our pool will cause us problems but hopefully we’ll be in the second day in a quarter final and pushing for the medal spots.”

‘Soni’ out Milinda Jayasinghe in

 

The Sri Lankan sevens rugby team has been hit with yet another injury concern with under 19 deputy skipper Rajitha Sansoni backing out due to injury concerns. Rajitha Sansoni who was included in the squad after some of the more senior players backed out underwent training in Katunayeka. 

 

 

Sansoni together with Sri Lanka youth skipper Shenal Dias were the only two schoolboys to represent the country, but unfortunately Sansoni’s who was carrying a shoulder injury right throughout the schools season injured it while training which led to his departure. 

 

His omission from the squad see’s experience Air Force scrum half Milinda Jayasinghe making up the 12 man squad which is to leave the Island on the 04th of October. Jayasinghe who had a cemented spot in the CH&FC line up in the early days of his career, shifted to Air Force SC at the beginning of this year, and made an immediate impact in the recently concluded club rugby season. The skilled campaigner will add a lot of experience to the fresh squad of 12 who will be lead on to the field by another Air Force player and a former national skipper Radhika Hettiacrachchi. 

 

 

The final squad is as follows, 

 

Radhika Hettiarchchi (Captain), Sajith Saranga, Vishva Mithra Jayasinghe, Milinda Jayasinghe, Shenal Dias, Romesh Archirige, Dinusha Chaturanga, Srinath Sooriyabandara, Chanaka Chandimal, Dilan De Soysa, Saliya Handapangoda and Charith Seneviratne