Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) may find itself in a morbid terrain following the recent logistic debacle, which left the country’s national first XV side in the receiving end, despite having the fullest potential to end up as Asia second best rugby team. After leaking to a close one-point loss of 14-15 against Hong Kong in [...]
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But instead the game has been recorded as a 20-0 win in favour of South Korea, who succumbed to a heavy 45-9 defeat at the hand of Hong Kong on June 7, after Sri Lanka failed to physically appear owing to failed travel plans of SLR. Sri Lanka’s fate as the oldest rugby union in Asia and a highly competitive member of Asia Rugby (AR), is yet to be known, according to an official statement of AR.
“Asia Rugby will communicate any further competition-related decisions, if required, in accordance with the applicable competition regulations through its official channels. Member Unions, teams, and stakeholders should rely on information published on the official Asia Rugby website and direct correspondence from Asia Rugby,” reads the communique since June 12 in AR’s official website.
However, the surroundings in Sri Lanka related to the elementary blunder of SLR has taken a different pathway following the recent comments of rugby experts and, most interestingly the Minister of Sports, who incidentally had a soft corner for rugby and its current administration until the visa rejection blew the cover.
Next to cricket, the country’s most followed and popular sport for obvious reasons, rugby takes the honour of entering as a topic in parliament debates, not once but twice in the recent months. First it was the Sports Minister who brought up the decade-old hefty fine of 50,000 Sterling Pounds imposed by World Rugby (WR) for fielding Fiji players bypassing the proper guidelines, and last week the Opposition Leader questioned the background on SLR’s failure in obtaining the visas promptly and highlighted the mental trauma players may have gone through.
“As this matter was taken up even in the parliament, it must be reminded that necessary processes with regard to team selection, visas, air tickets and other arrangements, are the sole responsibility of the relevant federations or associations,” Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage stated.
“The Ministry of Sports never got or will get involved in those matters, and if there are expense related issues, of course we assist.”
But for a Union with a rich history of 147 years, this is the second occasion SLR performed its own hara-kiri, when clear solutions and remedies were within reach. With Sri Lanka deciding to primarily focus on a specialised and dedicated 7s programme with its players barred from being part of the 15s, SLR may have found themselves in a soup, finding proper placements and replacements when players in the 15s squad end up in the injury list.
This may have created a lapse when selecting the final touring squad for the June 13 game against South Korea in Incheon, but it definitely cannot be found as a valid excuse to initiate travel plans just days away from the game. This was revealed and highlighted by Minister Gamage, who proudly boasted about his role in taking Sri Lanka rugby to the top three ranks from the lowest point since his appointment as the Minister of Sports a fortnight ago.
“SLR has applied for visas on Monday (June for a tour they are supposed to leave Sri Lanka on Wednesday (June 10). This is not an acceptable excuse, and it’s clear ignorance from the part of SLR and shows their own incompetency,” Minister Gamage added.
“The Ministry of Sports will definitely take action on this.”
As highlighted earlier, this could be termed as the second biggest debacle of SLR in the recent history following the heavy fine by WR a decade ago. This was for fielding three Fiji players in the national teams (7s and 15s) without following the proper and acceptable protocols. Sri Lanka eventually heeded to the fine by deducting it as instalments from grants offered by WR meant for development and other programmes annually.
The President of SLR then was Asanga Seneviratne, and currently he is the Chair of the Competitions Committee of Asia Rugby as well as the newly elected President of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka. The least SLR led by Pavithra Fernando could have done was to get some advice on logistic handling from Seneviratne.
“The SLR Constitution was, in our view, amended in a manner that facilitated the current administration, with all nine ‘A’ Division clubs being made stakeholders only recently. Furthermore, the AGM was conducted without the audited accounts being circulated within the prescribed period required by the Constitution. Notwithstanding these concerns, it is now important to see how Asia Rugby proceeds. The decision of the Asia Rugby and its Executive Committee not to enforce stricter governance and participation regulations, and instead award only walkover points following an administrative failure that prevented Sri Lanka’s participation, raises important questions. A precedent appears to have been set, and the rugby fraternity will be keenly observing the long-term implications of this decision on governance, accountability, and the application of regulations across Asia Rugby,” a collective statement made by few former SLR office bearers on the matter, said.
Though now the horse has bolted the stables, SLR may have to counter more questions and explanations than what they would have imagined. For a national sport body, the manner SLR has acted in the recent weeks and months seems way too unprofessional, a matter easily highlighted by half-baked media releases that highlight the decisions of certain matters, but not the core insight of the issue that led to it. Even on the visa debacle, it was clear that SLR just replaced the abbreviation from AR (Asia Rugby) to SLR and then made a few oriental changes to simply wash off the hands, rather than providing an acceptable explanation from their end.
This is a first in the annals of rugby in Sri Lanka, to easily concede when the Tuskers had a greater chance to achieve something historical and big, even with a virtual select team. Even while SLR served a ban from WR and AR, they still managed represent the country at regional events, and in the recent weeks the 7s team travelled to Uzbekistan and France to take part in two competitions. What led to the failure of a well and pre-planned event is a fact known to those who administer the game.
The present administration has the privilege and immunity of the popularity and the intensity of school and club competitions, an uninterrupted flow that took place even SLR was under a Competent Authority, who had little or no knowledge of how the game runs. What can the Sri Lankan public expect to hear from SLR on this issue, is a good guess to all keen rugby followers.
Print Edition – The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka
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