Asian Games rugby to kick off today

Sri Lanka Under 20 rugby team, captained by Tarinda Ratwatte, secured second position in the Asian zone of the Junior World Rugby Tournament (JWRT), which concluded at the Race Course rugby grounds last week.

Sri Lanka, who were edged out by South Korea later on with a second half burst, were beaten by tournament champions Hong Kong. But the young lads bounced back gallantly not only to beat Taipei but also to secure a bonus point to obtain the number two slot and remain in the top division for next year as well.
Overall the tournament saw some champagne rugby from the Lankan youngsters, particularly Ratwatte and Omalka Gunaratne. Omalka can play for one more year for Isipathana and is likely to lead the Green Shirts next year. He was a class act in defence as well in attack.
Ratwatte was an outstanding leader. He led the team by example and never cracked under pressure. In December 2014 the Sri Lanka Youth team will participate at the Under 20 Asian Sevens Tournament, which will be worked off in Hong Kong on 13 and 14 December.

Tarinda said: “It was an overall effort. The team was excellent and supported me all the way. We all clicked very well in a short period of time. Our Head Coach Nilfer together with Anura Walpola were great and we look forward to an exciting junior Tuskers season.” Ibrahim said that he was very pleased with how the team played. “We could have pulled off the South Korean game. We lost the last two games due to our own fault. We trained as a unit in less than 10 days. It is sad that we cannot go further to the Youth Rugby World Cup next year in Lisbon, Portugal.” (SJ)