Sri Lanka can hit the top in sevens rugby

It was the Scots who took credit for starting sevens rugby. But just when it began is unclear. As a game it was used for many pre-season tournaments but hardly figured in the fixture lists of most countries. 

Tokkie Smith, a South African residing in Hong Kong had the idea of an International tournament in what was then a British Colony. Hong Kong is renowned for entrepreneurs, people who like to take risks to make something grow. 

Hongkong rugby at that time, there was an abundance of them and the Hong Kong sevens grew from a tiny tournament in 1976 to the giant rugby sevens that hosted the 1997 Rugby World Cup 7s and was worth millions in revenue to the Hong Kong sevens. 

Sevens rugby was born in 1883 in Scotland and it was decided after the formation of the Scottish Union. Melrose, a little town in the South Scotland, better known as the Scottish border was the birth place of seven-a-side rugby. 

It is said that Melrose Club, had a good rugby side in which the star players were local butchers, David Sanderson and his apprentice Ned Haig. It is said that the novelty, the skill and the flow of the game, inspired two eager Union officials of Hong Kong to replicate the event in the then Colony. 

The committee felt that given the numbers involved, the proposal of a football tournament was unworkable. The invitation that was received by the local union in late December 1975 was put to the monthly Union meeting and decided to accept the same and authorized the selection committee to pick a pool of players and appointed Kavan Rambukwella national player of great repute and administrator to handle matters. 

Meanwhile Allen G. Roche, a rugby coach from England visited the country in early 1976 on a coaching assignment to brush up the finer points of the game of the National team. Preparations started in 1976 for the Hong Kong tournament scheduled for March 28, 1976. 

Right from the inception controversy aroused, disputes between Ministry of Sports and governing body, resignations of selectors, withdrawal of selected players etc. were common features. 

Acting on the Ministry directives SLRFU appointed Kavan Rabukwella as the Manager of the team and the squad comprised -from Indrajith Coomarasamy Captain (CR & FC), Lanil Tennakoon (Havelocks S.C.), Mohan Balasuriya (Sri Lanka Air Force), Dr. Maiya Gunasekera (University Colombo Campus), G. Gunadasa (Sri Lanka Army), Jeffrey de Jong (Havelocks), Ronald Rodrigo (Sri Lanka Air Force), Shaan Ching (CH & FC). 

The inaugural Hong Kong 7s tournament was a single day affair with 12 countries participating on March 28, 1976 at the Hong Kong Football Stadium. Ching had a problem of getting his passport and failed to make it.

At the last moment Sri Lanka Air Force stand off M. Omerdeen was called in as replacement. It was a moment of truth for Sri Lanka players against the mighty Japanese RFU who were making great strides in the International arena. 

Placed in Pool C - and beaten by Singapore by 0-22 followed by Japan 0-32, Sri Lanka had to bow out of the main competition. Next Sri Lanka confronted Indonesia and registered its first ever success in the tournament with a 14-0 victory. Moving on to the semi-finals they lost to Tonga by 0-16 in a match which could have gone either way. 

Sri Lanka's finest year in the sevens was in 1984, when we won the Bowl championship, in the Hong Kong Sevens. We were able to beat Brunei 26-0 in the semis and 16-0 beat Thailand in the finals.

Then again in 1986 and 1987 we entered the bowls finals. In 1998 we became the bowl champions in the Fiji Invitation Sevens played in Suva. 

Historically, seven-a-side rugby has been played for over a century for fun and entertainment at the beginning and the end of a gruelling 15-a-side season. In recent years, the launch of the RWC 7s in 1993 and the creation of the IRB Sevens Grand Prix series in 1999 saw the game of sevens established at an elite level, independent sport. 

Since the inception of the IRB sevens five years ago, nearly 50 Nations have played in the Grand Prix tournaments hosted so far by 16 countries in all five IRB regions. 

The 2003/2004 IRB Sevens has been the most competitive in the short history of the series. Sri Lanka RFU is proud to have hosted the 2004 RWC Qualifier for the Asian Region organized by the Kandy Sports club from September 10 to 12, 2004 at Nittawela Rugby Stadium, Kandy.

The teams that participated in this tournament were all National teams from the following countries - Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Arabian Gulf, Kazakhstan, Guam, India and Sri Lanka. 

Mark Egan - Manager International Rugby Sevens IRB was the official representative of the IRB with several officials from the Asian Rugby Football Union, IRB Media, IRB Development Officials, International Panel Referees were hosted by the Organizers during the conduct of this tournament. 

Sri Lanka was successful in winning the Plate Championship against the National teams of the Asian region.

Rugby Football in Sri Lanka has a unique attraction for players keen to share the magic atmosphere and to compete at the highest levels The high level of exposure for the sport globally and in the participating countries cannot be over-estimated. 

A direct link between inclusion in the Asian Region Rugby tournaments has seen a significant increase in the development from grassroots level. Rugby now has a good profile within the Asian region assisted by the recommendation from the IRB and the support of members of the ARFU itself. 

However, there is still much work to be done if rugby is to become a National sport and the SLRFU is working on a promotional strategy, which will eventually lead to the rugby's full acceptance as a major sporting event in Sri Lanka next to Cricket. 

Today the two most popular Sevens tournaments in the world are the Hong Kong and Dubai Sevens.

The game is cherished as a sport for people of all ages, gender, race and creed and develops team values, understanding, co-operation and respect for fellow rugby players. 

It has great educational values and is part of the schools curriculum in many countries, being played by boys and girls short and tall, large and small. Over here the much looked forward sevens tournaments are the Club 7s and schools 7s, later in 1999 the Singer SriLankan Airlines sevens (International) organized by Kandy Sports Club under the auspices of the governing body SLRFU with both IRB & ARFU support. 

Unfortunately now this tournament is being shown the exit door. Now the 'Carlton Sevens' has come to stay. The Isipathana sevens at one time started off well but due to some problems, this tournament went out of the window. 

Sevens is basically an abbreviated version of rugby union, played with seven players rather than the usual 15.

The size of the field is not reduced; the extra space that is available usually leads to frantic high scoring affairs over the course of games usually 14 minute duration, although some matches later in the tournament do last longer. 

While fundamentally being the same as its big brother, rugby sevens dispenses with much of the brute force and concentrates on fast breaks and generally a score, on average, every three minutes.

Sevens rugby like T-20 cricket a 7-a-side football has a huge spectator interest. Rugby in our country is a legacy of the British. 

The records say that the first game was played in Sri Lanka, way back in 1879 when the Ceylon Rugby Football Union was born along with the famous Up-Country Low Country encounter 'Capper Cup' which was last played in 1973. 

A Police Officer by the name of K.F. Jenkins, a Welshman, stationed in Ratnapura was the man who introduced Sevens rugby to Sri Lanka in 1931. The first ever sevens game was played at the Ratnapura Esplanade, which was kicked off at 7 a.m., it was played in a very simple manner.

The man who introduced the game played as scrum half for the Police side. Our first involvement in a sevens tournament was in 1949 when the Ceylon Babarians took part in the All-Indian tournament held in Colombo. 

Then in 1958 Colombo was also the venue of the B.I. Centenary All Indian tournaments.

Then two of the pioneer Sevens tournaments in our country in the days gone by were the Layards Cup and the CR & FC Invitation tournament. 

In 1947 CR & FC celebrated their 25th anniversary with a sevens tournament. For the first time in 1975, The Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union conducted a inter club sevens tournament and the Havelocks Sports Club emerged as champions, and became the first winners of the Sri Lanka Sevens, like they won the first interclub competition in 1950. 

Where will the Rugby Sevens go from here? Rugby experts of the calibre of some top class sevens players, former National coaches like Nimal Leuke ex DIG and Asanga Senaviratne are confident that with the right approach Sri Lanka rugby can always get to the pinnacle of the sport in the Asian region. 

It's time that the Rugby Union got all rugby sevens experts in the Island and even get International famous experts and work out 'Aims and Strategy' to put sevens rugby on the map once again in the Asian region educating all players. 

We have some top sevens players, who can be rated as best in the Asian Region. 

Saturday 01st October, 2011 - Daily News

Isipathana runners-up - President trophy 2011

It was down to a battle between the Trinity forwards and the Isipathana three-quarters from the outset of the game but the Pathana forwards took the game to the Trinity pack and dominated the scrums and the line outs right through the course of the game. The Isipathana coach Viraj Prasanna came out with some good tactical moves to stop the Lions in their tracks in the set pieces.

Trinity took the early lead in the contest through a Rehan Weerakoon penalty when an Isipathana player was caught handling in the ruck. The cool headed Weerakoon had no problem with the three pointer to send the Lions in front. Isipathana then got the chance to equalize through the boot of skipper Devinda Prasad but he failed to convert.

The Trinity center combination of Dilshan Kalaniyagoda and Kanil Seneviratne showed what they were capable of as they put on some hard runs for the Kandy team. Seneviratne in particular gave a lot of stick to his opposite number as he ran hard at good angles to take the Lions over the gain line.Weerakoon then had the opportunity to extend the lead with another tough penalty and sent the kick over the sticks for the joy of many Trinity supporters present at the Royal Complex.

Pathana with some good flowing rugby then scored through skipper Prasad off a set move to take the lead with the conversion coming from Shanaka Kumara. Prasad getting the ball after a forward hit on the left corner came in as first receiver to hop his way over for the first try of the game. Isipathana leading 7-6. 

Trinity was quick to take the lead again through a try from Dilshan Kalaniyagoda. Scrum half Sanjaya Somasiri taking a quick tap passed the ball to Weerakoon who skip-passed to Thisala Devinda who took on two defenders before offloading to Kalaniyagoda to score their first try. With that score the Lions went in to half time with a 4 point lead 11-7

The second half saw some fierce battles upfront with Isipathana taking it forward through their number eight Prasad Madushanka. He together with flanker Sajid Suhaib had an admirable outing in the loose for Pathana.



Referee Irshad Carder felt the pressure of the finals as he had a shocker of a game making plenty of errors in both halves of the game. Many scoring opportunities were lost for both teams due to this and they had to toil even harder to get points on the board. Trinity made inroads to the Pathana half again through their hard hitting three's which resulted in young winger Thisala Devinda going over for a valuable try. The big-made winger powered his way through a couple of defenders to score and extend the lead for Trinity. The Lions siege ahead with this try but there was still some fight left in the Pathana lad’s especially full back Shanaka Kumara who had an excellent outing. The small made full back was hit hard by the Trinity players but still managed to get back on his feet and take it forward for Isipathana.

Randhika Alwis then finished things off for the Lions with a forceful try to take it beyond the Pathanians. There was however a late rally by Pathana but they could not breach the impressive Trinity defense.
Devinda Prasad must be kicking himself as he gave away valuable possession by just kicking aimlessly in to the hands of the Trinity backline who counter attacked with a lot of purpose.

The final whistle signaled a Trinity win after 18 year last winning in 1993 under Nalin Muhandiramge where they tamed the same opposition 17-10 . It was a magical moment for Trinity and a super end for an exciting schools season.

Friday 30th September, 2011 - The Papare

re-edited by sameera

Isipathana - Trinity final should be a thriller

The confrontation between Isipatana College, Colombo and Trinity College, Kandy in the Milo President’s Trophy final at the Royal Sports Complex at 4.30 pm today should turn out to be a thriller.

With both teams boasting of powerful packs and speedy sets of three quarters a terrific tussle for supremacy can be expected. Isipatana is enjoying a wonderful season having emerged runners-up in the Singer ‘A’ Division League losing just one match (10-11) to eventual champions Royal. The Trinitians came up with some superb performances in the latter part of the league tournament to finish in third position despite losing three matches. 

Isipatana entered the final with a runaway 47-0 win over Kingswood in the semi-finals while the Trinitians stormed into the final with smashing wins over Dharmaraja (54-17) and St. Peter’s (32-14) in the quarter and semi-final respectively. 

Trinity skipper Murad Ramzeen has led the side admirably and has been a source of inspiration to his teammates with his fiery loose play and has been ably supported by Ravi Bandara, Randika Alwis, Savinda Unamboowe, Uchitha Weerakoon, Sachintaka Perera and the omnipresent No 8 Sean Foster but today they will be confronted by equally good forwards in Saajid Suhayb, Kumindra Dharmadasa, Ganidu Weerasinghe, Arun Kumar, Nipuna Devendra and the indefatigable hooker Prasad Madusanka. 

In Sanjaya Somasiri and Rehan Weerakoon the Trinitians have a superb halves combination with Rehan Weerakoon’s daring breaks having the opponents defence in disarray. In Dilshan Kalaniyangoda and Kanil Seneviratne the Trinitians have two hard running centres who are capable of tearing apart the Isipatana defence. The biggest threat to the Isipatanians could be posed by that powerful runner on the wing in Mohamed Seshan while full back Dinuk Nayakaratne has the knack of joining the line to form the overlap. 

Isipatana’s ‘threes’ too have played a key role in their success this season. The halves combination of Kavindu de Costa and skipper Prasad Devinda have hit it off smoothly. Devinda has the ability to pick the tiniest of gaps while his long kicks to touch have given them territorial advantage. Centres Ashan Gallage and Sharmal Chathuranga have time and again pierced the opponents defence with their deceptive runs while Mekalanka Pramoda is likely to test the Trinity defence to the hilt with his daring runs on the wing in addition to attacking full back Shanaka Kumara. 

Isipatana will strive to break the 10 year hoodoo having last won the President’s Trophy in 2001 under Ranga Perera while Trinity will aim to lay their hands on the trophy for the first time since the inception of the tourney in 1995. 

Isipatana - Udaya Kumara, Prasad Madusanka, Thusitha Mithraratne, Arun Kumar, Ganidu Weerasinghe, Kumendra Dharmadasa, Saajid Suhayb, Wasala Wimalaweera, Kavindu de Costa and Prasad Devinda (Captain), Shenal Dias, Ashan Gallage, Sharmal Chathuranga, Mekalanka Pramoda, Shanaka Kumara.

Trinity - Murad Ramzeen (Captain) Ravi Bandara , Inzamam Mubarak, Sachinthake Perera, Randika Alwis, Uchintha Weerakoon, Savinda Unamboowe, Sean Foster, Sanjaya Somasiri and Rehan Weerakoon, Mohamed Seshan, Dilshan Kelaniyangoda, Kenil Seneviratne, Thisila Karunatilleke, Dinuck Nayakaratne. 

Referee: Irshad Cader 

Friday 30th September, - Daily news

Isipathana - Trinity in blockbuster finale today

All roads will lead to the Royal Sports Complex ground at Reid Avenue as titans Isipathana and Trinity clash in the final of the Milo Under 20 inter-schools rugby knockout tournament scheduled to be kicked off at 4.45 p.m. today. 

The battle is no doubt going to be a blockbuster with the two teams looking forward to end their schools rugby season on a winning note. Trinity will be coming into the game to avenge their 23-18 defeat to Isipathana in the league tournament match played at Pallekele. 

Isipathana seems to be in peak form at the moment. It is going to be a daunting task for the Trinitians who will have to put in an improved performance if they are to overcome the Havelock Park boys.

It’s going to be a battle between the speed of Isipathana and the mobile Trinity forwards. Isipathana will be at a big disadvantage as they would not have the services of prop forward Nipuna Devinda.

Nipuna according to sources met with a tragic accident when returning after a practice session. The burly youngster had been knocked down by a train and was lucky to escape with a shoulder and leg injury. He is at present undergoing treatment at the Kalubowila hospital and has been completely ruled out and his place will be taken by Udayakumara. 

For Trinity the game is going to be important as this is the first time that they have qualified for the President’s Trophy knockout final. They will go all out to make it a memorable one. Isipathana on the other hand have won the knockout title on so many occasions. 

The green jerseys last won the knockout title in 2001 and prior to that they won it in 1996, 1997 and 1999.

Nevertheless with the two teams expected to dish out rugby of a high standard the supporters of the two teams can expect their money’s worth and a fitting finale to the inter-schools rugby season of 2011.

The teams

Isipathana – Udayakumara, Prabath Madusanka, Thusitha Mithraratne, Arun Kumara, Gamindu Weerasinghe, Wasula Wimalaweera, Sajid Suhaib, Kavindu de Costa, Prasad Devinda (Capt), Shenal Dias, Shamal Chathuranga, Ashan Gallage, Mekalanka Pramoda, Shanaka Kumara, Sudeera Karunaratne, Tharindu Dissanayake, T. de Silva, T. Premaratne, Yadala Siriwardena, Malik Jumat, R. Manchana, Hirantha Perera, Usitha Prematileke, T. Hewage, Bhanuka Sarathchandra. 

Trinity – Inzamam Mubarak, Kevin Bandara, Murad Ramzeen (Capt), Hasitha Perera, Randika Alwis, Uchitha Weerakoon, Savinda Unamboowe, Sean Foster, Sanjaya Somasiri, Rehan Weerakoon, Kanil Seneviratne, Sashan Mohamed, K. Perera, Dilshan Kelaniyagoda, Thisila Karunatileke, Dinuk Nayakaratne, Anuradha Karunatileke, Thimira Galappaththige, I. Shehan, A. Perera, H. Badul, Kanishka Yatawara, Haliq Wadood, T. Ratwatte, M. Hettiarachchi, S. Singalaxshana and S. Sheik.

Friday 30th September, - Daily mirror

Rampant Isipathana run riot

President Trophy Semi Finals - Isipathana vs Kingswood

On a day three pointers were wiped out of the scorecard, Isipathana College romped home to a comprehensive 47-0 win over Kingswood College in the first semi final of the President’s Trophy knockout tournament at Royal Complex, Colombo yesterday.

It wasn’t a tale of domination either from Isipathana but they were deadly near the final couple of furlongs. Kingswood invited trouble making mistakes from the start, be it passing errors, constant bungled lineouts or sloppy offloads and will leave Colombo a dejected outfit.

Sajid Suhaib set the early tone which rocked Kingswood and they never recovered. After a lengthy spell where Isipathana monopolized possession, if not for a fumble near the try line by their winger in the 16th minute, it could have got worse, but the respite was over when skipper Prasad Devinda took matters into his own hands four minutes later and went over like the Kingswood defense never existed. Fullback Chanaka Kumara-who had near perfect afternoon with his boots- rifled his kick between the sticks to increase the points cushion to 14.

If one thought that would have calmed Isipathana down, they were way off target with mind reading as immediately after the kickoff, three slick offloads before contact meant they had run the entire 50 metres for Fernando to barge over near the corner flag and the resulting kick, the singular one which went astray spoiled Kumara’s heroics. Then Kingswood began to move the ball tidily for 10 minutes only to be neutralized near the try line every time and that period was the only timeframe which resembled friendliness from Isipathana and failure to convert it into points meant the door was shut for any comeback.

In the 34th minute forward Nipuna Devinda reiterated dynamism which flows in their veins by crashing through amid four defenders to increase the deficit to 26 and just before the halftime a failed clearance was successfully chased down by Isipathana centre Ashan Gallage and the rebound fatally for Kingswood fell into the lap of flanker Kumendra Dharmadasa and there was no guessing what was next.

33-0 up and the game seemingly in the pocket, Isipathana’s approach resembled a kind heart for Kingswood as they let the game flow without any shenanigans. Meanwhile Kingswood repeatedly gave the ball away in lineouts and their No 8 was repeatedly penalized for foul play. In the 54th minute, Isipathana mobility spread like a Hollywood gossip again and Prasad Madusanka made it 38-0 in which Kumara was again on target in the conversion.

Referee D.Nimal’s relaxed afternoon got bit busier as one player from each team was yellow carded and with 20 minutes gone Isipathana was already fielding their reserves with the game done and dusted. In the dying seconds with Kingswood desperate for the final whistle it seemed they conspired to let Madusanka over again such was dreadful and miserable evening they endured.

Before the match Isipathana coach Viraj Prasanna was adamant they’ll come out victorious and when the sun disappeared at Royal Complex his players had done everything make his prediction a reality.

Saturday 24th September, 2011 - The Island

Pathana storms in to the KO finals

Isipathana College took on Kingswood College in their knock out semi final clash at the Royal College sports complex today with the Greens winning the game contentedly 47 points to nil.
 
Half time score: 33-00 Isipathana
Full time score: 47-00 Isipathana

The game was going to be a close one from the outset but the Pathanians had other ideas scoring in the very first minute of the game through their full back Shanaka Kumara. Kingswood failed to clear their lines during the first phase of the game and it resulted in Isipathana skipper charging down fly half Oshan Perera’s kick for Chamara Kumara to score.

Kingswood hardly had possession and when they did they looked out of sorts kicking aimlessly in to the Pathana half. Isipathana prop forward Nipuna Devinda was yellow carded for stamping on a Kingswoodian and was sent off to the cooler for 10 minutes resulting in Isipathana being reduced to 14 players. The speedsters from Havelock’s had many scoring opportunities but failed to capitalise due to crucial handling errors. The Greens skipper then went over for a try after spotting a gap off a scrum where he danced his way over the line beating a few defenders. He had a commendable outing and was well supported by the likes of outside center Ashan Gallage, inside center Shamal Chathuranga, full back Shanaka Kumara and winger Makalanda Prabodha.

Then came the try of the match from the Pathanians right from the restart when first inside Shamal Chathuranga went over for his first. It was a slick move from the Pathana team when their skipper spotted a gap on the blind side and passed to his deputy Sajid Suhaib, who committed the defender and offloaded to Makalanda Prabodha who ran nearly 50 meters before offloading to Shamal Chathuranga to add the finishing touches. Full back Shanaka Kumara failed with the conversion and Isipathana took a commanding 19-00 lead.

Isipathana then decided to use their forwards near the try line and was rewarded when the big framed Nipuna Devinda bulldozed over for his first try after coming back from the sin bin. Kumara with a superb conversion extended the lead to 26-0. Just before the half time whistle the Pathanians managed to score through their open side flanker Umendra Gunadasa while Kumara added the extra points. Half time score 33-00 to Pathana.

The second half saw both teams going at each other but failing to convert it into points. For Kingswood Mohomed Nazri played a good game while the Perera twins, Oshan and Lavanga failed to live up to expectations. Heshan Kalhara playing at number 8 was well marked by the Isipathana third row led by deputy skipper Sajid Suhaib.

Isipathana was on the scoreboard yet again through their compact front rower Prasad Madushanka who went over for a try after a series of pick and goes. With the conversion through Isipathana stood at 40 points to nil.

During the final stages of the game the Kingswoodians began to look frustrated and it was evident when fly half Oshan Perera made a dangerous tackle on replacement 2nd rower Wasula Wimalaweera. Perera was only given a yellow card by referee D. Nimal and was lucky not to get a red. With the clock running out the Pathanians made the finishing touches to the game with a try through their hooker Prasad Madushanka who went over for his second try of the game.

Friday 23th September, 2011 - The Papare

Isipathana and Kingswood’s step towards one-upmanship

 After 15 years of existence, Isipathana and Kingswood both have four President’s trophies each to brag about and the 1st semi final of this year’s tournament today at Royal Complex shall be a critical milepost for whoever is willing to take a focused turn at usurping their opponent of the even pedestal they presently live.

Isipathana could be more ravenous since their final nexus with the knockout trophy was way back in 2001 and since their withering; Kingswood and St.Peter’s have pressingly accumulated three titles on the trot. With St.Peter’s having jolted their path into the semi finals with a hard fought victory over Science, increasingly the odds favour for a five time champion although Trinity might disagree.

Kingswood’s plain sailing against St.Anthony’s may be the cushion they needed to stir up their spirits and the two Perera’s –Oshan and Lavanga- will be ready to unleash their fury. Their form has stuttered during the year, but a straight shootout is an ideal place to spring back to life.

Coach Nalaka Weerakkody was safe in his assessment but was ensured they’ll leave everything on the field. "St.Anthony’s game was a nice start to us, but that’s gone. This is a new match and we’ll see." Asked whether a 5th title was high on the agenda, Weerakkody was quick to reiterate that they’ll plan game by game. "We don’t want to put undue pressure onto ourselves. Before the final we have a major trap to escape in Isipathana. Let’s talk about the final if we qualify."

Isipathana, fresh off their most fruitful league season after a long time will be itching to strike gold when the iron is hot. If not for a cruel penalty kick which went astray in the match against eventual champions Royal, the last rites could have been so different, but as it unfolded a meagre point is what separated the two sides. Devinda Prasad, the fly half and the captain, has been in first class form all over the season and his playmaking expertise could be one aspect Kingswood should watch out for. Sajid Suhaib is as versatile as he is stylish and the tackles he has orchestrated has allowed Isipathana to block others scorecard from moving.

Speaking to ‘The Island’ coach Viraj Prasanna was point blank in that Isipathana is going to come out victorious. "Their side is a good side, but we are a better side. The match is going to competitive, it always is when you face Kingswood, but I’m very confident that we can pull this off." Isipathana didn’t have the luxury of a quarter final as they were awarded a walkover, but Prasanna was confident that it won’t be an issue to write home about. "No, I don’t think it’ll have any harmful effect. We played a friendly match against Army B that day." And Isipathana coach mentioned the necessity of drug tests before the match too. "I have asked our committee to do tests on all my players. That’s a step everyone should take I feel in these times, "he said.

If confidence is the material, Isipathana have already won this game and they’ll step in to Royal Sports Complex as the favourites, but as sporting history suggests, making pre-conclusions are shallow and Kingswood could have something up their sleeve. Last time these two teams got together it ended in a nervous 10-5 triumph for Isipathana. Both possess strong backlines and whoever guards better will have gone a long way for the final.

Squads-

Isipathana- Nipuna Devinda, Prasad Madusanka, Thusitha Yasodha, Arun Kumar, Ganindu Lakshan, Wasala Wimalaweera, Kumendra Dharmadasa, Sajid Suhaib, Kavindu Costa, Prasad Devinda (captain), Shenal Dias, Shamal Chathuranga, Ashan Gallage, Mekalanka Pramod, Chanaka Kumara. Reserves- Udaya Kumara, Danuka Dissanayake, Shenal Deelaka, Hastha Udyoga, Sudeera Shamantha, Pabasara Madhawa, Malin Jumadh, Hirantha Perera, Uditha Premathilake, Panchama Chanaka.

Kingswood- Chamila Abeygunaratne, I C Samarakoon, S R Fernando, R R Premathilake, S Vithanage, N N Jayasinghe, U K Ariyaratne, Kalhara Silva, A Borhan, Lavanga Perera, Mohammad Nazri, H M Bandara, Oshan Perera, K P Piyasena, Thilina Weerasinghe. Reserves- K T Herath, R D Ilangangedara, A Medagedara, I C Kumara, K P Chathunga, K M Perera, N L Chathuranga, G H Piyumal, Buwanaka Wijebandara, S U Karunaratne. 

Friday 23rd September, 2011 - The Island