Dialog Professional Rugby Sevens:

Air Force and Army out to give of their best

Ranjeeva SENEVIRATNE

Plate champions of the Radella Sevens and semi-finalists of the Cup Championship of the Colombo ‘Sevens’ last year Sri Lanka Army and plate champions of last year’s Colombo ‘Sevens’ Sri Lanka Air Force have been training hard during the last few days and should create some major upsets at the Dialog Professional Rugby Sevens which will be worked off at Bogambara Stadium on February 16 and 17, 2008. It will be sponsored by Dialog Television.

The Sri Lanka Army have always been a force to be reckoned with in Club Rugby Sevens and should give another sterling display at this year’s Sevens.

Seasoned campaigners Manoj Silva, K.K. Perera and Kapila Knowlton will play in the pack while Duminda Wickremaratne, Sri Lanka Sevens player Asanka Perera, Lankatilleke and that powerful runner Saliya Handapangoda (the find of the season last year) will be the three quarters for Army who came close to winning the Rugby Sevens Title in 1995 - losing by a whisker (16-18) to Havelocks in the final.

The Sri Lanka Air Force runners up of the second Leg of the Singer Professional Sevens at Ratgama in 2006 when they went down fighting to CR and FC (29-36) in the final too have been training hard under the watchful eyes of their dedicated coach Wasil Hafeel and are determined to give of their best.

Last year’s skipper Pradeep Kurukulasuriya, Sirej Niranga and former Sri Lanka poolist Suranga Arunashantha will be the forwards while Radeesha Seneviratne (scrum half), Nalin Sirisena (fly half), Chanaka Chandimal and former Sri Lanka Sevens player Rohan Fernando will play in the back division.

Kandy Sports Club which has won the Club Rugby Sevens title for six years in a row will be the favourites to clinch the Dialog Television Trophy and will field a virtual national team with players of the calibre of Pradeep Liyanage (captain), Imran Bisthamin, Dushanth Lewke, Eranda Weerakkody, Saliya Kumara, Fazil Marija, Sanjeeva Jayasinghe and Sri Lanka youth player Kusal Rankothge.

Their closest challengers will be CR and FC which is studded with national players - Amjad Buksh (captain), Ashan de Costa, Lasintha de Costa, Dinesh Kumara, Ashen Karthelis, Anuradha Dharmatilleke, Mohamed Sheriff, ex-Sri Lanka flanker Danushka Perera and last year’s Kandy SC winger Mohamed Jabbar.

CH and FC is the other team capable of clinching the title. Under the leadership of Sri Lanka winger Lakala Perera the Maitland Crescent club will have the services of national players Achala Perera, Dinesh Sanjeewa, Dilanka Wijesekera and talented youngsters Tuan Shamrock, Matheesha de Silva and Niranjan Wickremaratne.

Past winners - 1977 (CR and FC), 1978 and 1979 (Havelocks) 1980 (CH and FC), 1981 (Havelocks), 1982 and 1983 (CR and FC), 1984 (no tournament), 1985 (Police), 1986 and 1987 (Havelocks), 1988 and 1989 (Police), 1990 (no tournament), 1991 to 1994 (CH and FC), 1995 (Havelocks), 1996 (CR and FC), 1997 and 1998 (CH and FC), 1999 (Kandy SC), 2000 and 2001 (Havelocks), 2002 to 2007 (Kandy SC).