Asia Rugby Championship Under19 in Taipei

Lewke and Mushtaq appointed to the coaching staff

By Shamzeer Jaleel

Two highly successful young coaching staff Dushantha Lewke (Head Coach) and Mohamed Mushtaq (Assistant Coach) were appointed for the Asia Rugby Championship Under19 event which will take place in Taipei during December 2018.

Defending champions, Hong Kong, Taipei, South Korea, and Sri Lanka will lock horn in the group encounters with the winner booking their berth for the 2019 junior World Rugby Tournament (JWRT) for Division I Asian Zone qualifications.

Former Royal College, CR & FC and Kandy SC player and current Royal head coach had a successful season with the Reid Avenue outfit. He was under veteran Sanath Martis for several seasons before taking over the coaching duties at Royal.

Meanwhile, his deputy Musthaq needs no introduction into rugby. He represented Zahira and CR & FC being a sevens specialist represented the country in many tournaments. Mushtaq also handled the Under18 sevens outfit at the Hong Kong event 2 years back. Currently, 37 players are under training in Colombo a squad of 25 will be selected by end of this month.

Hong Kong is the defending champions in the Under 19 league for a long time with Sri Lanka ending as second best unable to proceed any further at the World event.

December 12

Hong Kong vs South Korea

Sri Lanka vs Taipei

December 15

Sri Lanka vs South Korea

Taipei vs Hong Kong

December 18

Sri Lanka vs Hong Kong

Taipei vs South Korea