Sri Lanka ‘15 a Side’ Squad head for Asia Rugby Championship

Sri Lanka ‘15 a Side’ Squad head for Asia Rugby Championship

5/24/2019 6:26:21 AM

The Sri Lanka National Rugby Squad is schedule to leave for Taipei, Taiwan on the 25^th May to compete in the Asia Rugby Championship Division 1 Tournament, which takes place from the 29^th May to 2^nd June 2019 at the Taipei Municipal Stadium.

The final squad which was named today is captained by 23 year old new skipper Omalka Gunarathna. Omalka who recently led the Sri Lanka team to Malaysia to play 2 warm up games, showed good leadership qualities and lots of promise on and off the field. Therefore Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) has decided to retain Omalka as captain for this all important Tournament. The squad includes some young talented players among some season campaigners. The selectors have done a great job in selecting the best possible squad for the tournament, and also looking at building a team for the future. There are 17 new players in the squad who will be looking to star in this tournament. The senior players who have been selected have performed well in the past in National colors as well in the recently completed local tournaments. The squad is well balanced with a good mix of youth and experience.

Sri Lanka last played 15 a side International Rugby in the 2017, at the Asian 5 Nations Division 1 in Malaysia. In that Tournament Sri Lanka beat Philippines 24 to 13 and UAE 33 to 17. But lost to Malaysia 09 to 22. Sri Lanka emerged as Runners-up ending a successful tournament.

Sri Lanka will play Philippines on the 29^th of May. The 2^nd game will involve Chinese Taipei taking on Singapore on the same day. The losers of the 2 games will play in the 3^rd place play off, and the winners will battle it out in the final on 2^nd June. It's a must win tournament for Sri Lanka, who are hoping to be promoted to the top division.

Message from the President (SLR) %u2013 Mr. Lasitha Gunaratne

I want the players to give their 100% in this tournament to help Sri Lanka get promoted. SLR has put in a lot hard work, and I am sure our team will make Sri Lanka proud in this tournament. I take this opportunity to thank the Sports Minister - Hon Harin Fernando, Director General - Mr. Dammika Muthugala, Chairman Sugathadasa Stadium - Mr. Dinuk Wijerathe, The High Performance team, Coaches, Selectors and all at SLR for the preparations for this tournament. A big thank you to our sponsors Dialog Axiata for their continuous support. Finally, I wish our team the best of luck and blessings for a successful tournament.

Touring Squad

1. Omalka Gunaratne (Captain)

2. Jason Melder (Vice Captain)

3. Kavindu Perera (Vice Captain)

4. Roshan Weerarathne

5. Sajith Saranga

6. Prasad Madushanka

7. Thilina Wijesinghe

8. Umesh Madushan

9. Nivanka Prasad

10. Mithun Hapugoda

11. Theekshana Dasanayake