• Mum’s the word for sponsor

With the possibility of at least a few prominent rugby-playing schools pulling out of the forthcoming schools rugby season, Sports Minister Harin Fernando sold a dummy and passed the ball to his Cabinet colleague Dr. Susil Premajayantha at the launch of the Schools Rugby League 2024 in Colombo last Wednesday (29).

A few schools have already spoken of boycotting the upcoming League – a highly popular sports competition in the metropolis and in Kandy, in protest of a short-sighted decision taken by the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA) to play the second-round on neutral venues.

Minister Fernando said the entire episode will still need to be sorted out between the SLSRFA and the subject Minister.

He said that as the SLSRFA comes solely under the purview of the Education Ministry, he does not intend to poke his finger into it.

“I would like to advise the Schools Association to resolve this matter in consultation with Dr. Premajayantha and with the participating schools,” he said.

“They should take a vote or something. As schools rugby does not come under my Ministry, I prefer not to get involved too much or else I too will be accused of further muddying its waters. I most fervently hope that saner counsel will prevail over this issue.”

Fernando, a former Josephian rugby player, however expressed confidence in the ability of his experienced Cabinet colleague, to resolve the ‘neutral venue saga’ to the satisfaction of those concerned.

He said that in his eyes the decision to tamper with the long lasting tradition of playing at one’s host grounds and then playing at the venue of the visiting team in the following year, may have created the ‘so-called Super-Round chaos’.

The Education Minister for his part did not venture to elucidate as to how he will strive to bring about a resolution to the festering episode.

Leader of the House

It was as if the Leader of the House wanted the SLSRFA to come up with their own solutions in the event of being faced with a boycott, as it is their baby at the end of the day. 

The schools who are allegedly mulling pulling out of the League are also said to be contemplating only playing their traditional/friendly encounters in the 2024 season if the SLRFA does not renege its stance.

The schools who are opposing the move to play second-round fixtures at neutral venues are of the firm view that the SLSRFAs decision will prevent them from accruing gate collections – which is a crucial element in sustaining their annual rugby budgets.

Fears allayed

The SLSRFA President Kamal Ariyasinghe allayed any fears of ripping into the gate collections and was adamant that their aim was to take out the undue advantage factor for the host school and thereby improve the quality of rugby for the paying public.

But, what was rather bizarre was the stoic silence maintained on the matter by the sponsor of the tournament at the launch.

The sponsor for all its worth were rather busy putting on a glitzy show for the invitees and captains of schools taking part in various Divisions and Segments with the unveiling of the League trophy and displaying big screen video clips of schools rugby games of the previous season.

It was as though they were least concerned with how an imminent pull out of the cream of teams taking part in the League will have any negative impact on their brand name and for what they intend to gain in the long term.  

Minister Fernando then looked at the bigger picture of the sport in this country and said issues such as dearth of grounds, and failure to implement an insurance scheme for schoolboys were stalling the progress of the game at the school level.

He then looked at the brighter side and said among plans up his sleeve are installation of floodlights to CR & FC grounds in Colombo and the Bogambara Stadium, Kandy apart from tying up with Sri Lanka Cricket to provide a shot in the arm for rugby across the year.

The Minister who is known for his unbridled passion for the oval shaped ball game added that an insurance scheme should be introduced in conjunction with the Minister of Health to safeguard schoolboys from life-threatening injuries.

He cited an example where a school rugby player had gone blind while playing in a match two seasons ago and he averred that in order to provide a secure future to players at a young age, a welfare scheme being in place would encourage them to stick with rugby even after leaving school.

Q & A missing in action 

What was rather alarming at the schools rugby league launch was the failure to facilitate a Q & A session for the press despite them being invited for it by the SLSRFA and the title sponsor. This glaring shortcoming on the part of the organisers of the so-called launch deprived the media from seeking answers from either the schools rugby officials or the chief backer of the tournament. This was as to how they intend to tackle the threat of a League boycott by a few schools on behalf of the rugby-loving public. The event also commenced after a 45-minute delay as is typical of political invitees and it did nothing to dispel the notion that both the organisers and the main sponsor were not singing from the same hymn sheet.

PHOTOS Venura Chandramalitha