Muthu makes a comeback for Colombo leg

By Shamseer Jaleel

Sri Lanka’s men’s Sevens rugby team for the Asian Sevens Series’ Colombo leg was announced, with Jason Dissanayake, Kevin Dixon and Sudharshana Muthuthanthri included in the final 12. 

Dissanayake and Dixon missed out on the second leg in South Korea while Muththanthri, who was absent for both legs in Hong Kong and South Korea, passed the fitness test to establish his availability for the Colombo leg. The national selectors, headed by Michael Jayasekera, took extra time in order to get the best 12 players available considering their experience and level of fitness.

The men’s outfit will not only need to win the third leg in Colombo but will also be hoping that Hong Kong does not go any further than fourth position in the final leg in Colombo played on 15 and 16 October at the Racecourse rugby grounds.

“We are playing in Colombo and once again the group favours us. We will not take any sides lightly. Our main aim is to win it in front of our home crowd by winning the group matches and finishing on top. We have China, Taipei and Singapore. China will be the toughest out of the three teams. We are likely to meet either South Korea or Hong Kong in the semifinals. We have beaten South Korea in Korea and almost beat Hong Kong in Hong Kong so nothing is impossible,” said Sri Lanka skipper Dhanushka Ranjan. 

“The return of Muthuthanthri is a key factor in forward play with his vast experience in the Asian Sevens circuit. The return of two players who were excellent in the Hong Kong leg, Dissanayake and Dixon, adds more muscle to our team. We want to sign off the Asian Sevens 2016 on a high note by winning it in Colombo.”

The Sri Lankan team will play Taipei (1.12 p.m.), Singapore (4.08 p.m.) and China (7.04 p.m.) while the women’s unit will face stiff opposition from Hong Kong (12.06 p.m.), China (2.40 p.m.) and Singapore (5.58 p.m.) on the opening day and move on to the second round. The women’s team will need to finish within the top 7 to avoid being relegated from next year’s tournament. At present the men’s team is placed second on 20 points behind Hong Kong, who lead the series with a maximum of 24 points.

Squad: Dhanushka Ranjan (captain), Richard Dharmapala, Srinath Sooriyabandara, Kanchana Ramanayake, Dhanushka Dyan, Jason Dissanayake (all from Kandy), Sudharshana Muthuthanthri, Dulaj Perera, Kevin Dxion (all from Havelocks), Omalka Gunaratne, Tharinda Ratwatte and Kavindu Perera (all from CR&FC)

Head Coach: Matt Turner (England)

Trainer: Nick Groube (NZ)