Junior rugby team selections game today at Havies

By Shamseer Jaleel

The Colombo and Kandy combined schools encounter will be played today at Havelock Park with the kickoff scheduled for 4 p.m. This encounter is an annual event with the intention of selecting the junior national rugby outfit for the Under 20 Junior World Rugby Tournament (JWRT) Asian Zonal encounter which will take place in Singapore from 13-19 December.

This tournament is organised by the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SSRFA). The Kandy outfit will be coached by Nihal Gunaratne (Junior), assisted by Pradeep Basnayake and Nalaka Weerakody while the Colombo side will be coached by Sanath Martis with Colin Dinesh supporting him. 

Former Isipathana, Peter’s and present Royal Coach Sanath Martis has already been selected as the Head Coach. The Central Province team will be led by Isuru Rangala while the Colombo outfit will be led by Omalka Gunaratne.

The second leg of this encounter will take place at Nittawela on 30 September giving a fair chance for both players from Kandy and Colombo. Sri Lanka will play along with Hong Kong, Taipei and Singapore with the winners getting a berth for next year’s Junior Rugby World Cup in 2016.