Sri Lanka’s rugby sevens team is reported to have tapped the services of the country’s biggest made rugby players from the 15-a-side national squad and drafted them into vital training sessions to prepare for the challenges ahead, in Hong Kong.

The team’s fitness trainer Mohotilal Jayatilake told ‘The Island’ that he along with national coach George Simpkins had arranged the practice sessions in such a manner that the sevens players got ample opportunities to get accustomed to tackling big made players.

"These drills were specially organized to mentally toughen the players. We told the players to visualize that the bigger made players from the 15-a-side national pool were opponents from New Zealand and Australia. The players got used to training with fatigue. These drills will help the players when coming in close contact with big players of the opposite teams," said Jayatilake.

Sri Lanka faces a daunting task in playing New Zealand on the first day of the Hong Kong Sevens and locks horns with Australia and Zimbabwe on the second day of the tournament. The Hong Kong Sevens is part of the IRB Sevens World Series 2008/09 and will be worked off on March 27-29 at the Hong Kong Stadium.

Jayatilake said that the national rugby team should do these drills more often. "I am not entirely happy with the duration given to me to prepare the team for the Hong Kong Sevens. These sessions are good but it all depends on how much of it was absorbed by the players. One has to have a large heart for such brutal training sessions. The boys did well during these hard training sessions," said Jayatilake.

He said that the country’s rugby administrators should have more development squads and think of starting preparations for next year’s Hong Kong Sevens now itself. "All these preparations are good but nothing can substitute international match practice. Sri Lanka needs to play more international rugby," he said.

Sri Lanka’s first match opponent New Zealand has experienced a rough ride in the IRB Sevens World Series due to the team being hit by injuries. According to the IRB official website, the All Blacks will not have the services of seven key players due to some being injured and the others being not available for selection.

Despite the setback, the team’s coach Gordon Tietjens has been quoted in the IRB website saying, "There is a lot riding on these next two weekends as there are extra points on offer in Hong Kong, and we are only one win away from challenging for the Sevens lead". New Zealand which is rated third in IRB Sevens rugby, failed to win any one of the IRB Sevens World Series tournaments worked off in Dubai, South Africa, New Zealand and USA.

Australian sevens coach Michael O’Connor has told the IRB website that the draw in Hong Kong wasn’t easy and he expected his team to win all matches if they intended to win the Hong Kong leg. The only notable performance by Australia in IRB sevens rugby this season is qualifying for the Plate Championship final of the IRB Rugby World Cup which concluded in Dubai, this month.

Sri Lanka along with Korea (Group A), Japan, China (Both Group B), Hong Kong (Group D) and Chinese Taipei (Group E) will be the Asian teams contesting the Hong Kong Sevens this year.

In the IRB Sevens World Series tournaments played to date, South Africa has won twice (In Dubai and South Africa) while England and Argentina have won one each in New Zealand and USA respectively.

Sri Lanka squad: Fazil Marija (Captain), Mohammed Sheriff, Gayan Weeraratne, Saliya Kumara, Pradeep Liyanage, Sanjeewa Jayasinghe, Radeeka Hettiarachchi, Sajith Saranga, Dinusha Chathuranga, Chanaka Chandimal, Suranga Arunashantha, and Dilanka Wijesekare.

New Zealand squad: DJ Forbes (Captain),Tomasi Cama, Paul Grant, Nigel Hunt, Zar Lawrence, Tim Mikkelson, Jordan Puletua, Lote Raikabula, Julian Savea, Ben Souness, Chad Tuoro and Victor Vito.

Australia squad: William Bishop, William Brock, Shaun Foley, Dane Haylett-Petty, Jonathan Jenkins, Richard Kingi, Benjamin McCalman, Luke Morahan, Damon Murphy, Brian Sefanaia, Domonic Shipperley and Henry Vanderglas