Sri Lanka rugby’s journey towards reaching professionalism has made some of the top clubs wilt under the pressure which such endeavors bring.

It is reliably learnt that a good number of reputed clubs are finding it hard to pay their players and coaches. A good number of the club coaches are expatriates.

Rugby analysts believe that this whole rugby business in the island has grown by such large proportions over the years that the authorities here at present don’t have the means to sustain it.

They say this is the reason why some top class rugby players are making an exit from private rugby playing clubs and joining the forces to continue their rugby. Some clubs have failed to pay their players for months and now the trend is to join the forces, because this assures a monthly income for rugby players who take their rugby seriously.

One club that has felt the pinch is Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club (CR&FC), Colombo’s most successful rugby playing club for the past 10 years.

Jehan Kannagaratne, President, CR&FC told ‘The Island’ that there had been a delay in paying salaries to players. "The club banked on finding 14 million rupees for the season but could find only eight million. As a result, there is a delay in settling payments to players but we have given them a payment plan to clear the backlog," said Kannangaratne.

He however stressed that the CR&FC players were gainfully employed and what the club paid them for playing rugby was made in the form of an allowance.

Kannangeratne added that the club had provided the players with everything during the past seven years and it was sad to see players leaving them during difficult times. "This shows the calibre of some of the players we are getting. I believe the club needs to re-look at the whole rugby strategy again. In the future, we’ll be looking at recruiting players from Colombo who don’t need the money they earn from rugby to sustain themselves," said Kannangaratne.

He also said that the club had commenced a scheme where it finances the education of players. He also said he believed CR&FC could survive this difficult period and turn things around by 2010.

Another prominent club in the heart of Colombo, Colombo Hockey & Football Club (CH&FC), has also delayed in settling payments to players. Jude Dimithri, Manager CH&FC rugby team, said that the club had been able to raise just over ¼ of the finances needed to sustain the rugby needs of the club, this season.

"Most companies that support rugby are experiencing a bad time, financially. We have Harcourts with us as our main sponsor but the other sponsor pulled out at the last moment before the season commenced. Rugby is not getting the support of sponsors, unlike in the past," said Dimithri.

He also said that the team’s performance also contributes towards attracting sponsors. "CH&FC started off well, but they didn’t fare well as the season progressed. Sponsors back winning teams and CH haven’t fared that well this season to receive the backing of many sponsors," said Dimithri.

According to Dimithri, David Edwards had finished his stint as CH coach and retuned to Australia to return to his job as an engineer.

Dimithri opined that the club should start preparing early for next season and approach sponsors as early as November this season.

Iswan Omar, a stalwart of Kandy Sports Club, whose team has won the league, knockout and SLRFU conducted domestic sevens since 2002, refused to subscribe to the thinking that Sri Lanka’s rugby is affected by the effects of global recession. "There are enough sponsors who want to pump money into rugby, but what’s keeping them away from getting involved in the sport is the presence of the Rugby Interim Committee. Rugby’s potential sponsors are looking for a change in administration. Companies hesitate to deal with interim committees and so is the International Rugby Board (IRB). The IRB hasn’t released any funds to the Rugby Interim Committee from the budget allocated for Sri Lanka, for some time," said Omar.

He said that clubs had to instill confidence in players and look after them. "It’s only then that they remain with the club. As for the Kandy SC players, all are employed and their allowances have been paid on time. Kandy SC was successful in raising the funds needed for the season and the club has even decided to provide the players a tour to South Africa at the end of the season," said Omar.

One of the leading coaches in the country, Sanath Martis, who is reputed for spotting talent in the outstations and bringing them to Colombo, which ensures they play to their potential, said that clubs couldn’t neglect the needs of professionalism, in rugby. "Clubs are finding it hard to generate finances through sponsorships, because money isn’t circulating in the country. But whatever the problem, if clubs want rugby they have to pay the players. The phrase ‘playing for the love of the jersey’ isn’t valid any more," opined Martis, a former junior national coach and the present rugby coach of St. Peter’s College, Colombo.

He said players would leave a club that doesn’t pay them for a club or institute that meets their requirements in term of remuneration. "Players are now inclined towards joining the forces because there (at the place of employment), their job is to play rugby and they are assured of an income at the end of the month," he said.

Rugby Interim Committee Chairman Dr. Maiya Gunasekere rubbished the present system adopted by clubs where the practice is to pay big money to the players for their services. "These players have been spoilt and they are expecting too much money from the clubs. They need to realize that they should play rugby because it provides them a training to face life. The most the players should be given is a nominal allowance. What all this money has done it to have driven the players towards total indiscipline," said Gunasekere. He added that he liked what he saw in terms of domestic clubs finding it hard to raise the money needed to meet the demands of present day rugby. "Very soon the time will come when we’ll find players who play rugby for the love of the sport," said Gunasekere.

Gunasekere acknowledged the fact that the SLRFU hadn’t received any finances from the IRB since the Rugby Interim Committee took over the administration of the country’s controlling body for rugby.