Chief National rugby selector Ajith Abeyratne believes that Sri Lanka rugby has been taught new principles about winning, by the security forces and that Sri Lanka’s sportsmen and women should take a cue from them to succeed in their sporting endeavours.

Abeyratne, who oversaw the selecting of the final squad for the upcoming Youth Rugby ASIAD in Hong Kong, scheduled to be held September 5-12, told ‘The Island’ that it’s the oneness among the security forces that ensured victory over the tiger rebels and helped usher in peace in the country.

"Our rugby players must remember that they are representatives of a ‘new country’ liberated from the clutches of terrorists. Like the security forces, the rugby players also must believe that if there is oneness amongst the team members nothing is impossible. There is a lot of self-belief among the people of Sri Lanka after the security forces won the war and this should be experienced in sport too," said Abeyratne.

Abeyratne, a former National rugby player himself, went on to state that victory at the Youth Asian Rugby Championships would be ensured if the players were dedicated, possessed skills, were persevering and set themselves a goal to achieve at the tournament which is contested by seven other countries.

"As for the goal, I want the players to win the championships," said Abeyratne who was assisted in his task of picking and pruning the rugby squad, which initially numbered 56, by DIG Daya Jayasundare, Marco de Silva and Tikiri Marmabe, the other National rugby selectors. He said that all the selectors had been present at rugby matches this season and this enabled them to have a thorough knowledge of the players when selecting the youth National squad.

Abeyratne said there was a lot of pride involved in the players representing the country at such a young level. "All the players are committed and know what the opportunity affords in terms of wearing the National jersey.

So it was a bit disappointing for those who were left out when the squad was pruned down, time and again following trials. We (selectors) made it a point to talk to those who made their exit from the squad and told them not to step down but to step up training with the intention of representing the country, some day," said Abeyratne.

He said he and his selectors had done their duties to the best of their abilities bearing in mind that they had to pick the best squad to represent Sri Lanka. Asked what he had to say about the axing of promising Thomian schoolboy Arjun Manoharan who amassed over 100 points this season, with most of the points coming through his place kicking, Abeyratne said, "Manoharan is a good player, but there were better players who are also place kickers. There were some shortcomings in his (Manoharan’s) defence and that cost him his place."

Sri Lanka has participated in the Youth Asian Championships since its inauguration in 1995. The island’s crowing moment in this tournament came in year 2000, when they finished third and qualified for the Youth Rugby World Cup in Chile, in 2001. Even last year, the young ‘Lions’ finished a creditable third, when they beat Thailand in the third place play-off.

The country’s junior players have helped rugby retain its place in the country’s annual sports calendar. The players have shown vast improvement in their approach to rugby which many observe is very professional. "The players are physically fit, given they are youth and have age on their side. But the real challenge now is to live up to the physical demands of modern rugby. I am happy with the players in the squad because they are big. Each player in the front five weighs over 100 kilos," he said.

The talented Sri Lanka youth team will be led by Isipatana College captain Niroshan Fernando. Asked what criteria the selectors adopted in picking the skipper from a bunch of players, amongst whom are rugby captains from other schools, the chief rugby selector replied, "we observed what Fernando did with the Isipatana College team which he guided and helped improve with every game as the season progressed. Most of the players in his team were 17 years of age and we thought it was creditable of him to turn that young team around, which had lost a couple of matches and see it qualify for the schools knockout final. The selectors have also watched his conduct on and off the field and have been impressed."

Abeyratne said he believed that school rugby was ideally structured in Sri Lanka and the players who had played rugby until the knockout stage of the season would have had enough experience, in terms of the number of matches played by a player, per year.

He said that the players would be playing their matches on an artificial turf in Hong Kong and the new experience could pose some challenges.

"Given the conditions we are going to play in, the team needs to have quick ball in the scrums and two or three options in terms of the game plan," he said.

There are many views expressed on the lack of preparation time for the tournament because the championship is held this year in September and not in December as in previous years. Abeyratne said that it was good that the youth rugby championships was advanced to September, because if the season dragged on till December, the players would have felt the strain, as all teams had started the season in January this year.

Props - Muhammadu Sabri (Kingswood), Nikila Senanayake (Royal), Ashan Dassanayake (Royal), Janith Jayasuriya (S. Thomas’), Sachin David (S. Thomas’), Hookers - Roshenka Kodithuwakku (S. Thomas’), Udara de Silva (Royal)

Locks - Muksith Kothdoos (Isipatana), Kalana Amarasinghe (Royal), Shenal Dias (St. Peter’s), Sandeep Jayawardene (S. Thomas’), Jeewaka Hewavitharana (S. Thomas’),

Third-row-forwards - Dushan Honnanthara (Prince of Wales), Hasthika Bandaranayake (Royal), Hamsa Hassan (Royal), M. Arshan (St. Anthony’s, Katugastota), Idris Omar (Trinity)

Scrum halfs - Roshan Weeraratne (Kingswood), Aqeel Sathuk (Royal), Adeep Hamid (Trinity),

Centres - Niroshan Fernando (Isipatana/skipper), Anupriya Ethipola (Dharmaraja), Duminda Attygalle (Royal), Shawin Kapuwatte (S. Thomas’), T. Z. Jayah (Wesley)

Wing three quarters - Chamara Dabare (Royal), Anurudhdha Wilawara (S. Thomas’), Kenon Armstrong (Trinity),

Full backs - Rajitha Sansoni (Kingswood), S. Mohammed (Royal)