Sri Lanka’s training for the Carlton Sevens rugby tournament got off to a wobbly start yesterday with almost half the squad not being able to make it to the grounds.

Sri Lanka coach Imthie Marikar told The Island that he was ecstatic to see even half the squad at training given that there was such a long lay off from rugby.

It is learnt that a good number of the sevens players weren’t available for National pool training due to their commitments with the Defense Services 15-a-side Rugby tournament which concluded on Monday, with Navy emerging champions.

"The boys were rather enthusiastic about starting training and I expect to see the full squad at training tomorrow (Wednesday)," said Marikar.

However, he warned that without the full squad it was difficult to play even a practice game. "The most important thing is that we started, but I am afraid about four players will not be able to make themselves available due to injuries," he said.

Marikar said that competing at international rugby sevens tournaments was becoming increasingly difficult, with the sport being included in the Olympic Games. "Sri Lanka needs to be consistent, playing rugby sevens. If not, we may not receive invitations for future tournaments," he stressed.

Marikar, a former National player, who was also the manager of the Sri Lanka side at the 2009 Hong Kong Sevens, added that the governments of all rugby playing nations had taken rugby sevens seriously.

He spoke highly of South Korea, which is one of the teams in Group D, which also includes Sri Lanka and Pakistan. "The Koreans are very strong and have won the Shanghai Leg of the Asian Sevens Series," he said.

Marikar said that the players were found wanting in their fitness during the latter part of the training session yesterday and added; "there is a lot of work for the fitness trainer."

Sri Lanka’s renowned fitness trainer Mohotilal Jayatilake is in charge of the fitness needs of the team.

The Carlton Sevens rugby tournament will be held on November 28 and 29 at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo and will feature top teams like Japan (winner of the Asian Sevens Series), Kazakhstan, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, China and Malaysia.

The Carlton Sevens is the final stop in a newly introduced Asian Sevens Series which also had tournaments in China, Brunei, Borneo (Malaysia) and Iran. Japan has already won the Asian Sevens Series as it won the final ranking tournament which was hosted by Malaysia (Borneo Sevens).