May 05, Colombo (LNW): The sign is the elephant. Although it is said to be an elephant, it has the tusks of an elephant. Those who climb onto the back of this tusker and carry the elephant hook later put the tusked elephant to sleep for a camel to caress. As the camel walked calmly, the people who had put the elephant to sleep waved. Today is no different.
However, the elephant king, who made it clear to the camel and those wishing to caress him that a tusker cannot be put to sleep forever, demonstrated his strength, resulting in an impressive final score of 45-7 against the giants of Kazakhstan.
The Sri Lankan players are elevating the country to one of the top divisions in Asia, despite facing barriers erected by the Asia Association that hinder not only the ascent of the national team but also the visibility of the Sri Lankan flag at the Asian level. There were also individuals who, based on that bitter history, destroyed the country for their own comfort and happiness, raising questions among players, referees, and other Sri Lankans who contributed to the rugby game in various capacities.
But as well as the desire to win in the burning cages of Kazakhstan, and the enjoyment of the wickedness of the previously mentioned group, the young players of Sri Lanka lifted them up and smashed them on the ground.
Despite having an elephant in the symbol, if you compare the height and weight of the Kazakhstan team with the condition of the Sri Lankan players, Sri Lanka had no small competition when it came to body. Despite being smaller in stature compared to the Kazakhstan players, they understand that the richness of their technique, along with maintaining a continuous rhythm and rapport as a team, is their greatest strength that leads to victory.
The Sri Lankan players controlled the Kazakhstani players who came to their limits with impetuousness and passion like taming an elephant with a small tusk. It was a beautiful sight. The likes of Tharindu Chaturanga and Sachith Peiris often took the lead by dropping those heavy bodies.
The head coach of the Sri Lankan team, Sanath Martinez, as well as Nilufer Ibrahim and Dushan Lewke, should be appreciated for building the correlation with the continuous rhythm and focus in the process of this victory. Indeed, appreciation should also be extended to the original coaches of the players who, over time, molded them both physically and mentally to a standard suitable for the national level, thereby facilitating their performance in this endeavor.
In terms of team responsibility, Tharinda Ratwatte’s commendable effort to implement it in the field with a sharp yet calm demeanor stands out. Noteworthy contributions from Heshan Jansen, Tenuka Nanayakkara, Adisha Wiratunga, and Zubair Dore further accentuate the team’s dedication. The score of 45 – 7 was brought down to 45 from what was anticipated to exceed 50. In the final minutes, Heshan Nethmina facilitated two potential tries by delivering precise passes to Dinal Ekanayake. Regrettably, despite Dinal’s standout performance throughout the game, he failed to capitalize on those opportunities.
During the initial half of the match, Sri Lanka secured a commanding 31-0 lead through a combination of speed and strategic play. Zubair Dabare clinched the first victory for Sri Lanka, followed by Adisha Weeratunga. Tenuka Nanayakkara claimed the third, while Tarinda Ratwatte and Dinal Ekanayake secured the fourth and fifth respectively. At the halftime break, Tarinda Ratwatte successfully scored those three tries.
After the break, Kazakhstan tried to be more aggressive than in the first half and showed a strong desire to defend. The Sri Lankan team intelligently tried to increase the number of points by not allowing the opponents to overcome the advantage of their points difference. s a result, the two tries scored by Heshan Janson and Sachith Silva in the second half were expertly converted by Nethmina. Kazakhstan breached Sri Lanka’s territory only once during the half, securing a try, with the conversion executed accurately.
Throughout the tournament, greater prominence was afforded to ONE TRY ONE TREE, fulfilling the wish of the acting president. Despite facing international restrictions imposed by the Asia President, which had confined Sri Lanka Rugby for many years, Sri Lanka Rugby persevered. Under such challenging circumstances, the organization continued to participate in and garner support for rugby within Sri Lanka, exemplified by its involvement in the Commonwealth tournament.
Simultaneously, amidst disruptions caused by the Stabilization Committee during the Asian Games, the Sri Lankan team faced challenges accessing adequate training opportunities for the tournament. Nonetheless, domestic matches within Sri Lanka proceeded uninterrupted.
Efforts were made to establish systems and tournaments aimed at identifying and nurturing new talent. Additionally, initiatives were undertaken to bolster international relations between countries.
These were launched in connection with the Acting President. Therefore, it was not possible to ban rugby in Sri Lanka and hide its existence. They worked.
Nalin de Silva hid the history related to himself and avoided the tree that could only bring out his own identity and delayed telling the world that he could not bring down Sri Lanka rugby, and he did not want to damage the embrace of the currently recovering Asia President.
We also know that thinking about the environment is an important thing globally. But to talk about rugby, to talk about its pride, it is absurd to plant trees in a rugby sports tournament. Ultimately, the Acting President of rugby redirected the conversation away from the value of rugby itself, to the extent that several rugby matches were overshadowed by a tree-planting initiative.
However, the 15 Sri Lankan players who were on the field, constantly raised the pride of Sri Lankan rugby with their minds and bodies and made it visible above the plants that were raised to show it.
How the concept of allotting individual plants named after the player who scores each try would fit into a team sport may not have crossed the mind of the acting president as he was crushed under the plants.
Had the Sri Lankan players prioritized winning individual accolades such as having plants named after them over striving for team victory with unwavering professionalism, the situation might have deteriorated, resulting in defeat.
This recalls how the Sri Lankan football team faced consequences for similar individualistic goals during a South Asian tournament.
Even though the monks who are involved in the work played games, their focus here is to spread the growing of plants. But the lucky one who played as a player and got to sit on the first chair of the association due to the resignation of the president, these owners had to show the injustice that happens to a player who gives his hand to the team to win, even if he did not score a try in a team game in his life.
Therefore, those plants were named 1, 2, 3 etc. for the name of the country. The name Tuskers of the Sri Lankan team was also used and the names Tuskers 1,2,3 were also to be continued.
However, we pay our respects to the skills of the Sri Lanka Rugby players who made it possible for the world to see and hear a proud story about Sri Lanka, as well as to write and speak to the media.
*Adapted from original article, “සද්ධන්තයාගේ තරම ඔටුවන්ට සහ ඔටු හුරතලුන්ට පෙන්නයි” by Nishman Ranasinghe published on 05.05.2024
