- DG determined to retain Head Coach
Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) Competent Authority (CA) Shemal Fernando has said that he will make an official request via the Sports Minister tomorrow (19) from National Men’s Rugby Team Head Coach Sanath Martis to reconsider his recent decision to resign.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Sports, Fernando, who is also the Director General (DG) of Sports, stated that it was “most unfortunate” that Martis had decided to quit his post.
The veteran coach, who was serving voluntarily, quit his post in the past week following vituperative criticism of team selections and strategy by National Sports Council (NSC) Chairman Priyantha Ekanayake.
This was after the conclusion of the recent two-match Test series against the New Zealand Under 85 kg Rugby Team, where the tourists won the series by a combined tally of 82 to 16.
The Sports Ministry DG added that the Tuskers could ill afford to lose the services of an experienced coach of the mould of Martis ahead of the Asia Rugby Top 4 series against South Korea, Hong Kong, and the UAE across June-July.
He described Ekanayake’s outburst as a misunderstanding of the situation by the NSC Chairman and was optimistic that it could be resolved amicably for the greater benefit of the game in the country.
Fernando expressed hope that the Sri Lanka Head Coach, for his part, would seriously reconsider his sudden decision to step down and instead continue to train the players for the upcoming internationals as well.
However, he could not be drawn to comment on who would be called upon to coach the Tuskers in the event of Martis refusing to rejoin his charges for the upcoming encounters.
Martis led Sri Lanka to the Asia Rugby Division 1 Championship precisely 12 months ago under now-retired second-rower Suhiru Anthony.
He then coached them to the top tier of Asia Rugby with a 59-19 victory over Malaysia in Colombo in a playoff match on 19 April.
However, rugby analysts point out that the tipping point was the two heavy defeats suffered by the national team in Nittawela (50-10) and Colombo (32-6), respectively, against the New Zealand Under 85 kg side.
Martis also trains the St. Peter’s first XV rugby team, apart from coaching CH & FC in the local club rugby circuit.
It had been reported in the press that the now resigned coach had hinted of his intention to step down in the wake of the win over Malaysia last month.
However, sources revealed that he had volunteered to train Nigel Ratwatte’s men only for the series against the Kiwis.
They added that he had opted to leave ahead of the Asia Rugby Top 4 series, with pressing commitments to his school team taking precedence.
(JK)