• Insists he was never involved in Fijian fiasco as SLRFU CEO
• Optimistic of SLR governance crisis being overcome

Former Sri Lanka Rugby Captain and National Sports Council (NSC) Chairman Priyantha Ekanayake says that he is optimistic that once a new constitution is adopted by the Working Task Force (WTF) helmed by SDIG (Retd) M.R. Latiff, Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) will be able to sort out its administrative shortcomings by or before August.

He said that ongoing communications between Minister of Sports Sunil Kumara Gamage and World Rugby (WR) to that extent had been positive.

In an interview with The Sunday Morning Sports, Ekanayake expressed the fervent hope that the sport’s global governing body would allow Sri Lanka to compete in the Asia Top 4 Series in June-July, although not by imposing any sanctions on the local body until it overcomes its governance issues. 

Ekanayake, a double international for his country, having represented the nation in competitive rugby and basketball, opined that “bonkers” selections had resulted in Sri Lanka losing the first Test to the New Zealand Under 85 kg team in Nittawela early last month.

He hoped that such selections would not be repeated for the sake of rugby in Sri Lanka. 

Following are excerpts:

What is the current state of rugby in terms of administration and how would SLR manage to sort out its year-old governance crisis as per World Rugby’s deadline?

WR had issued an ultimatum to us to hold the Special General Meeting (SGM) first and then the Annual General Meeting (AGM) by overhauling the old Constitution, and we had to adhere to it or we would have got suspended. 

They then wanted us to do three things: to do proper due diligence on the clubs; to address certain accusations regarding the Election Committee supposedly having violated certain regulations; and adopting the new constitution, which had been previously accepted by all stakeholders in the sport, as well as the holding of the AGM afterwards.

Could you explain the situation that was created by the Minister, who initially appointed you as the head of the original WTF along with your NSC colleague and ex-player Rohan Abeykoon, only to reverse the gazette and appoint SDIG (Retd) Latiff as the new President instead?

The Minister in fact appointed a committee to address the requirements of WR and this particular committee had only two tasks. The initial committee included President’s Counsel Dinal Phillips (a figure from the legal circles), National Olympic Committee (NOC) President Suresh Subramaniam (since rugby is an Olympic sport), Latiff, myself, and Abeykoon. 

The Minister, from what I heard, had wanted to appoint two persons from the NSC, so he had proceeded to appoint both myself as the NSC head and Abeykoon. I believe they decided to make me the President of the WTF in view of my being the Chairperson of the NSC. 

Subsequently, this particular WTF was formed, more or less on the lines of an interim committee in order to address the two salient issues put forth by World Rugby, which it called the Working Task Force. 

It then realised that it was a genuine mistake on the part of the ministry, since sitting officials of the NSC cannot serve in another sports committee, as per the existing regulations of the Sports Law. It then changed it or rectified its mistake. Accordingly, we submitted our resignations and that is how it panned out. 

Therefore, I feel it is unfair to haul either the Minister or even Abeykoon and myself over the coals for this oversight. In fact, it had nothing to do with us at all.

Could you elaborate on the current situation with regard to the election of office bearers for SLR?

We will now have to adopt the new constitution, which has been agreed upon by the game’s local stakeholders. Afterwards, they will have to hold the elections within 40 days. 

However, as per the new regulations that have been proposed by the Minister, it will now have to be done within a 90-day (three-month) period. But I am not sure whether we will get that amount of time or a grace period from WR. Once that is done, they will have to announce the date for the election officially.

So, in your opinion, an AGM will take place for SLR in due course?

Yes, that is the plan and we have already discussed this possibility with the Attorney General’s (AG) Department via our lawyers as well. That is also what WR wants us to do – to first set up the constitution and then go ahead with the election.

In other words, the ongoing governance crisis is not likely to have any detrimental impact on the national team?

No, I certainly don’t think so, because anyway the tour of the New Zealand Under 85 kg Rugby Team was also overseen by a different committee, which I was also a part of. Therefore, it is a committee on similar lines that will be looking into the national team’s involvement in the Asia Rugby Top 4 Series as well. 

I think there will be an addition of two others to the new committee. But it is basically the same committee that is handling these internationals and I don’t foresee anything untoward happening on that front.

How are the national team’s preparations heading into this crucial series, which has been billed as 2027 Rugby World Cup Qualifiers for the Asian region?

We have three matches within the next one month or so. We will start with South Korea at home and then face Hong Kong away before returning home to tackle the UAE. It’s not going to be easy or plain sailing and that is a fact. 

However, one thing that will benefit us is that we will be playing two matches here, against South Korea and the UAE. If we can compete well in the set pieces and hold our own in both those games, we may then stand a chance. But playing against Hong Kong away is going to be really tough, as those guys with expats all around will not be easy to roll over. So let’s see how our boys fare.

You were highly critical of the selections made for the first Test against the New Zealand Under 85 kg team in Nittawela in early May. Can you tell us what prompted your outburst against former Head Coach Sanath Martis and the selection panel headed by Sudath Sampath?

I think what happened was that I never expected to get such a big crowd for the preceding match at Race Course against Malaysia. 

Before that game, we had not played 15s international rugby for a long time and it was, in my view, dead and buried in this country. So, for the Malaysian game, people came in droves and supported our lads big time. And don’t forget that the Lankan team too played out of their skins on that day. You certainly have to play well to garner over 50 points against an international team and I think the boys delivered. I believe we got our combinations right and the crowds came and backed them to the hilt. 

That match subsequently led us to the biggest series that we have ever played in our lifetime – a representative team coming to play two games against us for the first time in over 100 years from New Zealand. There was a lot of hype in New Zealand and a lot of hype here, and it was a good opportunity for us to claim a rare international scalp with the overwhelming support of the fans.

Then came the bombshell selection, where only six players were retained from the Malaysian match and the rest dropped. This is utterly bonkers in my book. I simply don’t understand it. 

I don’t know who made that call, whether it was the Head Coach, the selectors, or all of them together. We were playing probably the best possible team in the world and we had rested players. 

What does that say to the rest of the world? I mean, you can always rest players if you have already won a series, but even before its start, we rest our best players and get duly thumped. This is mind-boggling to say the least and that is why I voiced my views. If that riled up the former Coach, then so be it, I couldn’t care less. 

Do they ever engage in this type of bonkers selection in cricket? Have you ever heard of Sri Lanka resting its key players in a series against Australia before the start of the first Test? 

Also, don’t overlook the fact that these guys came from New Zealand and it is the height of winter there. This was a God-given opportunity for Sri Lanka to strike when the iron was hot. What do we do? We go and rest our best, play a second-choice, and play into the hands of the Kiwis. They then read us like a book and cashed on the chance that had been given to them. 

The second match we played did not have a ghost of a chance because by that time they had analysed us to a tee. So it was a missed opportunity and it really hurt, which is why I came out with my opinion.

Do you believe that we got our priorities wrong?

I wouldn’t say priorities were wrong, but I asked the Captain and he told me that he too was clueless as to why the bulk or the core of the team were rested. 

That is why I was surprised; there was no need to make so many changes ahead of a new series when we were on a high after a decent win over Malaysia. It really didn’t make any rugby sense to me, which is why I came out openly and aired my views. If that hurt the pride of the Coach, I cannot help it. His wife has probably never criticised him in his life, that’s all I can say.

Do you believe that if we had played our first-choice XV, we could have won that game in Nittawela?

Yes, definitely. The New Zealand team wouldn’t have known our combinations and they had only a few practice sessions before landing here; that was our chance and we had to hit them with everything we got. 

When you play against an opposition that you have never played before, any country will field their strongest XV in the first match; if you ask any coach in the world, they will attest to what I am saying. What transpired is illogical, yet now that is all history, and all I can say is that we lost a golden opportunity.

Will this be a lesson for Sri Lanka, going into the future?

Of course it will be. You must always play your best side at the start of a series and never make wholesale changes. That is a cardinal rule that applies not only to rugby but all team sports. If any changes have to be made, make them once the series is secured and not at the very outset. 

That is why I said I had never seen such crazy selections being made in my lifetime as a sportsperson, let alone as a former Captain. I only hope this sort of thing will never ever be repeated.

Do you think your strong criticism of the selections had a role in the previous Coach leaving his post?

I really don’t know for sure. I must say that I really didn’t criticise an individual as such and I only criticised the system. And I also don’t know to date as to who made that final decision to rest so many, whether it was the Coach, the selectors, or all of them together. 

The skipper said he too was in the dark. I just gave my candid opinion and whether that is right or wrong is subjective. I only said it as an ex-player. I would never have agreed to a coach resting his best players ahead of a series and this never happened in our time. It was unheard of those days. 

What is your take on the Fijian fiasco during your term as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU)?

The Fijian fiasco started in 2014, I think. I came to the SLRFU as its CEO in December 2016. All these things had been agreed upon even before I stepped in as the CEO. They are talking about this £ 50,000 fine. This particular fine was imposed on us by the then International Rugby Board (IRB) long before I came in. 

I also don’t think we had any chance of even negotiating that or anything of that nature. By the time the Fijians had played, I was not even part of the SLRFU system, to cut a long story short. By the time I came in, they had already made that decision. 

Also, I need to stress here that when I came in as the CEO, I was never involved in policy decisions as to who should be paid, etc. It was all done before I took over. Therefore, it was never the CEO’s decision. 

It is also sad to see how the people who are now criticising are the ones who were in that committee. It is they who became the Presidents, Vice Presidents, etc. and thereafter no one spoke about it. They have now suddenly begun to talk about it as if they have woken from a deep slumber. I cannot fathom the logic behind it all now.

So you are adamant that you were not part of the decision-making process at the time?

I think they are casting aspersions on my character. Then there is also the press. As I told you, if there is a problem between you and me, there will always be three sides to it; your story, my story, and the true story. I think if the press has only listened to one side and written something without even questioning me, then that is a problem. 

I believe it has been blown out of proportion and I am now forced to explain to everybody as to why I have done this. I really don’t understand the motives behind the people who are talking about it. I wish they would come and ask me openly if somebody has an issue with it after all these years.

Lastly, what is your take on the state of rugby and how will it move away from its governance crisis and get re-established?

I think we have a very good committee composed of sound administrators, who would be able to restore the administration to a set of capable people during the coming months. 

Latiff obviously is well respected in society, not just in the rugby fraternity, and his leadership will be crucial in going forward to adopt the new constitution. The same applies to the rest. Their first job will be to adopt the constitution and get the AGM going. While doing that, they will then have to work with the committee they have formed to run these few upcoming international matches. 

Once all those things are done, they can hold the AGM and then hand it over to whomever will be elected the new president, secretary, etc., and that team should be able to run the affairs.

PHOTOS KRISHAN KARIYAWASAM