Sri Lanka’s Under-19 rugby squad has been reduced to 40 players following the completion of the inaugural NEXT XV Rugby Tournament, which gave the national selectors an opportunity to see the 140 schoolboy players in contention for national selection.
However, the finalisation of the squad was delayed by nearly two weeks while awaiting the national selectors’ clearance, raising concerns over valuable preparation time lost ahead of a crucial international assignment.
The NEXT XV final was played on 10 October, with the selected 40 players now expected to begin their training program in Colombo in early November under head coach Radhika Hettiarachchi.
Sri Lanka will compete in the Asian qualification tournament for the Junior World Rugby Tournament, with Hong Kong, South Korea and Taipei providing the opposition. Sri Lanka will face Hong Kong on December 15 in what is expected to be a crucial encounter, before the competition concludes on December 19.
The tournament carries enormous importance, with the winners securing promotion to Division 1 of the Junior World Rugby Tournament next year. Sri Lanka last reached this stage in 2000, finishing third in the tournament held in Colombo before touring Chile for the 2001 Junior World Championship.
Sri Lanka Rugby President Pavithra Fernando expressed his disappointment over the delay.
‘I am deeply disappointed that repeated delays by the selection committee in completing the required grading and signatures have delayed the start of our Under-19 training by two weeks. Despite clear deadlines, Hong Kong reportedly commenced preparations one month ago. Our players and coaches deserve adequate preparation time, and it is unacceptable that avoidable administrative delays have cost them valuable opportunities,’ Fernando said.