Inexperienced Backs Worry for Police

The Police SC team

By Harsha Amarasinghe and Sandun Kodithuwakku 

Police Sports Club had a rough start to the inter-club league rugby championship, having lost all three games they played so far in the league. 

Police had a close game against Navy Sports Club on the opening day but eventually went down 15 points to 7, and then they were edged out by Army Sports Club in a 25-23 thriller. In their third game of the season, they were beaten fair and square by CR & FC, who registered a victory of 36 points to 19 points.

Head coach Nilfer Ibrahim believes that the poor start to the season is largely down to the fact that they have quite a few inexperienced players in the back.

 
“If you look at our squad, we are slightly short on experience, particularly in the back. Our first choice for wing threes are school leavers, and we have options at fly-half but lack experience. We have got a lot of players injured as well. So it has been a difficult start, but I am confident we can turn things around in the upcoming matches,” Ibrahim said.
However, with the likes of Chanaka Sooriyapperuma, Rasith Silva, Danushka Edirisooriya, and captain Nisal Samadhi, the Cops have years of experience in the pack.
“Our forwards are well settled because they have been playing together for over four or five years now, which is very helpful, but we do not have the same kind of experience in the back,” Nilfer further explained. 

In previous years when Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) allowed foreign players to take part in the league, Police had a lot of success with players such as Emosi Vunivosa and Apisai Naqaliva dominating teams, but with no overseas players allowed, Police have to do it with their own players this time around.

“Police have had some brilliant overseas players. The thing about having a foreign player is that the rest of the team could play around him,” he told the Daily Mirror.

The head coach also stated that their plan at the start of the season was to ensure they finished in the top four, but that does look like a tall task as things stand now. 

Pix by Pradeep Dilrukshana