The Sri Lanka Under-18 rugby team and with officials 

By Shamseer Jaleel

Sri Lanka Under-18 rugby outfit ended the Asia Rugby Emirates Under-18 sevens tournament in third place yesterday in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

The Sri Lanka Youth outfit did well in their group encounters to beat Thailand (27-0), Taipei (29-12), and ended against Hong Kong (17-17). After the group stages, both Hong Kong and the UAE ended on top in their respective groups, while Malaysia and Sri Lanka were placed second.

Sri Lanka edged out Malaysia 17-14 to secure third position, while in a shocking encounter, the UAE, full of expats, thrashed Hong Kong 43-0 to win the title.

In the girls’ encounter, Hong Kong beat Thailand to secure the title in their segment.

The Peterites’ highest points scorer last season, Vishenka Silva, led the Sri Lanka U-18 outfit, with Rajiv Perera being the head coach of the outfit, who is also the head coach of the Sri Lions Rugby outfit.

Anil Jayasinghe, the former Vidyartha and Kandy SC skipper, was the Coach of Match Official (CMO) in this tournament, while Gihan Yatawara and Aruna Shantha officiated as referees.