Dharmatilleke will lead CR and FC

Ranjeeva SENEVIRATNE

RUGBY: Sri Lanka second row forward Anuradha Dharmatilleke will lead the Ceylonese Rugby and Football Club in the 2007 rugby season.

Dharmatilleke a fine line out jumper and an excellent player in the loose played a key role in the success of his team which emerged runners-up in the 'A' division league and clinched club rugby's richest prize the Clifford Cup with a smashing 37-5 win over arch rivals Havelocks in the final.

The red shirts also won the second leg of the singer Rugby sevens at Ratgama, Galle by beating Air Force in the final.

Anuradha was a vital member of the Sri Lanka Rugby team which beat Thailand, Singapore, Kazakhstan and China in the Rugby World Cup Asian Zone Qualifiers and also represented Sri Lanka in the Asian Games rugby competition in Doha, Qatar last week. Former Sri Lanka scrum half Zulki Hamid will be Dharmatilleke's deputy.

The Red Shirts will be strengthened by the inclusion of four outstanding schoolboy ruggerites of this year - Isipatana skipper Ashan de Costa who represented Sri Lanka at the Asian Games in Qatar, Trinity's outstanding centre Kosala Tissera, Kingswood skipper and number eight Naveen Wijetunge and Royal's flanker Gayashan Wijesinghe.