Rugby coaching camp in Kandy

S.M. Jiffrey ABDEEN Kandy Sports Corr

Over 300 ruggerites from schools in the Kandy District will undergo a rugby coaching camp organised by the Central Province Rugby Football Union in conjunction with the Kandy District Sports Development Foundation at Nittawela on Sunday commencing at 8.30 a.m.

The Chairman of the Kandy District Sports Development Foundation General Anuruddha Ratwatte will grace the opening ceremony as the Chief Guest.

This rugby coaching is the brainchild of the President of the Central Province Rugby Football Union Maurice Perera who has now completed 55 years in the rugby field as a player, coach, selector and administrator.

Perera speaking to this correspondent said our aim is to mould rugby players by catching them young before they fall by the way side.

This will be an ongoing program and he was grateful to the Sports Development Foundation for coming forward to sponsor this program. Very soon we will be taking the game to the far flung villages in the Kandy District where you find strong children who are ideal for a contact game like rugby. But they must be put through their paces and taught the finer points of this game where the rules are so complex.

This coaching camp will be handled by the Chief Technical Officer of the CPRFU Gamini Udugama along with rugby coaches from the district.

Schoolchildren from Mahiyangana and Hasalaka are expected to take part in this coaching program. All expenses in connection with the conducting of this program will be met by the Sports Foundation which has become a boon to the sportsmen and sportswomen in the District.