Sports

Are rugby players cracking up under the rigours of heavy training?

Published

5 years ago

2022/02/23

by a Special Sports Correspondent

Former rugby player and now a coach and strength and conditioning professional Bilal Yusuf is concerned about the quantum of training done by both school and club rugby players.

It is no wonder that players today are taxed more than their systems can take. The reason, according to Yusuf, could be because these players are following a professional training routine in an amateur system.

Gone are the days when hordes of ex-schoolboy players, just out of school, awaited their turn to play club rugby. Very few among these school leavers walked in straight to the club sides of yesteryear because there was a gap between club and school rugby; in terms of the capacity needed to play senior rugby. But now the training load is basically the same for both club and school players.

And as how Yusuf sees it the players are being over trained. “The present training regimes are extremely demanding on the players. Players are training five days of the week and sessions are held twice a day. At the end of the season there is mental and physical fatigue,” said Yusuf who has also had stints both as a school and club rugby coach and also as the junior national coach for the under 20 Asian Championship. At present, he is a strength and conditioning coach for Sri Lanka Tennis.

There have been occasions where even some of the foreign coaches who have undertaken assignments at local rugby clubs having cautioned that the Sri Lankan players are trying too hard. The game has changed over the years and become more physical and the coaches now demand that their chargers pack on the pounds and spend more time in the gymnasium.

Yusuf sees the present system being counterproductive. “Sometimes doing more might make the players mentally tougher, but certainly it would not do good for the game,” he said. According to him rugby clubs around the world, where the players are not professionals, get their players to train twice a week (Tuesday and Thursday) with a game on Saturday.

But here in Sri Lanka players have to hit the gym in the morning, then shower and go to work and comeback in the evening for rugby practices. Even the sleep they get might not be sufficient. “This is a vicious circle and clubs might not be able to sustain the players in this manner,” opined Yusuf.

But a side like Kandy Sport Club could be an exception because the players are professionals and don’t really have to work, so after the morning training they ideally get to have nap and take a rest. When they comeback for training in the evening their batteries are recharged.

However, club rugby coaches and administrators might not listen to the views of a rugby coach cum trainer like Yusuf because the demands on the coach are high. Most coaches are desperate to hold on to their jobs, so they tax the players to the hilt. Yusuf cautions that school rugby players might be training more than club rugby players, hence the former might be close to total burnout when a season nears an end. We also hear of stories where the schoolboy players in their final year of rugby are skipping the GCE A Level Exam because the demands of rugby training don’t allow these players to balance sport and studies. “The problem with the system is that we might not be grooming these players to balance sport, family and life. The joys of a coach is to see them play top level rugby and when you bump into them in latter years to see them having turned out to be happy and responsible citizens,” said Yusuf.

The taking of supplements in rugby is part and parcel of the game. But some players are becoming too big too soon. “Sometimes the mass they are gaining is unbelievable; which makes us wonder whether these supplements that are given to them contain any illegal substance. The supplement taking of players must be properly monitored. We have enough doubts to suspect that some of these supplements may have performance-enhancing substances,” he said.

Insecure coaches can poison a system and make the players believe that more training is good, when the opposite is true. But there is also another issue regarding the psyche of the players. The majority of schoolboy players who have the brains and capacity to study and make good progress in life give up the sport and concentrate on higher education. The sad part of the equation is that the players who are not academics continue with rugby hence this would mean that ones who are playing club rugby might not be able to think for themselves and can be manipulated. But Yusuf cautioned by saying, “Even if you know that a certain way of eating and training is harmful you just have to follow the demands of the coach because rugby is a team sport and you are not playing for yourself”.

Yusuf concluded the interview by quoting what a foreign coach once gave as his response when someone asked whether he considers himself having done his job properly and having given something back to the game. “This coach said come and meet me in ten years time and ask me how my players are doing and whether they have become better human beings. And if they have then I think I could be considered a successful coach,” concluded Yusuf.

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Sports

Mendis, Nissanka return for England white ball series

Published

5 hours ago

2026/09/3

Sahan Weerasooriya

Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka return to the side after missing India Tests due to injuries.

by Rex Clementine

Prolific batsman Pathum Nissanka and white-ball captain Kusal Mendis are back in the fold after being named in Sri Lanka’s ODI and T20 squads for the six-match tour of England later this month.

Both Mendis and Nissanka missed the recent Test series against India through injury. Nissanka was recovering from wrist surgery, while Mendis suffered a hamstring injury during the LPL. It was the first major injury setback for the wicketkeeper batter, who has been a fixture in the Sri Lankan side for more than a decade.

Interestingly, Charith Asalanka has returned to the leadership group as vice-captain. Asalanka was stripped of the captaincy in both white ball formats earlier this year and subsequently fell out of favour with the selectors. His elevation suggests that the experiment of grooming Kamindu Mendis as the all-format vice-captain has, for the moment at least, been shelved.

There are, however, a few concerns heading into the tour. Kusal Mendis and Dushmantha Chameera have not featured in the ongoing domestic tournament, leaving them short of competitive cricket. Chameera’s lack of preparation will be particularly concerning given the fast bowler’s lengthy history of injuries. Pathum Nissanka did turn up for NCC though during this week’s T-20 competition but didn’t make an impact.

The inclusion of 28-year-old leg-spinner Sachindu Colombage in the ODI squad has also raised a few eyebrows.

While Sri Lanka’s T20 game remains a work in progress, their ODI fortunes have taken a significant turn for the better. The side has found consistency and made rapid strides, underlined by automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup in South Africa. It is a marked contrast to the build-up to the 2023 edition, when Sri Lanka were forced to travel to Zimbabwe and negotiate the qualifying tournament to earn their place at the World Cup.

Sri Lanka will begin the tour with the T20 series, with Southampton hosting the opener on September 15. The teams then travel to Cardiff and Manchester before the ODI leg gets underway at Chester-le-Street. Headingley will stage the second ODI, with the tour concluding at The Oval.

The Sri Lankan squad will leave for London on Saturday, September 5, giving them ten days to prepare for the six-match white-ball assignment.

ODI squad: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka (vice-captain), Kusal Mendis (captain), Janith Liyanage, Pavan Rathnayake, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Sachindu Colombage, Dushmantha Chameera, Eshan Malinga, Asitha Fernando and Dilshan Madushanka.

T20 squad: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Lahiru Udara, Kusal Mendis (captain), Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka (vice-captain), Janith Liyanage, Dasun Shanaka, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Tharindu Rathnayake, Dushmantha Chameera, Eshan Malinga, Nuwan Thushara and Binura Fernando.

Sports

Sampath, bowlers steer Golden Green Plantations to title

Published

5 hours ago

2026/09/3

Sahan Weerasooriya

MCA Premier League Champions 2026 Golden Green Plantations

MCA – ABANS PREMIER LEAGUE 2026

A skipper’s innings of 70 runs off 89 balls by T M Sampath and a four fer by Hesham Madushanaka and two wickets by Upul Hettiarachchi helped new comers to the MCA cricket arena Golden Green Plantations defeat David Pieris Group of Companies by four wickets in the final of the MCA-Abans Premier League 2026 and become the first winners of the ‘Abans Challenge Trophy’.

Electing to bat first David Pieris Group of Companies were restricted to 147 runs in 39.3 overs. Santhush Gunathilake who opened innings topped the score card with a fluent 53 off 50 balls with seven fours and a six. Asitha Wanninayake chipped in with 31 off 59 balls. Heshan Madushanka captured four wickets for 11 runs.

Chasing 148 to win, skipper T M Sampath scored 70 runs off 89 balls with seven boundaries and two sixes before being stumped off the bowling of Dilanka Auwardt, with score on 122/5. Shammu Ashan and Mohamed Shamaz shared a 25 run partnership to equal the scores at 147/6 and Shammu Ashan scored the winning runs with a four.

The Golden Green Plantation Team led by T M Samapth comprised, Heshn Madushanka, Malith Mihiranga, Mohamed Shamaz, Randika Mihiranga, Upul Httiarachchi, Dhanuja Induwara, Gimadu Malkam, Sammu Ashan , Vikum Sanjaya and Johan Pathirana

With only four teams entering the prestigious MCA Premier Leaguethis year, DFCC Bank secured third spot having a slightly better run rate over Nawaloka Hospitals and were unlucky that the opportunity for securing a spot in the final was washed away as qualifier 2 was abandoned on two consuecutive days due to rain.

Player of the Final T M Sampath of Golden Green Plantations receives his trophy from Sajith Athapaththu Chairman of the MCA Social, Bar and Restaurant Committee

Special Awards:

Best fielder of the Final :

Dhanuja Induwara of Golden Green Plantations [3 catches and 1 runout]

Best bowler of the Final:

Heshan Madushanka of Golden Green Plantations [4 wickets for 11 runs]

Best batsman of the Final:

Santhush Gunathilake of David Pieris Group of Companies [53 runs off 50 balls]

Player of the Final ;

T M Sampath of Golden Green Plantations [70 runs and 1 wicket]

Best bowler of the Tournament:

Tharinda Nirmal of David Pieris Group of Companies [13 wickets in 4 innings]

Best batsman of the Tournament:

Pavan Pathiraja of DFCC Bank [267 runs in 4 innings]

Player of the Tournament:

Lahiru Samarakone of David Pieris Group of Companies [239runs and 4 wickets]

Scores:

David Pieris Group of Companies 147/10 in 39.1 overs [SanthushGunathilake 53, Asitha Wanninayake 31; Heshan Madushanka 4-11, Upul Hettiarachchi 2-19]

Golden Green Plantations 151/6 in 30.3 overs [T M Sampath 70; Dilanka Auwardt 2-35]

Latest News

Nilakshika fifty, Athapaththu seven-for rescue Sri Lanka against Indonesia

Published

7 hours ago

2026/09/3

Priyan

Chamari Athapaththu (3.3-0-5-7) produced the fifth-best figures in women's T20Is [ACC]

A Chamari Athapaththu seven-wicket haul and Nilakshika Silva’s 50 off 35 saw defending champions Sri Lanka withstand a valiant Indonesian side to register a resounding 75-run victory in their Asia Cup match in Dubai.

Athapaththu was undoubtedly the pick of the bowlers, as she started and finished Indonesia’s slide with career best figures of 7 for 05, inclusive of a hat-trick – nearly two in fact. Chasing a target of 125, the opening pair of Maria Corazon and Rahmawati Pangestuti struck 16 runs in the first two overs, but once spin came into play scoring slowed down to a trickle and Indonesia were eventually bowled out for 49 in the 19th over.

Sri Lanka, too, had found it tough to combat Indonesia’s mix of spin and slow-medium seamers as they stumbled to 62 for 6 in the 13th over, but their innings received a timely boost as Nilakshika countered with a trademark back-against-the-wall effort to drag her side to a total that seemed about par on a pretty sluggish surface. In the end it proved to be plenty.

Sri Lanka struggle early on

Having been put in to bat on a fresh surface, Sri Lanka were perhaps guilty of a little complacency against their less-fancied opponents. Time and again the top order sought to find the boundary, and time and again they failed to find their timing.

On a wicket where the ball was hardly coming on, the Sri Lankan batters’ tunnel vision focused squarely on boundary hitting and eschewed strike rotation; there were 19 dot balls in a powerplay that had fetched 31 runs for the loss of two wickets.

By the halfway point of the innings, the dot count had risen to 28. The scorecard, meanwhile, read 47 for 5. Indonesia, to their credit, did well to bowl to their fields and frustrate the Lankan batters.

Sanjana Kavindi got to double-digits with a pair of nicely struck boundaries, but she was the only one of Sri Lanka’s top five to do so – and she was eventually done in on 15 missing an attempted cut on a straight one.

Nilakshika brings the Silva-lining

With recognised batting fast running out, Sri Lanka needed someone to take control of the innings, and as she has done so often over recent years it was Nilakshika that stood up to be counted.

She first strung together 17 off 18 with Kaushini Nuthyangana, but when Nuthyangana fell Nilakshika produced a masterclass in batting with the tail. She cajoled Kawya Kavindi to keep rotating the strike, and when the opportunity arose she was unerring in finding the boundaries – including Sri Lanka’s first and only six of the innings in the penultimate over.

Their seventh-wicket partnership eventually ended on 50 off 36, reached simultaneously alongside side Nilakshika’s fifty – her third in T20Is – but by then she had already ushered her side to safety.

Athapaththu steals the show

In Chethana Vimukthi, Sri Lanka might have their first ever genuine fast bowler but on a wicket where the ball was not quite coming on, pace never seemed like the answer. For the first two overs of the chase, Indonesia’s openers did well to find boundaries against Vimukthi and and fellow seamer Kawya, but then Sri Lanka introduced their spinners.

Athapaththu promptly castled Pangestuti before removing Corazon and Rada Rani off consecutive deliveries in her next over. Here she missed her hat-trick by a whisker, a yorker narrowly missing Desi Wulandari’s off stump.

She brought herself back into the attack in the 14th and removed Nanda Sakarini, and she capped things off by achieving her hat-trick at the second time of asking, taking three wickets off what proved to be the final three deliveries of the innings.

Scores:
Sri Lanka Women 124 for 7 in 20 overs (Sanjana Kavindi 15, Nilakshika Silva 50, Kawya Kavindi 15*; Ni Ariani 1-23, Sang Maypriani 2-15, Ni Luh Dewi 3-32, Sofia Velic 1-21) beat Indonesia Women 49 all out in 18.3 overs (Rahmawati Pangestudi 10, Ni Made Putri Suwandevi 12; Kavya Kavindi 1-14, Sugandika Kumari 1-03, Chamari Athapaththu 7-05, Kavisha Dilhari 1-02) by 75 runs

[Cricinfo]