Serevi to serve Sailors?

Fijian sevens rugby legend Waisale Serevi who arrived in the country last November (2009) in his capacity as coach of the Papua News Guinea (PNG) team for the inaugural edition of the Carlton International Sevens held in Colombo, has expressed serious interest in coaching the Navy SC rugby side this year, well-informed sources told LAKBIMAnEWS.
According to these sources attached to the Navy SC rugby team, the celebrated former Fijian sevens skipper has intimated his keen interest in being involved with the sailors either as a coach or player.
But, with the sport’s local governing body (Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union) not permitting overseas stars to enlist with domestic rugby clubs - the best Serevi could do would be to take over the coaching reins of the Navy SC - which created more than a few ripples last season beating League champs Kandy SC and runners-up CR & FC convincingly in the second-round.
They subsequently forewent the Caltex Clifford Cup knock-out tournament due to a raft of injuries to key players after having secured the third place in the League tournament behind title-holders Kandy SC and CR & FC.
The Navy SC rugby sources also added that bringing down an illustrious former international rugby champ of the caliber of Waisale Serevi, 41, would invariably involve huge expenses and if at all the move is to succeed the forces team would need to look into the possibility of getting a lucrative sponsorship from a rugby-loving private sponsor.
Serevi who is widely perceived to be the greatest exponent of sevens rugby of all-time also wore his country’s jersey in the fifteen-a-side code as well, but it is for his wizardry in the shorter version of the game that he became a household name in world rugby.
It is also reliably learnt that no final decision on the involvement of the former incomparable Fijian sevens captain with the Navy SC team has yet been made, but according to these sources there is strong a possibility of him coming down to Colombo, to impart his knowledge to the sailors at some stage during the forthcoming inter-club rugby season proper.
The grapevine also has it that Serevi - who has previous international coaching expertise with his own national team in addition to his awesome rugby pedigree - has been constantly nagging a top Navy SC official with a view to taking over the coaching role on a full-time basis.

Yoshitha Unlikely to Captain

Meanwhile, it is also reliably understood that the giant-killing service team of 2009 are yet to confirm Yoshitha Rajapaksa as captain ahead of the 2010 domestic season - as the President’s second son is not likely to be available for much of the upcoming season due to his official commitments as a Second Lieutenant of the Sri Lanka Navy.
Experienced lock Ravi Jayasuriya is a leading candidate to take over the Navy captain’s armband, in the event Yoshitha Rajapaksa is not confirmed as skipper for 2010, these sources noted.
In 2009, Navy SC under the captaincy of number eight and former S. Thomas’ star Yoshitha Rajapaksa took to competitive rugby after a three-year hiatus due to exigencies of duty in the North-East during the humanitarian operations against the LTTE.
The sailors were coached by former Kingswood College coach Ronnie Ibrahim who had expressed his desire to step down from his role due to increased work load and his younger brother Nilluffer Ibrahim was tipped to succeed him this year. - (JK)