Nilfer Ibrahim, one of the country’s protuberant rugby coaches, has reportedly submitted his application to come to be the head coach of the national sevens team.
The submission follows a request made to rugby coaches by the Department of Sports Development affiliated to the Ministry of Sports, The Sunday Morning Sports understands.
It has been stated in the local press that the Department of Sports Development, currently headed by its Director General (DG) Rear Admiral (Retd) Prof. Shemal Fernando, has advised local coaches to coach the national team on a volunteer basis.
This is in view of the invitation extended to Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) by Asia Rugby (AR) ahead of the Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy, which is due to be staged on 4 and 5 October in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The Sports Ministry DG has been compulsory to request coaches to volunteer to coach the national team due to the current muddled state of the sport in the country, rugby analysts contend.
The sport’s local controlling body SLR is presently under the supervision of Prof. Fernando after it was dissolved on 29 May by former Minister of Sports Harin Fernando.
If the Sri Lanka men’s sevens rugby team manages to top the Nepalese leg next month, they will be certain of booking a berth at the Asian Sevens third leg which is scheduled to be held in Thailand in November.
Ibrahim had before served as the backs coach of the Tuskers during the Asia Rugby Division 1 Championship played in Colombo last March-April, which was won by the hosts under the tutelage of veteran coach Sanath Martis.
The former Kandy SC, Navy SC, and Police SC coach had also played a conclusive role in Sri Lanka occupying the number three slot a decade ago in the Asian rugby pecking order.
Though, he had been among a host of ex-stars who were at the receiving end of the then administration of SLR, which opted to alteration coaches in a manner akin to changing pillows as a cure for the rugby headache.
Ibrahim, a product of Kingswood College, Kandy, represented his country from 1996 to 2006 and exhibited his coaching prowess throughout a seven-year spell from 2011 to 2018 where he managed to coach three schools (Isipathana, Trinity, and St. Joseph’s) to reach the Chairman’s Trophy Knockout finals, while on four of those times, he coached them to the title itself.
It was also under Ibrahim’s tutelage that Police SC was able to win the Clifford Cup Inter-Club Knockout title after a lapse of 33 years last year, while the cops also managed to lift the Inter-Club Sevens Trophy for the first time since 1988.
English 
Sinhala