Commonwealth Games rugby training session at World’s End

The Sri Lanka Men’s and Women’s rugby teams, gearing up for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in England were challenged with two days of high-altitude body conditioning and team-building endurance training on top of World’s End Mountain Range.

The players of the Men’s and Women’s Team had to trek 6km uphill carrying their personal baggage to reach the mountain top.

Both teams were challenged with team-building activities learnt from the first and the second stages, uphill endurance sprints carrying buddy’s and cold water-based activities outdoors in a chill climate.

The second day resumed with physical training in cold windy climate conditions after which players were exposed to a question-and-answer presentation by former national player Duminda de Silva.

Outbound adventures with Shehan Pilapitiya designed and facilitated the course with zero injury record on all three stages.

The players finally were full of praise as they mentioned the learning experience gained will be used in field and personal life too.

All was made possible mainly through sponsors Nippon Paint, Signature, Webxpay, Truedigital and Sri Lanka Tuskers backed by World Rugby and the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka.

The Commonwealth Games Rugby Tournament will be held from July 29 to 31 at the Coventry Stadium in Birmingham, England with the Sri Lanka Men’s and Women’s Teams drawn in Group ‘A’.

The Sri Lanka Men’s Team will be up against the reigning champions New Zealand, England and Samoa while the Women’s Team will play alongside the 2018 Gold Medallists New Zealand, Canada and England.

Sri Lanka will be the only Asian country to participate in the Women’s Tournament after they qualified from the 2021 Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, held in the United Arab Emirates.

Seven-A-Side Rugby was first played in the Commonwealth Games in 1998 with the inclusion of a Men’s competition, in which New Zealand defeated Fiji to take the Gold Medal.