Dubai: The Lanka Lions may be an also-ran among the scores of teams who battled it out on the first day of the Dubai Rugby Sevens, but these "veterans" make no bones about the fact that they are indeed playing for pride.
Hammered 19-7 in their first match of the day, one of the team members said they were proud at the fact that they could be here.
"Yes, we are always here for the love of the game but this year, it was little special. The Sri Lankan Rugby Football Union is currently in doldrums and last season, they could not send a team to Hong Kong —something that had been a great source of embarrassment for us," he said, not wishing to be quoted.
"There is no proper team representing our country in the International Invitations and hence, we veterans would like to put our best foot forward," he said.
There is little doubt that this motley group of 40-something Sri Lankan men, who are engaged in various professions, pursue the game so doggedly for the love of it. They have some accomplished players in their ranks though, like Roger Rodrigo, who carved quite a niche for him while playing for Dubai Exiles or Roger Rode — who even represented the Sri Lankan under-19 team in his younger days.
When and how do they take time out for practise?
"For the last three months, you could always see us at the Zabeel Park in the evenings, indulging in some serious practice on our way back from office. Even after all these years, we still look forward to these three days in the calendar," signed off Rodrigo.
