“A foreign coach with no contract, a director with no legal post, and a sport with no control, Sri Lanka Rugby is now teetering on the edge of a scandal so deep it threatens to unravel the very credibility of the game.”
Sri Lanka Rugby has plunged deeper into chaos as shocking revelations emerge that New Zealand coach Rodney Gibbs has been flown into Colombo without any formal approval, contract, or sanction from the Working Task Force (WTF) overseeing the sport. Even more damning, Gibbs was later spotted in a team photograph with the Sri Lanka Women’s team bound for the Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series in China, despite the WTF having explicitly struck his name, along with that of the now-controversial Imthie Marikkar, off the official tour list.
The scandal raises urgent questions: Who authorized Gibbs’ travel? Who is paying him? Under what visa is he in Sri Lanka? And perhaps most seriously is Sri Lanka Rugby now being run from the shadows by a cabal of powerbrokers, beyond the control of its own governing task force?
A Coach Without a Contract
A reliable SLR Source confirmed that when the team team lists were submitted for clearance, the names of both Imthie Marikkar and Rodney Gibbs were removed before the final list was sent to the Sports Ministry. Yet, shockingly, Gibbs still managed to join the women’s squad, with photographic evidence proving his presence alongside the team.
Adding to the controversy, Marikkar, whose original title of Director of Coaching no longer exists under the new SLR Constitution continues to operate as if he holds an official position, despite refusing to sign a new appointment as Director of High Performance. A Reliable SLR Source told The Morning Telegraph:
“Technically Imthie Marikkar holds no official capacity with SLR, and further, SLR Sources no information about the appointment of foreign coach Gibbs or his role with SLR.”
Legal and Financial Time Bomb
The irregularities surrounding Gibbs’ arrival and role have opened a Pandora’s box of potential legal violations. Was a contract signed? If so, by whom? Is Gibbs being paid in US dollars or Sri Lankan rupees? Under what visa is he working? Can a tourist visa even be used for coaching? If not, Gibbs may be liable for arrest under Sri Lanka’s immigration laws.
Shockingly, insiders allege that Gibbs’ travel was cleared on the direct instructions of Marikkar, with Team Administration Manager Rear Admiral Udaya Hettiarachchi securing Ministry of Sports approval for both Marikkar and Gibbs. This maneuver bypassed the WTF entirely, raising suspicions of collusion and misuse of government funds.
Puppet Masters in the Shadows
This latest scandal also confirms what has long been whispered: that the affairs of Sri Lanka Rugby are not in the hands of its governing Task Force, but controlled by a shadowy trio—NSC Chairman Priyantha Ekanayake, former SLR President and Asia Rugby strongman Asanga Seneviratne, and Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage.
Marikkar himself admitted in a now infamous email that “the only reason I am here is because of the Hon Minister, the NSC Chairman, Asanga, Rohan and the guys who want to uplift the game.” His confession has become the smoking gun that confirms these figures are the ones pulling the strings, while the WTF is kept deliberately in the dark.
A Call for Urgent Investigation
With Sri Lanka Rugby already financially crippled and its credibility in tatters, the Gibbs-Marikkar affair is not just an embarrassment, it is a potential criminal scandal. Allegations of foreign coaches being smuggled in without contracts, government funds possibly misused, and the Sports Ministry allegedly complicit demand nothing short of a full, independent investigation.
Unless President Anura Kumara Dissanayake intervenes to clean up this mess starting with the removal of Priyantha Ekanayake and his enablers the game risks becoming a playground for cronies and puppeteers. For the players, the fans, and the sport itself, the time for excuses is over.
Something fishy is happening in Sri Lanka Rugby and the stench is impossible to ignore.
I and my daredevil Air force rugby
team fought for injustice from 1971
and 75% of my team mates were arrested and ended up in jail and we were branded as insurgents, anyway after a short chat in the 4th floor I was fortunate to come out, and I thought it was due to my queen’s language then.Now I feel that we are still in the same boat under our administration and I can’t understand what is going on with Sri Lanka rugby
Time and time again my ex air force colleague Nalin Silva asks for some information and used to brief him with precise information.
Current coup against rugby is definitely due to these dangerous elements giving wrong advice to the minister I feel and this matter needs to sort out by cope or Copa committee.