When the world thinks of Sri Lanka, rugby is generally not something that springs readily to mind.
The island nation is certainly better known for its cricket, tea and recently-ended civil war. But Sri Lanka’s British colonial rulers left behind more than cricket as a sporting staple. Rugby was introduced to Sri Lanka in the late 1800s, and today it boasts a large playing population and a television audience of millions.
According to International Rugby Board figures, there are more than 103,000 rugby players in Sri Lanka, making it the second-largest rugby-playing nation in Asia, behind Japan.
In this context, we have come across many Sri Lankan sportsmen and women playing for other nations.
I found another such player during my coverage of the IPC Athletics World Championships, which are currently underway in Doha Qatar. His name is Joe Darshan Goonethillaka and he currently plays for the Qatar national rugby team.
He hails from a cricketing family as his father Ranjan Goonethillaka played for Sri Lanka during the 1970s. Rajan Goonethillaka was a right-handed batsman and represented Sri Lanka at the 1979 cricket world cup in Manchester against India.
Rugby at school
Darshan is a product of St. Joseph’s College, Colombo and was into cricket from his early days at the school. But his friends influenced him to give up cricket and embrace rugby as his pet sport.
He represented his alma mater from 2003 to 2005 and earned rugby colours. After playing for the college for two years, Darshan joined the Under 21 side of CH&FC. He then played competitive club rugby for the Old Wesleyites Sports Club (OWSC) before taking wing to Qatar.
Rugby in Qatar
He then settled into his job and gave up any notion of rugby featuring in his future. But former Sri Lankan and Zahira College player Inthiqab Samidon introduced him to the Doha Rugby Club and that introduction has changed his entire life.
The normal resistance from expatriates and local players was present in the beginning but the skills and talent of this young Sri Lankan turned things around and made him one of the most coveted players for the last seven years for his club team in Doha.
This gave him an opportunity to excel in domestic and international club rugby tournaments and drew the gaze of officials from the Qatar national rugby team. They eventually decided to accommodate the young Lankan in their national squad, making him the first Sri Lankan to play for Qatar.
“I never expected to play for the Qatar national team. I only played for my school and a few clubs in Sri Lanka and I was not able to make the adjustment at my workplace in order to play more rugby,” Darshan reminisced.
“I must thank the Sri Lankan community, especially Inthiqab Samidon, who opened the doors of the Doha Rugby Club, which ended up with me representing the national side of Qatar,” he added
Darshan has been playing for the Qatar national team for the past three years and he is happy with his adopted country.
“We have lots of facilities here in Qatar, even though the game of rugby is still not popular here. I had to undergo a special knee surgery and the entire cost of the operation and other stuff was taken care of by the National Rugby Association of Qatar and Aspetar Hospital, which the is world’s leading specialised orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital, staffed by some of the world’s leading sports medicine practitioners and researchers,” Darshan said.
Even though he is playing under the flag of a different nation, the ambition of playing for his own country has not yet faded from Darshan’s mind.
“If I get a chance to play for my country even for five minutes I would grab that opportunity at any cost,” he revealed.
