He is a man of few words even though his name is a familiar one in the Sri Lankan Rugby circuit. He doesn’t have a Facebook fan page nor does is he active on social media like other rugby players.
At 6’1 and 98 kg, he has a powerfully built physique and nearly always has a slight grin on his face. As a character he is pretty quiet and doesn’t talk much on the field nor show any over-the-top emotion when his team wins a game or scores a try like many other rugby players do.
Suhiru earned himself a spot in the starting line-up in nearly all the teams he has represented owing almost completely to his incredible work rate on the field. He first started playing rugby at St. Peter’s College as a 15 year old and learnt the ABCs of the game from Mr. Shantha Dharmarathne. As a schoolboy he always dreamt of becoming a rugby player and looked up to Peterite Flanker Dilanka Wijesekara, who went on to represent CH&FC. Suhiru is also an ardent fan of Sebastian Chabal, who is nicknamed “the Caveman” for his looks by the French.
Suhiru represented the Peterite 1st XV team for 3 years from 2008 to 2010 as a lock forward. He recalls the most unforgettable moment in his school career as when the boys from Bambalapitiya were crowned unbeaten Triple champs in the year 2010. He had the privilege of wearing the Junior Tuskers’ jersey for the first time when he was selected to tour with the Under 20 Sri Lankan team to Thailand in the year 2010 too, making it a truly memorable year for him. Speaking exclusively to ThePapare, he went on to say that his former coaches Sanath Martis and Collin Denish really inspired him to become a good rugby player as they encouraged players to play the game with the right attitude, at all times.
He continued his rugby even after leaving school as he moved on to represent the Navy SC in the year 2011. Mr. Ronnie Ibrahim was his first coach at the club level Suhiru says that he is the one responsible for developing and enhancing some of his core skills and qualities to be at the top level needed to compete in the big leagues and national level.
“Ronnie Sir really supported me and he is the reason for me to represent the National Sevens Squad in the year 2012 and was so proud to wear the Sri Lankan Jersey”
He also did not forget to thank his former coach Leonard De Zylwa and trainer Mohithilal Jayathilleka for the support extended while playing for Navy SC.
In the year 2012, at the age of 21, he was selected to represent the National Sevens side on tour to China for the Shanghai Sevens and later to Mumbai.
At the age of 22, Suhiru made his International debut in the 15-a-side version of the game in the year 2013 at the Asian Five Nations tournament in Sri Lanka, which was part of the 2015 Rugby World Cup Qualifier. He still recalls playing his first game in that tournament vs Kazakhstan in Colombo when the Tuskers beat them quite convincingly. He has been a regular member of the Sri Lankan National team for the last couple of years.
Meanwhile Suhiru also continued to represent the Navy SC for the next two years and was a key member of the Navy team which won the Double in the 2013/2014 season. He then decided to move to the hill capital club – Kandy SC where he continues to play. Kandy SC won the Triple championship unbeaten last season and Suhiru did not forget to thank his coach Sean Wijesinghe for the guidance given to him while representing Kandy SC.
While looking at his rugby career thus far, there is one notable fact about this player; he has never received a yellow nor a red card in his entire playing career, whether it be school or club rugby. To anyone who has seen him representing his alma mater and these two premier clubs, is spotless record would come as no surprise as his conduct on and off the field, show what kind of character he is.
