The entire global rugby fraternity mourns the death of an inspirational leader and coach George Simpkin who died after a battle with cancer in his family home in Hamilton.
He was 77 years at the time of his demise.
The Waikato rugby player turned coach started off his stint with Hong Kong in 1988 as technical director where he spearheaded the move to bring the country to the forefront in Asia.
Simpkin’s journey with Sri Lanka was also a beloved affair. Coming in to the country as coach for Kandy Sports Club and later as national coach, he birthed the start of a new era in the rugby frenzied island.
In the early 2000’s Simpkin was the first to identify prospective talents for national outfits and was in the forefront of the development of the national fifteens and sevens squads.
From 2003 to 2009, Sri Lanka rugby flourished in the hands of Simpkin and it paved the way for many success stories in the sport. Sri Lanka recorded several important triumphs and were benchmarking their playing style competing alongside the heavy weights especially in the sevens format at that time.
After his full time stint, he also assisted the country in an advisory position in 2012 as well.
“Simpkin was the coach who saw my talent for the first time and brought me into the national squad in 2003” relates Fazil Marija whose relationship with Simpkin goes all the way to the start of his rugby career.
The rugby fraternity will surely miss the presence of their beloved coach but he will continue to live in the teachings that he has passed across to his students.
