Pium Jayasinghe shares his rugby journey and what’s next for him in an exclusive with ThePapare.com
Migrating from Lalith Athulathmudhali College’s to the 1st XV of St. Joseph’s College’s and now CR & FC Pium Jayasinghe known for his skill as a scrum half as well as wing 3; however, was able to stand out as Carlton’s Best player in 2012 in the position of scrum half.
Who helped you with the first footsteps in your rugby career?
I started off my rugby life in Lalith Athulathmudhali College, Mount Lavinia. Two seniors in school inspired met to play rugby when I was only 10 years old. When I look back in my rugby career the moment I was taken into the practices by these two colleagues is unforgettable. They got me into training in a very young age which allowed me prosper in the sport. Sure, I liked what I got into, but I might have not discovered the sport if not for them. Along with their guidance my start up coach was Pradeep who also contributed a lot with my fundamentals.
How did you feel at the age of ten attending practices?
My aim since young days was to represent the country. I was always stirred by the national rugby squad and their playing. So as I was attending junior practices I was picturing myself growing big and being a part of the national game. However, I had no clue if I’ll be able to make this far since the matches played in young days involved only tap techniques as opposed to tackling used by the professionals.
What was the biggest turning point in your rugby career?
I moved to St. Joseph’s College after ALs. I believe that was the biggest turning point in my life due to lot of reasons. Firstly I think I should be thankful to my parents to a great part since they allowed me to be in the sport while I was facing Ordinary Level Examinations. If I weren’t able to attend practices in this time, I would not have made my way to Joseph’s College and I’m not sure where I might have ended up. Although I didn’t fit into the first fifteen as I moved, they soon got me to bond with them. This was special to me on two grounds. Firstly since I was new comer I was nervous and the bonding helped me a lot to stay tuned with the competition and secondly since I was playing in the same position as the captain of the team, I had to fight to secure my position. If not for the recognition and courage I gained from the team mates at Joseph’s I would not have been able to make it this far.
Any special remarks about your parents, were they encouraging?
I think I was blessed with great parenting. They always helped my dream though my mum particularly wasn’t a fan of Rugby as a sport. I think it was very courageous of her; she’s a very sensitive person not being able to stand the idea of a simple injury for me. But I’m very grateful they taught me a valuable lesson: to pursue my targets and achieve the best in them instead of forcing me to be something which I wasn’t – an academic. Frankly even today my mom will be extremely pleased to know I’ve quit rugby, but over time she realized it was the best for me.
So how did you deal with injuries? Wasn’t there extra pressure from parents in such cases?
Well fortunately I haven’t undergone any serious injury since school days. The most serious so far was the dislocation of my jaw. I didn’t want my mom to know about this situation. So I was taking over eastern medical practices and was undergoing treatments with the help of my dad. I was lucky enough as even with the injury I could attend practices meanwhile.
You didn’t make it to the Under 19 nationals. How did you take this?
Well thankfully I was already at St. Joseph’s College so I had an easy entry into club CR. So the fact that I was left out from the U19 squad did not matter to me much. Back then I didn’t have the idea that I’ll be selected to carton 7s either, yet the idea that I had an upcoming rugby career was helpful. I knew I can have a future in the career and achieve my goal one day. On a different note when I look back I think it’s very self-motivational. I wish I had practiced some more in order to make it to the nationals which drive me to do more even today.
So what got you the opportunity to get into CR?
Well at Joseph’s I was a beast. As I have mentioned earlier even I fought with the captain for his position and succeeded. It wasn’t easy. So having a great start in the new school I was able to achieve my level best towards the end. I remember a match played in the very last quarter against Royal College, I was able to score four tries. It was very opportunistic because the captain of the Royal team went onto become the captain of CR team. I think this was the breakthrough performance which helped me to get into CR. Well, even I got support from club viewers but I don’t think it was a special help to me as such.
Any remarks on your career and the personal life
I work at John Keels. It was once again an opportunity I got through rugby. John Keells were recruiting rugby players to represent their co-operation which got me the opportunity to be part of the hotel chain. Currently I’m working at Cinnamon Grand and it has been a very flexible work life along with my sport. I’m very thankful that I don’t have to complain about limited leaves or special consideration because they are very thoughtful. My manager specially takes the sports into serious consideration and even I try pay them back with my level best service. I honestly want to work fulltime after I’m done with my rugby career. However for now I’m on a sports contract and I want to attain my goal of playing for the national team then I’ll consider more onto my career.
What’s next for you in the career?
Well my main goal since young days is to represent the Nationals and I’m yet to achieve that. Apart from that I’m learning about coaching and have started coaching for some youngsters already. I think I don’t want to leave the sport for a long time but it all depends on the priorities in life. Hopefully everything will fall into places and help me to continue with my sport.
What’s your message for the upcoming players? Do you think the game is competitive now more than ever?
Well if you make up your mind to do something do the best with it. Don’t change your mind half way through with competition but try to be motivated by it. For me it was rugby and I kept on to it. The pressure didn’t get to me as much as it fueled me. So even as an upcoming player one should face high competitiveness and be successful. My message is don’t give up on your dreams and follow them until you achieve them. Especially in the case of rugby, always take your advice of the coaches and follow those guidelines closely.
We thank Pium for his time and wish him the very best.
