After the highs of 2013 S.Thomas’ College for a second year running, are having a miserable rugby season.
The Thomians started the season with a defeat to the reigning kings of Mount Lavinia, Science College, 26-17. Incidentally, the one-time rulers have never beaten Science College in the A Division in two previous meetings. S.Thomas’ were drubbed 40-15 by Trinity College and record setting arch-rivals Royal College humiliated them a week later, 52-00. However, like last season, wins against Dharmaraja College and St. Anthony’s College have barely managed to keep them in the cup segment.
The newly formed Sir Oliver Goonethilleke trophy against Wesley College – who themselves are having a below average season, having to scrap for the plate championship – was an opportunity to salvage some pride for the school by the sea.
With 10 minutes left, things were looking bleak for S.Thomas’ as Wesley were doing all the talking. With Wesley leading 29-19, Coach Jivan Goonethileke decided to replace the scrum-half, a replacement many Thomians at the ground were yearning for. The replacement was D.N.D. Gamage, or so the team-sheet read. His correct name is Dion Dias but for the sake of this narrative we’ll continue with Gamage. Shanaka Amarasinghe on commentary vividly described this lad:
“Gamage, looks like he has been born for about a week. He is a tiny, tiny man. Looks like his mom put him in his rugby jersey straight from his nappies.” The re-canter is by no means to insult the player but to lay emphasis to ‘what a story’ it was.
Dion Dias – the name the team sheet failed to say – former football U17 vice captain who also captained the U13 & U15 teams, took to rugby 4 weeks back at the behest of his friends. S.Thomas’ U18 side was missing a scrum half and he would fill that void in the U18 match against Royal College. His meteoric rise earned him a place in the bench against St.Anthony’s – a week before the Wesley match, all the while with football in his heart.
Less than a minute into his arrival, Gamage was starting to rewrite the tempo of the game. Even though he did not possess the long range pass, his flat passing and quick distribution allowed the pace of the Thomian attack to be much faster, disrupting the Wesley defense which was accustomed to a much slower pace for the previous 70 minutes.
A few phases later, a flat pass by the scrum half allowed Ashwantha Herath, who has carried this Thomian side on his shoulders during the season, score under the posts, his third try of the game. Just as the referee whistled for the try and while the Thomians took a breather after the attack, this scrum half was screaming energy; arms aloft, punching the air, jumping up and down and smiling cheek to cheek. He believed, and fused his teammates to believe as well.
“And if you have witnessed the last two minutes of play compared to the last several minutes of play you can see the difference what a scrum-half of competence can do to a side. He doesn’t have to be George Gregan, he doesn’t have to be Justin Marshall. Just needs to be a guy who can pick the ball and pass it flat.” Amarasinghe added, pointing out what his College was lacking.
Gaining some confidence Gamage was starting to show what he had in his armoury. He tried a box kick which was not executed well, but at least he had tried it. Though Gamage looked better than his predecessor, the limited passing range was hampering his fly-half in attack as he gets surrounded by defenders.
With time ticking away S.Thomas’ had a line out just inside the Wesley half. Shanaka questioned whether the Thomians had 40 meters of good rugby left. It seemed as if they were not going to achieve it, as a static backline – which had plagued them throughout the season – failed to gain ground.
Somehow Samuel managed to find space and cover 20 meters before he was brought down. Gamage was quick to the breakdown – his teammates were not. The diminutive ‘half’ was seen urging his players to get in quickly to sustain the wave of attack. S.Thomas’ goes in inch by inch, Gamage changing directions to unsettle the Wesley defense. Captain Hashitha Senanayake goes ever so close to the line. Gamage’s flat pass sends the bulldozing Sachitha Jayathilake over the whitewash near the corner.
The ecstatic Amarasinghe gets carried away, “That’s the win for Wesley! For S.Thomas’ rather.”
The present boys have answered the old boy’s question emphatically. Gamage again with both hands up looks to the heavens. This time his teammates join in as a ‘T-H-O-R-A’ rings in the background enlivening Havelock Park. Energy, positive or negative, is contagious.
“Saving their best bit of rugby for the last five minutes of the game, breaking the hearts of these Wesley supporters who have been such a fantastic crowd this afternoon. Behaved themselves absolutely exceptionally in the face of a team playing brilliant rugby but the bigger team, the stronger team, the team that just hung in there looks like they’ve won the match.” went on Shanaka.
Gamage was now given the kicking duties – a rather difficult angle, meters in from the touchline. A free kick for him on the football pitch, just that this time he has to strike it over the crossbar. With his favourite Nike Hyper Venom boots on, he says a small prayer, signs the cross, standing a foot beside the ball, he strikes it clean bisecting the uprights.
Boosted by that successful conversion Gamage – much like you start with the short passes building up for the long passes in football – was now showing signs of expanding his game. His range of passing had widened and the Thomians were now attacking with more width than they have done in the season; heads up, shoulders back – a spring in their step. Even luck was on his side. Gamage under struck a penalty kick into touch but the Wesley player misjudged it and the ball rolled out much to his relief. It is at that point ShanakaAmarasinghe gets notified of the correct name of this scrum half Gamage.
“I’m told by the Thomian media unit that it is not Gamage but Dias in the number 22 jersey. Maybe Dias Gamage because his initials are D.N.D. Do Not Disturb.”
In practice he would take on place-kicking for the fun of it and the natural that he is, swiftly transforms his football skills to suit the needs.
S.Thomas’ gets a penalty, 35 meters out from the touchline. A much more difficult kick and it was Gamage – who was playing for the first time in the Blue and Black rugby jersey – to take it. S.Thomas’ have now rested faith on this lad, as this Arsenal fan visualizes Thierry Henry sending a long range cross to his opposite winger with pin-point accuracy. He summons all what he learned from the football pitch to the rugby pitch to successfully put it over. Two out of two, for a guy who started place-kicking a few weeks back.
“I’ll tell you what, we don’t know what his name is, but this lad has been an absolute revelation since he came back onto the field for S.Thomas’. And I’ll stand by my statement earlier if he started this game S.Thomas’ would certainly have won by 20.” Amarasinghe says, continuing his poetry of Gamage.
A Thomian team that has suffered some ignominious defeats this season had come from behind to win this match. Whether Gamage will be persisted with, time would tell. For now, S.Thomas’ has found a new hero, a hero from an under privileged sport, who came on with his side down 10 points with ten minutes left and by the time referee D.Nimal blew the long whistle, had orchestrated a seven-point come from behind win.
