The famous school by the Mahaweli river took the oval ball game to Katugastota in the early 1950’s and they have been one of the key institutions producing brilliant rugby players ever since. St. Anthony’s are considered among the front runners in the Sri Lankan Schools’ rugby arena.
A bit of History
St. Anthony’s college boasts a rich history in the game. Though they started rugby in the 1950’s it was only in 1961 that unprecedented enthusiasm was created and rugby received a big boost and backing from all quarters. Particularly at its inception, many of the leading schools provided the Antonians with the 2nd XV fixtures. It was only in 1962 that the Antonians were able to play against the 1st XV teams.
Since then Antonian rugby has been one of the most consistent teams in the Sri Lankan schools rugby arena and they have been a real threat to other schools on the field. They have produced some of the finest ruggerites this island nation has ever seen. Out of all the Antonian ruggerites, Priyantha Ekanayake stands tall and above all is very proud of being the first Antonian to captain the Sri Lanka Rugby Team, and that too for a record ten consecutive years. He also had the privilege of leading the National team for four consecutive Asiad’s; a record yet to be broken.
St. Anthony’s biggest achievement in Rugby, as a team so far, came in the year 2001 when they were crowned as champions of the U-19 League Tournament under the captaincy of Tikiri Dissanayake.
In the recent past
The young Eagles outfits in the recent past were unable to replicate the glory days of St. Anthony’s rugby even though the administration and old boys have taken giant steps to recreate a champions team by even appointing New Zealander Theo Seraphim as the head coach in 2014.
St. Anthony’s has been unable to compete in the cup tier against top schools’ teams under the new competition format for 2 years. But Antonians managed to reach the Plate Finals in 2014 & 2015 losing to Wesley College on both occasions.
Some of the development projects by the college look extremely successful as the St. Anthony’s Under 16 outfit was able to become the champions in the All Island Division ‘A’ Rugby Tournament last year and U-18 team reached the Semi Finals. The Antonian fraternity has high hopes for the future with the performances by their junior teams in the recent years and they have promoted many junior players into this year’s 1st XV squad to gain much needed exposure and experience in the game.
This Season
This year’s team led by 3rd year Flanker Pasindu Dulshan, promises to deliver what St.Anthony’s teams were attempting to do over the past years. St. Anthony’s are not coming in as favorites to the title this season but they are definitely going to be a team worth watching as they are fully capable of creating an upset against any opposition.
Players to watch out for
Well Built 6 foot tall skipper Pasindu is definitely going to be a key man in the Antonian defense. He is known as a fierce tackler and a defense organizer for his team. Two Prop forwards Shenal Dias and Anjana Ariyawansa are both 3rd year players and over 6 feet tall. They will be hard to stop and opposition players will not escape easily from this duo on the field.
Antonian Second Row Mohamed Shabeer is going to be another vital player for the team, He is a player with great awareness of the game. He will be providing a solid defense and he can break defense when it’s needed for the team.
Another Senior Player, Dinesh Rodrigo, who has played in the hooker position last season has now turned into the No. 08 of the team. It will be interesting to watch how he adapts to the game as a defensive organizer.
On paper St. Anthony’s defense looks more experienced than the backs, but 3rd year player Duminda Hettiarachchi will be expected to make vital decisions in the game as Scrum Half.
Asanka Maduwantha is the Fly half and the place kicker for the Eagles this season for the second consecutive year. Maduwantha has improved his kicking from the previous season under the guidance of Antonian Kicking coach Nalaka Weerakkody and he is capable of making long range conversions. If the Antonians are going to be victorious, Maduwantha’s kicking boot will surely be a key factor in their campaign. His backup will be Theeksha Gunasinghe who led St.Anthony’s to the U-16 crown last year.
Center Dinuk Amerasinghe, vice caption of the team is the most experienced and expected to play a pivotal role in Antonian attack. Well-built and tall, Dinuk comes from the famous Amarasinghe family which has produced many great sportsmen at St. Anthony’s for generations. Dinuk is definitely going to be a player other teams will have to watch closely this time.
Antonian Full back Praboda Bandara is also known as a hard player to stop when he gets the ball in his hands.
Coaching Team
The Antonian Coaching team is led by the veteran IRB level 3 qualified coach Mr. Nihal ‘Viper’ Gunarathne. He played for the Antonians from 1974-1976 and is a top-class coach in the country, having successfully coached many schools across all levels. Gunaratne played for Kandy SC for over 15 years as well as representing the country. He coached Kandy SC, St. Anthony’s, Dharmaraja, St. Joseph’s and the Hambantota Sharks in club rugby.
Mr.Nalaka Weerakkody will take on the duties of assistant coach and kicking coach. He is arguably the best kicker Sri Lanka has ever produced. He is going to add a lot of experience and tactics to the Antonian outfit and will improve the vital kicking techniques of the team. He is also known as a brilliant and successful team motivator in the game. The Antonians surely will be happy to have him in their dressing room in every game.
Rohitha Mendis who was the Assistant coach of SACK last year, continues his job this year as well.
While sharing his ideas with ThePapare.com, Mr.Nalaka Weerakkody said he has joined St. Anthony’s especially to work with Mr. Nihal Gunarathna and there are many things to learn about coaching from the veteran. It will be interesting to see how this fantastic coaching combination will do in guiding Antonians towards glory.
St. Anthony’s coach Nihal Gunaratne expects his team to perform to their best this season and he is confident his team has got the potential to challenge any school team in the island even though St. Anthony’s are in the development phase. If they can be the revolutionary team this season, the Antonians will surely bring back the lost glory to their Alma mater once again.
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