St. Joseph’s College rugby players who are enriched with great talents and skills will be keen to have a memorable and a power packed 2014 season. With the Island is gearing up for another blockbuster Schools rugby season which commences this March.
Twelve teams will lock horns in the Division A and we look into a team which can beat any given team on their lucky day.
History
Rugby sport was started way back in 1954 among few rugby aficionados’ and then the unofficial Josephian rugby team was known as the ‘Hornets’. In 1955, Rugby became an official sport at Darley Road. Chrishanth Fernando led the Josephian rugby team in 1954, however the and the first official Josephian rugby captain was Mahendra Dias in 1955. St. Joseph’s College had many ups and downs in their rugby history but in 1999, they produced one of the most outstanding teams in the history of their rugby under the stewardship of Lakshitha Gunaratne who is the son of former Sri Lanka and Police rugby legend Rohan Gunaratne. Incidentally Lakshitha Gunaratne was the last Josephian captain to lift the Rev.Fr. Basil Wiratunga trophy which is been played with their arch rivals St. Peter’s College.
Josephian rugby has produced many great players such as late Major Gen. Janaka Perera, brothers Nalin and Shamin Perera, Dinuk De. S.Wijeratne and former Sri Lanka Rugby captain Anton Benedict. In the recent past Josephian rugby was on the rise with players like Dhanushka ‘Gertha’ Perera, Pium Jayasinghe and Rehan Thiyagarajah performing exceptionally well. Since 2009, St. Joseph’s College has played in the top league of Sri Lanka Schools Rugby.
Last Season
In 2013, St. Joseph’s College was led by burly forward, Jason Melder. St. Joseph’s had an average season with only two wins against Kingswood College and Trinity College and drew their game against St. Anthony’s College. St. Joseph’s were placed right at the bottom of the final points table as they lost all their other six games. St. Joseph’s College gave a run for their money to the 2013 league Champions Dharmaraja College in an epic battle where the Rajans won the game 22-20.
Pre-Season
St. Joseph’s College started their training way back in October 2013. Josephian rugby team went through hours of gym and weights training since then to get in shape for a prosperous season. St. Joseph’s College rugby team had a successful all island under 20 sevens tournament reaching cup semi-finals while they played a practice game against Science College recently where they won 18-00.
Vishmitha Peiris to take the Center stage
Fourth year player Vishmitha Peiris will lead the Josephian Rugby team during the upcoming season. The hard running center three quarter will be a devastating runner with the ball in hand and Vishmitha is known to be a ‘never say never’ fierce tackler. Vishmitha Peiris is a confident and experienced captain possessed with necessary qualities to lead his team to glory this season.
‘Double’ Champion Leonard De Zilwa to lead the coaching unit
Leonard De Zilwa coached the unbeatable Navy SC to an elusive ‘double’ with wins in the recently concluded Dialog Rugby league and knockouts and he will be aiming to continue his great work with the Josephian rugby outfit this season. Leonard De Zilwa, who will be coaching St. Joseph’s for the first time is renowned to be a coach who wants the basics to be right and will be a great value addition to the Joes. Hailing from St. Peters’ College, Leonard went on to captain his school in 1993. He continued to play rugby, donning the Havelock SC jersey, and later went on to represent Sri Lanka from 1998 -2001, while also captaining the National 7’s team.
Mohammed Inthikab will be the Forwards coach for the Blue & White College and Rahumi Abdeen will serve as the Trainer of the 2014 Josephian rugby squad. Shanath Silva will act as the Speed trainer and all four of these coaches have played their part well to produce a strong and efficient rugby team which can be the team to beat for the rest of the schools in the season.
Bone Crushing ‘Front Row’
St. Joseph’s College known to produce quality and big built prop forwards will have another three young strong forwards lined up to give a hard time to their opponents. 3rd year player Stephan Gregory is a man mountain and he is undoubtedly one of the strongest rugby players in the 2014 schools rugby circuit and Stephan will be the main ball carrier for St. Joseph’s. Stephan’s partner will be another 6 foot prop forward in Praveen Chandrasekaram who is playing his 2nd year. Sheran Johnson will be throwing the ball in lineouts and will play as the hooker in the team.
Mobile ‘Back Row’
Mobility and aggressiveness will be shown by the three loose forwards led by their vice-captain and number 8 Suchintha Udumalagala. Suchintha will be an attacking number 8 with his trade mark breaks from the back of the scrum. Suchintha playing his fourth year will be a key player to their team’s success. St. Joseph’s college will have two vicious and ardent flankers in their team this season. Taariq Salih and Minura Randula will give their best in the loose plays and in breakdowns and both these robust flankers are playing their 3rd season.
Vimukthi and Shamilka – Key players in the back line
Shamilka Kurumbalapitiya will be the player to watch out for as he will hold the ace for St. Joseph’s as a very talented full back. Playing his third year for the Darley Road College, Shamilka is a future star for Sri Lanka. Shamilka has a good boot while he has a safe pair of hands, he can sneak through any defense with his effective counter attacking play. Shamilka’s punt kicks will have distance and accuracy while he will be used for place kicking if needed.
Vimukthi Rahula will be the communicator and the link player playing at the all-important scrum half position. Vimukthi’s quick ball from scrums and rucks will give his backs to run down the flank and gain territorial advantage and Vimukthi’s kicks from the base will play a pivotal role for the Josephian outfit.
Final words
St. Joseph’s College will have a daunting task ahead with the new format. The Blue and White brigade will surprise many ‘Big’ rugby playing schools this season and they are a determined lot to win the championship and bring back the silverware they lost to St. Peter’s way back in 1999.
Mobility in the forwards will be a treat to watch while the inexperienced back line will have to give their best to achieve a feat which St. Joseph’s College have failed to achieve in the past.
Quotes
The Josephian rugby captain expressed his views on his team with ThePapare.com –
” This year we have a very balanced team with a good set of forwards and a speedy three quarter line. I’m pretty sure we can compete well this season. “
Leonard De Zilwa the Josephian rugby head coach speaking to ThePapare.com explained his plans for St.Joseph`s College rugby – ” We want to play good basic rugby this season and win many matches. I want St.Joseph`s College to play good rugby as they have always been playing good rugby. “
The Squad :
Props
Stephan Gregory, Praveen Chandrasekaran, Hansaka Karunaratne, Ayomal Silva
Hooker
Sheran Johnson, Devon Fernando, Praveen Thangiah, Damien Bopearachchi
Second Row
Charana Sendanayake, Ishane Pietersz, Viraj Perera, Roshane Jayampathy
Flankers
Minura Randula, Taariq Salih, Shehan Bopearachchi, Sonel Silva
Number 8
Suchintha Udumalagala (Vice Captain)
Scrum Half
Vimukthi Rahula, Udeesha Perera, Shenal Chandiram
Fly Half
Dulith Fernando, Raveen Antonio
Centers
Vishmitha Peiris (Captain), Hasuru Gunawardena, Akitha Hendalage, Akila Perera
Wingers
Shasheen Sudaraka, Romesh Priyankara, Suneth Chathuranga, Vinul Fernando
Full Back
Shamilka Kurumbalapitiya
Fixtures
21st March – Wesley College at CR
29th March – Trinity College at Pallekelle
05th April – Royal College at CR
02nd May – Isipathana College at CR
09th May – DS Senanayake College at CR
ThePapare.com wishes St. Joseph’s College rugby team all the very best for a fruitful 2014 season.
