History has borne evidence to the fact that Kings of ancient aristocracy have been men of valour and grit, who have always put their kingdoms above themselves, even if they had to sacrifice their lives. The Randles Hill where Kingswood College sits also speaks of such a Kingship who stood up for his subjects even at desperate times.
The pioneers of the oval ball game, Kingswood College saw themselves go through one of the toughest periods this season, under severe pressure from their peers; but the motivation and the efforts of one man has taken the team through.
Despite finishing last in the season this year, the efforts of Kingswood failed to go unseen as skipper Reeza Raffaideen took the spotlight in the schools season taking the title of the highest points scorer in the Singer Schools Rugby league, scoring 10 tries and amassing a total of 107 points in the entire school season, which accounted for more than half of what his entire team scored. Reeza Raffaideen was the lone warrior for the Kings in their run this year.
As the old saying goes “the captain goes down with the ship.” Reeza Raffaideen, according to his own words, didn’t hit his peak, but nevertheless gave a huge fight before going down.
Reeza Raffaideen had the time to share his thoughts on his exhilarating journey thus far and his interests on future prospects in the sport.
I wasn’t playing rugby till I was 16 years old. I first started playing when I first took up the sport at an invitation from a rugby academy. I played football in college from then on I got the opportunity of playing wing three quarter for the under 16 team. I was happy to have a good first season.
I started playing in the first XV team in 2012 as a wing three quarter. I played wing in the under 16 team as well and that is my favourite position. I liked playing there but then this year I moved to Full Back to take on more responsibility in the team as I was captain.
I owe my career to my first coach Rohita Mendis. He was the one who molded me to be who I am and taught me how to play from the basics to the advanced level. When I moved to the first XV level, my mentor was Ananda Casthuriarachchi, who was the person who shaped the Kingswood outfit. I learned a lot from him, apart from just playing, he is a personality hard to find.
I had a liking to captain Kingswood from my childhood. It started off well but unfortunately we were not able to go higher up in the second round. My first match as a captain was the match against Wesley. I had never captained any team before, for our luck we won and retained the Blaze trophy.
We failed badly in the last quarter of every match. I had four senior players alongside me in the team. We had almost all the games in our favour early in the match but luck didn’t favour us and we gave a lot of opportunities to the opposition in the last ten to fifteen minutes.
I tell my juniors to stay strong and keep their heads straight. I told my juniors that winning isn’t everything, that keeps them going. I keep them motivated. They need to take the Kingswood legacy forward.
My football helped me in kicking. I played football in the junior levels. I had a liking to kick from the under 16 level. Every day I used to practice my kicking even after practices. I had found some love for place kicking. Even when I was playing first XV, I used to practice my kicking every day before practices started.
Rugby is at a different level here at Kingswood. Everyone in Kingswood follows the rugby team and supports us, from the Principal to all the students. The school boys come and cheer for us whether we win or lose. That is a big motivation, especially for our juniors.
I never played for points. I didn’t realize till the second match that I had scored so many points. I actually never worked for my individual glory but always did what was best for my team. I had a good set of three quarters who understood me very well and I think that was why I was able to score. I scored and they celebrated because they knew it was their effort too.
I owe my rugby career to my parents. I would not have made it so far If not for the efforts of my parents and family. My sister has been my strength where she used to see to my needs at all times. Seeing my family at the matches gave me a motivation boost to do great things. They kept me going. I was lucky enough to not get injured throughout my career and even at my illness, my family was there for me.
Someday I want to be like Fazil Marija. He is the one player I see and observe every day. He is one of the greatest players Sri Lanka has ever produced and I hope I can match his level one day.
Playing for Sri Lanka will be a dream come true. I have always loved to wear the Sri Lankan colours and I know there will be a tough path ahead of me to achieve such glory. I will have to work hard and perform well. As I end my school career in rugby, I am hoping to play for a club and then work my way up there. That will be my success story
We wish Reeza Raffaideen the very best.
