OBSERVER - CALTEX Trophy: Memorable birthday gift for Dushan Lewke

by Lal Gunasekera

For Dushan Lewke, who turned 23 years last Friday (September 22), this year tuned out to be a memorable one. He won the OBSERVER - CALTEX Most Popular Ruggerite of the Year contest for the third successive year and was also selected for the first time to represent Sri Lanka in the 7's version of the sport at the 8th Singer-Sri Lankan Airlines International Rugby 7's at Nittawela last week.

The 6 foot 2 inch Lewke who weighs in at 91 Kg, is the best No. 8 forward in the country at the moment since Haris Omar hung up his boots a few years back. A former Vice-Captain of Royal College (2002 to 2005), Lewke, first turned out as a second-row forward and later switched over as No. 8. He played for Royal's Under-13, 15 and 17 outfits before being picked for the first XV.

He joined the CH & FC in 2000 and represented their Under-21 side and also led them. He turned out for the senior outfit from 2002 to 2005, but signed on with the all conquering Kandy Sports Club team for the Caltex Clifford Cup Championship in 2005 for whom he has been turning out regularly as an outstanding No. 8.

Young Lewke has been representing Sri Lanka's main 15-a-side outfit and have turned out against Japan and Arabian Gulf in Tests followed by the Asiad in 2004 in Hong Kong. He also went on to represent the country at the Rugby World Cup (RWC) qualifiers against Thailand, Singapore, Kazakhstan, China and Hong Kong.

He was also very fortunate to have represented Sports Wood United in the Senior 'A' Division League in New Zealand in 2005. He played for the Kiwi outfit for three months in the first-round games before coming back for the RWC qualifiers. His standards improved tremendously under the head coach of Sports Wood United, Kavin Jones (a former New Zealand player) and Rob Yule the Academy Manager.

Lewke is a final year management and marketing student at the Australian College of Business Administration (ACBA) and hopes to gain employment in the Banking sector and continue with his rugby and his aim is to captain his country one day.

He is presently in training for the forthcoming Inter-Provincial Championship and the Asiad to be staged in Colombo in November.

Young Lewke's mentor has been his father, DIG Nimal Lewke, Commandant of the elite Special Task Force (STF) of the Police, an old boy of St. Sylvester's College, Kandy, who turned out for Kandy Sports Club, Police and Sri Lanka too, as an outstanding flanker. The elder Lewke was also a champion boxer.