Isipathana in search of a ground to practice and perform better

RUGBY: A school which has been synonymous with schools rugby in the Colombo for the past 49 years, and is still continuing to make its presence felt in the oval shaped ball, game, is none other than Isipathana College, Colombo 5.

The school which first made its bow in top-flight rugby way back in 1963, has made such an impact in the sport without a venue of their own.

The school still continues to produce highly talented rugby players to the national fifteens and sevens teams.

These feats have been achieved by the Havelock Town based school, and their Rugby Committee Chairman Hasan Singhawansa in an interview with Sunday Observer hoped that the higher authorities will look into their urgent need and make available a ground so that the boys will be able to practice regularly and perform better.

"We are the only school to have produced the largest number of players to the national pool - 51 in our 49-year rugby history," Singhawansa added and said that no school can come close to them in comparison to the titles they have won.

Singhawansa who has been a livewire of the Isipathana Rugby Committee for the past 20 years, hoped that those in authorities will help them out with a ground so that it will help the school to produce better quality players in the future.

An individual by the name of Randy Keller was instrumental in Isipathana taking to the sport of Rugby Football some 45 years ago.

Since that day, Isipathana has never looked back and gone from strength to strength.

Popularly referred to as the "Green Shirts", Isipathana can well be proud to have produced a player in the calibre of Hisham Abdeen who as a schoolboy ruggerite in 1979 represented the Sri Lanka team (Loter on, Champika Nishantha and Ashan de Costa too played for the Senior National team).

Then taking the cue from their predecessors Sajith Saranga and skipper Dinusha Chathuranga have been part of the Sri Lanka Sevens team at the on going Rugby World Cup Asian qualifiers in Hong Kong.

Apart from Saranga and Chathuranga, the current national sevens team also includes two more Isipathana caps including Ashan de Costa and another former player Champika Nishantha, who played earlier.

Isipathana's successes this year in Sevens rugby: All Island Sevens, Western Province Sevens, Zahira Invitational Sevens and Singer Sri Lankan Sevens overall, winning its fourth title and the second successive are a few of the trophies which this popular and well-known school for rugby has achieved in the concluded season.

Hasan Singhawansa was quick to point out that they would not have been able to be in the exalted position they are in local schools rugby right now, if not for support and financial backing of a few trusted sponsors.

He referred to such individuals as Kishin Butani of Butani Group, Sarath de Costa, Raja Ratnam, companies as Suntel, Shutter 2000, Singer and Ole' for being behind Isipathana College rugby.

The school which was known as 'Greenlands College' at its inception in the early 1960s, is all geared to celebrate its 50th anniversary in rugby and the Rugby Committee Chairman opined that they will put up a memorable gala dinner to mark the milestone next year.

Asked for the secret of their success story for over four decades, the amiable Singhawansa said that it was nothing, but the excellent junior base which they have at the school and emphasised that the enthusiasm of the players with minimum of facilities in comparison to more elite schools in Colombo, has made them play with a lot of vigour to achieve results.

"We identify the players at junior level and develop their talents and then they are directed to the Junior Rugby academy which is for players from 10 years onwards where they are taught the techniques of the game.

When they reach the top level, they are ready to show their worth in the under-18, 20 age limits. J.K.