President presents rugby gear to Embilipitiya Central

It was a memorable day for Embilipitiya Central College rugby team when President Mahinda Rajapaksa presented rugby balls, jerseys and other sports gear at a simple ceremony held at Temple Trees, Colombo on Friday.

The team was hosted for lunch at Temple Trees after he presented four Gilbert brand rugby balls, 24 rugby jerseys, 24 pairs of stockings and other sports material. The schoolboy ruggerites from Embilipitiya Central were all excited and happy to receive the presentation from President Rajapaksa who was keen to inquire about their sports and other educational needs.

President Rajapaksa stressed the need of taking sport to outstations and said it was our rural sportsmen and women who have mainly brought honour to Sri Lanka internationally. He said the rural talents of Embilipitiya boys should help Embilipitiya Central College to show their colours in future.The team was accompanied by the Principal, coach and the master-in-charge.

They thanked the President for helping them to sharpen their skills in rugby, a sport mainly confined to Colombo and Kandy. Besides the two main cities, school rugby is popular in Kurunegala and Galle too.

But this is the first time that a main school from outstation, besides Kandy, Kurunegala and Galle, came to limelight to receive a big donation. It was made possible by the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU) representative in the United Kingdom Srimal Wickremasinghe, who is also the agent for Gilbert brand in Sri Lanka.

Wickremasinghe was instrumental in securing a lucrative sponsorship to the SLRFU from Gilbert for a four-year period. It was a rare privilege for a country like Sri Lanka as such sponsorships by Gilbert are normally awarded to big-time rugby playing countries.

The donation was arranged by the Tharunyata Hetak movement under the leadership of its dynamic President Namal Rajapaksa. The Tharunyata Hetak movement has made an immense contribution to the development and promotion of sports activities in the rural areas, including the Jaffna University swimming pool project.