President chief guest at Observer-Caltex Rugby Awards

by Ranjeewa Seneviratne

OBSERVER-CALTEX AWARDS: The Sri Lanka Navy which had a marvellous season under the leadership of dynamic flanker Yoshitha Rajapaksa have been richly rewarded for their fine effort when they receive the award for the Most Popular Rugby Team at the CALTEX-OBSERVER TOUCHDOWN RUGBY AWARDS 2009 on March 26 (Friday) at the Galle Face Hotel at 7 p.m.

Navy skipper Yoshitha Rajapaksa was a source of inspiration to his team-mates with his fiery loose play will have the rare honour of receiving the award for the Most Popular Ruggerite for 2009 from his father - President Mahinda Rajapaksa who will be the chief guest - the first-time a head of state is gracing the Awards ceremony in the 10-year history of the event.

The Sri Lanka Navy which entered the ‘A’ Division rugby arena after a lapse of three years, in 2009 came up with a stupendous performance to finish third in the Caltex ‘A’ Division League including two stunning wins over the mighty Kandy SC (12-11) and the formidable CR and FC (18-3) which saw a tremendous response from rugby fans who voted them as the Most Popular Rugby Team and Rugby Player for 2009. In addition, awards will also given to Best Captain, Best Forward, Best Three Quarter, Most Promising Young Player, Best Player and Best Team.

The Chairman of Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited Bandula Padmakumara and Managing Director of Chevron Lubricants Khishu Gomes will be the Guests of Honour.

The Editor-in-Chief of the Sunday Observer Dinesh Weerawansa and Chairman of the Interim Committee of the SLRFU Dr. Maiya Gunasekera will be the other main invitees. The Managing Director of Chevron Lubricants Kishu Gomes said that his firm had played a key role in recognising the achievements of players on the rugby field by honouring them with awards at the conclusion of the season for the last 10 years.

These awards have resulted in these ruggerites performing greater deeds on the rugby field and going onto gain national recognition bringing honour and fame to the motherland with their achievements at international level. Some names that come to mind... Sanjeeva Jayasinghe, Dushantha Lewke, Fazil Marja and Wasim Thajudeen.