Royal College coach refereed Bradby shield encounter 1948

by Nimal Lewke

Formerly :- President Asian Rugby Football Union

National Rugby Coach Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police

RUGBY: Collection and preservation of conceivable literature on rugby football as souvenirs was a great pastime of my son Dushanth, himself, a rugby Crown winner at Royal College and later played representative rugger and captained the National team. Whilst perusing some such souvenirs I was pleasantly surprised to find the 2000 Bradby Shield Souvenir; the 56th Bradby Encounter played in Colombo.

Royal was captained by Suranjan Perera where my son Dushanth Lewke was a fresher in the celebrated Bradby encounter. In flipping over its pages my attention was drawn to page 3 wherein that year (2000) Royal College fixture with the result of the games was prominently displayed.

In that season, Royal College had won all matches except losing to traditional rivals S. Thomas’ College; 14-11.

Ironically, I was the coach of S.Thomas College.

The subsequent two years 2001 & 2002 Royal recorded resounding victories against the Thomians, setting a record in 2002, 38-3 win (needless to mention the fact that I was not coaching STC at that time).

To their credit 2002 year, Royal recorded the highest aggregate in Bradby history; 83-Nil. Colombo leg Royal scored 39-nil and in Kandy 44-nil. Indeed it is record that will be hard to beat in the conceivable future of the game. Royal was captained by Zulki Hameed with Dushanth Lewke as his deputy.

Daya Perera – Commanded respect

What impels this brief commentary is the fact that I wish to pay tribute to an article authored by a brilliant sportsman and student of Royal and later one of the country’s illustrious sons who was much sought after as a lawyer of the time; Daya Perera. His article titled “Our First Bradby Shield” in the souvenir received wide acclamation from players and fans across the spectrum of this noble sport. Significantly and in the humility of the author he had not mentioned his name but from the initials D.P. it was not difficult to identify the identity his name as well from the 1948 team photograph of Royal College which appeared on the adjoining page of the article .

In his article, he has quoted his experience as a fresher, when famous Ashy Cader an icon of the sport was the Captain of the Royal College in 1948.

The team coach was none other than a brilliant sportsman himself and the much revered Police Officer Sidney de Zoysa. I quote Perera’s version:

“Sidney de Zoysa came as our coach and being at that time an ASP he treated the rugger pool as if they were recruit constables from the police training school. Thus Sidney, used extremely colourful language on us – and to unbelievable effect when we were doing our warm up; a mere ten rounds of the rugger grounds. When Sidney was in a more kindly mood, we were told that we were running like a bunch of old cows and could never beat Trinity. To make matters worse, he ran with us and often was ahead of us! Thus from a bunch of thoroughly unfit freshers who were often tripping over their tongues, he moulded a team of rugger players”.

Sydney de Zoysa – colourful personality

The article per se depicts the colourful personality of a great sportsman, officer and a gentleman; Sydney de Zoysa. Indeed he was a goal oriented, command presence leader with a mission to achieve success. When he retired from the Police as a DIG, he was commonly regarded a towering giant an image he left behind voiced the dictum.

The method he used to mould a bunch of freshers and make them a champion outfit speak volumes for his ability, which only can be from a person of his stature. The results of successive Bradby Shield encounter are overwhelming evidence of leadership, unwavering the courage and character of the man himself. Importantly this entire episode portray the respect, command, image and the reputation De Zoysa earned and the respect he commanded by his brand of leadership and moral courage he earned which indeed is a rare achievement.

Going back to the legendary Bradby Shield the first leg of the encounter was played in Colombo and refereed by Harry Vanrooyan,a Trinity star himself.

The second leg in Kandy by Sidney de Zoysa who was not only an Old Royalist himself but also the Official Royal College Rugby Coach.

The manner he refereed this match symbolizes his character and personality.

A heart rending decision – Sidney de Zoysa

When Trinity scored the first try there was a doubt whether Desmond Van Twest touched the ball, seconds before the Trinity player. But Sidney, after a long pause, awarded Trinity the try. Back at the dressing room, much loves Thambapillai, Royal College Rugby Master (Trinity Lion) asked Sidney about the first try, as he felt, that Desmond had touched down first and it should have been a five yard scrum. Sidney’s reply was, I quote, that he could not be absolutely certain but had to make what he called “a heart rending decision” to award the try to Trinity.

Why I narrate this story is, purely to give a picture to the Rugby Officials, Fans, Referees that if you have the character and confidence you can face any challenge on any field and come out with flying colours with respect and dignity.

One wonders, whether, we will ever be able to see personages in the calibre of Sidney de Zoysa’s be it the Rugby field or in our own beloved Police Service ever again. Yes, he was a celebrity of the sport and the public service alike when men of character led by sheer example, devotion and professional excellence.