Observer - Caltex Most Popular Rugby Players and Team Contest:

Nigel Ratwatte and Kandy SC get Caltex Trophies

RUGBY: Talented young CR and FC fly half Nigel Ratwatte and the kings of domestic rugby Kandy Sports Club received the Caltex Trophies for the Most Popular Ruggerite 2010 and Most Popular Rugby Club 2010 respectively at a simple award ceremony held at the SLRFU Headquarters on Friday.

Ratwatte who started his rugby career by captaining the Trinity College under-13 team left for South Africa where his parents were employed and turned out for the King Edward College, Johannesburg, South Africa and also had the honour of representing the Mauritius national team in 2007 and 2008.

Returning to Sri Lanka in 2009, Ratwatte joined the CR and FC and manning the pivotal fly half berth gave a superb display throughout the season and helped the ‘Red Shirts’ to emerge runners-up of the Caltex ‘A’ Division League Rugby Tournament in which they lost only one match and was voted as the Most Popular Ruggerite for 2010 by the readers of the Sunday Observer.

Kandy Sports Club who had a marvellous season, retained the Caltex ‘A’ Division League Rugby title for a record 10th successive year and went onto clinch the rugby double for the fourth consecutive year by beating the Sri Lanka Navy by 26/11 in the final under the leadership of Sri Lanka fly half Fazil Marija and was voted in as the Most Popular Rugby Club 2010 by the readers of the newspaper.

The Chairman and Managing Director of Chevron Lubricants PLC Kishu Gomes remarked that the contest which has been held for the last eight years has motivated the winners of the contest to give their best with most of the players going onto represent Sri Lanka with distinction.

It has also encouraged talented youngsters to take up the game and also popularised the game throughout the country.

The winner of the Most Popular Ruggerite Contest Nigel Ratwatte received his award from the Chief Editor of the Sunday Observer Dinesh Weerawansa, while the skipper of the Most Popular Rugby Club of last year Fazil Marija received the award from the Chairman and Managing Director of Chevron Lubricants PLC Kishu Gomes.