Antonians march to glory at Bogambara

The Singer-SriLankan Airlines IRB International rugby sevens has created tremendous enthusiasm among the schools in Kandy. Earlier it was dominated by Trinity and Kingswood who celebrated their centenary in 2006.

But today it’s no longer dominated by these two schools. Quite a number of schools like St. Anthony’s, Dharmaraja, Vidyartha and St. Sylvester’s are in the scrum. Giving the elite schools from Colombo a run for their money, producing outstanding players event at national cause.

Father Justin Abrahams, the former Rector of SACK was an ardent lover of sports who did much for its development. Among the galaxy of rugby players that St. Anthony’s produced a player of international class, in Priyantha Ekanayake. Rugby and basketball. Affable Priyantha is at present president of the Rugby Union. He is the youngest to hold office in history. He is one of the icons in the promotion and development of SACK rugby.

The game has developed fast at St. Anthony’s thanks to its infrastructure. Die-hard old boys of rugby have contributed much for its success story.

The Antonians have proved their mettle in the just concluded schools rugby season with their consistent performances. To cap it off won the Singer – SriLankan Airlines schools Sevens Cup finals over high-riding Isipatana with a copybook display of running rugby.

The man behind this epoch-making win was their coach Nihal ‘Viper Gunaratne (Junior). Nihal was coached by late Lucky Witharne an old Trinitian who played for the Army and Sri Lanka. He captained the Antonian rugby team in 1976 and the outstation schools the same year. Played for Kandy and captained the team in 1984.

He represented Sri Lanka Asiad in Taipei and H.K. ‘Sevens’ in 1982. He was a durable forward who even manned the base besides playing as a wing three quarter.

He is the Chairman of SACK rugby. The Antonians have been performing well. Last year they emerged unbeaten champions in the ‘’B’ division and were the defending Champions Singer SriLankan Airlines Schools Cup.

A: Wallaby method. Putting pressure against your opponents, further unyielding mental stress, its not mere hard tackling. This year we were unlucky to lose the ‘decider’ in the ‘A’ league championship to St. Peter’s at Nittawela 11-10.

A: They are a good side. My team led by Mohamed Safraz a hard running winger put them under tremendous pressure. Patana continued to make mistakes in the end, the Antonians won without much ado. Rev. Fr. Titus Rodrigo the present Rector is a source of inspiration.

A: The Antonian Trust Fund in Colombo, headed by Chitral Amarasiri. Besides the Antonian Rugby Club, chaired by CPP Raj of cricketing fame. They are affording a yeoman service. Priyantha Ekanayake is a member of the committee.

Training sessions for three days a week. Not confining to skills alone. They do their physical training under J.B. Herath. He is doing an excellent job. Fitness is vital, especially stamina and metal toughness. You could have seen to your self how the boys ran with the ball to outplay Isipatana to retain the cup aplenty.

A: The cupboard has young talent, working on good structure. The boys have thought to maintain the spirit of the game at all levels.