The Sunday Times Sports - Schools Knock-outs to go ahead as it is

Isipathana has always produced scintillating Rugby, and it is this style of open play that has attracted rugby lovers to watch them in action on their outings. The new kid on-the block, so to say, they have outplayed the traditional oldies of school rugby such as Trinity, Royal, S.Thomas’ many a recent time that all these schools treat the Isipathana match dead seriously and with much respect.

But that is not all! They also look at the Isipathana match with a magnifying glass because their relatively short history into stardom has been tarnished with one controversy or the other. In 1971, they thrashed a young Royal side 24-6; two weeks later they were found out for playing overage players and was banned by the SLRFA (Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association) for several years to come. They did not learn their lesson, and it happened again thereafter. Many of their matches were marred with on-field and off-field fist fights by their players or their supporters from the sidelines so much so that a few schools stopped playing Isipathana for a number of years. Why? Because of their philosophy that you must win at any cost. It might be too uncharitable to isolate them in this regard as they are not the only culprit to follow this philosophy and one should blame all of such schools for bringing this great game into disrepute. It is oft said that while Football is a gentleman's game played by rowdies, Rugby Football is a rowdies game played by gentlemen. If the Administrators of school Rugby don’t act with an iron fist when they discover cheat and deceit, then we can only expect the game to descend to the pedestrian level of street rowdyism.

Talking of Administrators, we find that many of the administrative structures act in collusion when they have succumbed to the win-at-any cost philosophy. It is indeed a crying shame that Principals, Masters-in-charge, Coaches, Parents and old-boys are all partners in this crime. For them, it doesn’t matter how, but a win is paramount and the Champions Trophy must be in their school cupboard, even with the skeletons. Some Administrators in the Establishment get into the 'game' for all measure of consideration or they are rank daft, inept or adopt a 'devil-may-care' attitude to wrongdoings.

Isipathana, per-se, is a great school that was established in 1951 with a most respected Principal as Head, Mr. B. A. Kurruppu, a Royalist. At the time, it was known as Greenlands College and it was like Thurstan College, a feeder school to Royal as entry into Royal at the time at Grade 6 level, was through an island-wide exam, where even students attending Royal Primary, had to sit for the competitive exam to get in. In fact some of the best names at Royal are ex-Thurstanites or ex-Greenlandities. All that changed in the 1960’s when the then Minister of Education, Badi-ud-in Mahamud in the Government of Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike temporarily scrapped this exam and allowed all who attended Royal Primary to get into Royal at Grade 6, clearly to ensure the safe passage of a boy who has now turned out to be a Minister himself.

That aside, its the principle not the Principal that has to be perpetuated. Principal’s will come and go but principles are forever. In days when Gatlin, Armstrong, Marion Jones et-al are suspected cheats at the highest level of sport, our school Principals should stand upright and prevent the acolytes of the 'win-at-any-cost' syndrome to know that Rugby like any other sport, is only a sport and that winning and losing is not as important as instilling in the children that if you win, you should win fairly and if you lose, you must accept defeat gracefully and cheer as the winners go by. Of course, the better side must win, but sometimes even if the better side loses. So what? As long as you played hard and you played clean. If this is instilled in school children, then and only then can the 'Principal be in synchro with the principle'.