Rugby at S.Thomas’
1955 – The Beginning
The seeds of rugby at S. Thomas’ were sown on the playing fields of the CR & FC at Longden Place somewhere around 1953. Attending CR practices was Rohantha De Silva who later played as a prop in the first rugby team of STC in 1955. Many joined CR as student members and before long several other Thomians joined, notably the Cader brothers, Ifthikar, and his twin brothers Huzam and Huzair.
The young Thomians at the time, took to the sport like ducks to water, with the support of Warden De Saram. By 1954 the student members at CR commenced the Thomian “Tigers” team which included several other players from St. Peter’s St. Joseph’s and Wesley mainly playing friendly encounters. One of the first matches was against a team of young Royalists consisting of some college players aspiring to play 1st XV Rugby.
It was Noel Gratien, a legend in the legal and rugby field who was instrumental in speaking to Warden De Saram and introducing the sport. In 1955, STC entered the fray with well established Rugby playing schools like Trinity, Royal, St.Peter’s, and Zahira. However, 1955 was a hectic year as most students were involved in other established sports such as Cricket, Hockey, Athletics, Swimming etc. Jerseys had to be designated, which became the familiar Blue and Black hoops and stockings.
As soon as the 1st XI cricket season was completed, makeshift goal posts were put up on the Big Club grounds and practices started in earnest. As usual, there were a large number of boarders who joined in fun. However, a combination of jarring tackles took its toll on some players, thus leading to a drastic reduction in the numbers attending rugby practices.
Many CR members, notably Mahes Rodrigo, Ashley Cader, Geoff Weidman, H. Numan, A. K. Doray always found time to impart the finer points of the game, to the young lads. These individuals were at the peak of their rugby playing careers and were representing the CR and Ceylon XV with distinction, with Mahes being the first choice as Captain for the national team.
The warden at the commencement of the 2nd Term assembly announced, that S.Thomas’ College had introduced rugby, and the first match against Trinity College, Kandy was agreed to be played in Colombo. The Warden also announced that K.S Ananthan, a notable athlete was appointed as the first Thomian 1st XV Captain.
1955
The big day dawned when the Thomians for the first time ran onto the grounds at Longden Place creating history as the College XV. Trinity was captained by M. G. Ratwatte with a formidable team. Unfortunately, Captain K. S. Ananthan came down with the flu that day and did not take part.
The Thomian team showed Grit that day. It took 45 minutes for the first score, when a drop goal by Ken De Joodt commenced the scoring for Trinity. Eventually, college was beaten 13-0, but STC had entered the school rugby arena, making a strong statement.
The only other fixture for the year was against our traditional “foes” Royal, led by another stalwart Puggy Gooneratne. K. S. Ananthan was well enough to lead the Thomians and though College lost that game, the team put up a gallant performance against a vastly experienced team.
1955 was very satisfying in all respects, as many did everything possible to ensure that Thomian rugby got off to a flying start. Noel Gratien was to spearhead the campaign to convince the Warden to introduce rugby at S.Thomas’. At CR Mahes, Ashley, Geoff, Numan, and many others encouraged the team constantly in order to play the game like the Trinitians, Royalists, and Peterites which were the leading rugby playing schools at that time.
Finally, we must be thankful to Warden De Saram who made the decision to introduce rugby in College. Also a big thank you to Mr. Lassie Abeywardena (late) who was the de facto Master in Charge of the sport.
Although College only played two matches in the ’55 season, the Thomian made many large strides in the following years to become a formidable force in the Sri Lanka Rugby arena winning many a Championship.
1956 – The Season that defined Thomian Rugby
In 1956, STC was committed to a full season of Rugby and had fixtures against Wesley and St. Joseph’s also fielding teams for the first time. Our fixture card that season was St. Peters’ at Bambalapitiya, Wesley and St.Joseph’s at Longden Place, Royal at the Race Course (CH & FC), and Trinity at Bogambara. Practices for the season started almost immediately after the 1st term break and some of the enthusiastic rugby playing boarders, came back to the hostel, sacrificing half of their vacation. Even though the hostel kitchen was non-functional, they received meals from homes close to the College.
Brookie D’Silva our athletics coach was concerned, as most of his prized athletes were determined to be members of that year’s rugby team. We were fortunate to have three public school athletes on the team namely Lester Shockman, Errol Jacotine, and Asoka Wickremanayake. From the ’55 team the three Cader brothers, Patchy Bulamkulame, Rohantha De Silva, Tissa Molligoda, and S B L Perera (Capt) formed the team.
Practices were much more organized and we had Mahes Rodrigo coming all the way to Mount Lavinia at regular intervals to put the 1st XV squad through their paces. During the season an U-17 team was formed, as the response by the juniors was growing.
The ’56 season started with a bang when we won against the more fancied Peterites on their home grounds before a stunned and partisan crowd. This was just the start we needed, as we had beaten a well established rugby playing school at the time. Wesley and St.Joseph’s were also beaten without much difficulty, which was due to better preparation and fitness.
We finally met the much fancied Royal team, captained by Lionel Almeida with Tyrell Muthiah at the base of the scrum. The match itself was a tight affair, with neither side appearing to break the deadlock, as the match petered out to a draw. This was a monumental result considering that Royal was a vastly experienced side.
The final match against Trinity remained the biggest hurdle, as Trinity demolished the Royalists with clinical efficiency in Colombo. Some college boys played for the CR team when the Trinitians played a friendly at Longden Place the week before the Bradby fixture in Colombo and got a feel of what to expect.
The Trinity match was played in Kandy, which included the 1st XV and U-17 teams with Mr. Lassie Abeywardena as master in charge. Unfortunately, coach Mahes Rodrigo, was unable to make the trip to Kandy but had prepared us well.
When we arrived at Bogambara there was a strange sight, where one half of the ground was mowed and the balance remained uncut with thick grass up to ankle length. The grass was so high in some places, the famous Kandy referee A. C. ’Johnnie’ Walker dropped his whistle in the uncut part of the field. The match was suspended for a few minutes, whilst thirty players went on their knees to look for the lost whistle. The match resumed after the whistle was found, much to the amusement and laughter of the crowd.
The match itself proved difficult with Trinity playing a cohesive brand of rugby and we were soundly beaten 23-3, which was a fair result in the context of the strength and experience of the two teams.
That 56 team defined and set the tone for STC rugby winning 3 matches, drawing 1, and losing 1, The game caught on thereafter with rugby being established as a major sport, whilst the popularity of soccer diminished.
In retrospect what a few set out to achieve in 1955, can only be measured by the strength of rugby at STC, establishing itself as a premier rugby playing school in the country.