Young feet move for Isipathana
RUNNERS-UP IN THE SCHOOLS LEAGUE SEASON The side had thirteen freshers
Changes can often generate marvels. The few but helpful changes that they adopted have finally managed the Isipathana rugby team to achieve what was once thought impossible. After a stern campaign Isipathana emerged runnersup in the Under-20 School League Rugby Championship which ended a fortnight ago.
Their campaign according to Isipathana’s head coach Shamly Nawaz was never been a comfy stroll. By taking each of their matches and opponents more seriously than ever, Isipathana were able to topple some of the sides that were considered as top favourites to clinch the league title. Apart from their opening match against Vidyartha which ended in a thrilling draw and the only defeat was experienced against league champions Trinity that too in a battle which could have been won by either side. Nawaz who was recalled after a lapse of a year explained more facts about the changes in Isipathana rugby.
“I was invited again by the rugby committee of Isipathana and at the beginning there were many areas that needed to be addressed. There were many youngsters in the side with other commitments in their agendas related to academic activities. But the coaching staff managed to give them the necessary and technically correct know-how of the game and the players too adopted to them well and fast. We also made it a point to change our pattern of training this season with some different plans. Our idea was to hit the peak by the third match of the league and I think we did achieve that. However this is a season that could be rated as one of the toughest in recent years. We took all our games seriously, despite of the dissimilar poise of other teams and considered each match as a major challenge. We played our full team at all games and end of the day we are happy with our achievements,” a contented Nawaz said.
Last season Isipathana remained as one of the strongest school rugby sides with 13 seniors in the team but this year they only had four seniors with them. With a young and budding side Nawaz and his coaching staff has done a colossal workload to transform the team into a winning outfit. After their draw against Vidyartha, they managed to dislodge unsuspecting Science, St. Anthony’s, Kingswood and St. Joseph’s while scooping out hot favourites St. Peter’s and Royal after a massive win against D.S. Senanayake. At all outings Isipathana was seen seriously competing.
Isipathana is a side that has earned a reputation for running rugby of for relying mainly on the three-quarters. But off late, with the rapid changes, amendments and development of the game Isipathana too had finally adhere to the new-age demands. In the recent seasons they gave indications of a change of their playing pattern but this season it was clearly apparent. In addition to what Isipathana was compelled to change, they took a step further to adopt new additions. After all the changes were meant to take Isipathana rugby beyond where they were.
“We really thought that the time was high time to change our game pattern with the new rules and regulations of rugby. It has become a sport where all members of the team, the forwards and three-quarters had to play their given roles. From our side we had the privilege to shift any player to any given position be it in the front or the back. Overall the entire team did perfectly well with all players adhering to their tasks. The forwards were exceptional and the skipper as one of them was an inspiration for the rest. He was a playmaker, being the senior player of the team yet he would have been the only skipper this season not to score a try. What it means is that he played a major role and let others do the scoring for the great interest of the team.“The threequarters too were well adoptive and efficient. Isipathana also had a strong bench this season to make things better. With the stride we are eyeing at winning the knockout tournament. In addition we also have a strong development squad which we call the first XV nursery, and with that we will have a very strong and clinical team next year. It’s premature to say how we will fare next year when this year’s league tournament just came to an end. But overall as a team we enjoyed competing in the league and we could say that rugby was the winner as we feel that winning is not everything. It’s about participating with good spirit and sportsmanship which made us a strong unit eventually,” Nawaz added. The Isipathana rugby squad: Props: Ushan Charuka, Ganuka Dissanayake, S.A.W. Karunaratne, Ashan Darling, Dhanushka Bandara.
Hooker: Manaka Siriwardena, Ruchira Dilshan.
Locks: Ganidu Lakshan, Malilth Ranga Gomis, Heshan Maldeniya.
Flankers: Kumendra Dharmadasa (Capt), Senal Deelaka, Nuwan Randima.
No.8: P. Arun Kumar, Hasitha Udyoga, Nilushan Jayanga. Scrum half: Sudam Pathirana Fly half: Kavindu de Costa, Asel Jayawardane, Dilshan Viduranga.
Centres: Shenal Dias, Hirantha Perera, Shamal Chathuranga, Ashan Kavinda, Pabasara Madhawa.
Winger: Uditha Premathilake, Isanga Panchama, Sandeepa Himasha, Chararana Jayasinghe.
Fullback: Sithum Chathusanka, Kushan Indunil.
Officials: Shamly Nawaz (Head Coach), Bandula Mallikaarachchi (Asst Coach), H. Karunaratne (Trainer), Supun Chandana (Physio), Upul Sanjeewa (Physio), Chaminda Gallage (Manager), Gamini Sarathchandra (POG).