Sari de Sylva is no more

Sari de Sylva, the former CR& FC and Sri Lanka rugby skipper is no more. He passed away in England on Thursday after a brief illness.

Mention the name Sari in rugby circles and memories of a hard tackler and a do- or- die rugby player who played for Trinity in the years 1959 and 1960 as a flanker winning his Colours in the process, emerges.

After leaving Trinity he donned the Red and Black CR&FC jersey and took the Longdon Place Club to great heights. He led the CR team in 1965 and turned out to the national team in 1967/ 1968 captaining the team at the All India Tournament.

He was also a member of the Sri Lanka team who emerged runners-up to Japan at the Asian Championships held in Colombo in 1969 under Indrajit Coomaraswamy’s leadership.

A banker by profession he went to England later and even turned out for the Blackheath RFC. He has settled down in England for the past ten years or so making periodical visits to his home country. His sister Damayanthi, predeceased him a couple of years back. His brothers Raji de Sylva and Sena de Sylva played rugby for Trinity and the Sri Lanka Army. His youngest brother Tony boxed for Trinity winning his Boxing Colours and later captained the All University rugby team as well as the CR&FC.

His funeral arrangements have not been finalised as yet.