The de Costa brothers - Lasintha
and Ashan - are a much sought out duo on the rugby field these days. The
brothers are the best set of centre three-quarters in the island and their
performance for the CR&FC alone speaks volumes of their speed and skills.
Hailing from Isipathana the pair
played together for the ‘Green shirts’ in 2004 under the watchful eyes of
Sanath Martis. In 2005 and 2006 former Sri Lanka skipper Hisham Abdeen,
himself an Old Boy of Isipathana, coached their rugby team. That year Isipathana
emerged Schools Seven-a-side champions and were placed second in the League.
Lasintha too came under
the expert tutelage of Sanath Martis from 2002 to 2004 as a fly half and
fullback until Sanath Martis sought greener pastures with St. Peter’s
College, Bambalapitiya as their coach.
Ashan joined CR in 2007 and the Longden Place Club
knowing well his talents fitted him as a centre and he did extremely well to
catch the eyes of the Rugby Selectors and was an automatic choice for the
Hong Kong Sevens. That year CR was coached by Laga, the Fijian coach, who
later went on to train Kandy SC.
Before that Ashan represented Sri Lanka at the Doha
Sevens and was the only schoolboy to be included in the National team.
Both brothers were full of praise for CR’s vibrant President Jehan Canageratnam and coaches Bilal Yusuf and Viraj Prasanna. They were quite saddened by the state of Sri Lanka’s international rugby exposure and hoped that the AGM would be held soon and they will be able to play rugby at international level soon. “Gaining foreign exposure is very important for rugby. Otherwise we are like frogs in a well,” they said in unison. Speaking about CR&FC’s chances in rugby this year they said that they too were fed up by playing second fiddle to Kandy SC and were just rearing to get their hands on the Kandy team. Kandy watch out! According to them the CR team is a fine blend of youth and experience. “CR will be a good strong side. They are being put through their phases by Bilal and Viraj. They are physically and mentally tough,” said the brothers in unison . Both are attached to MAS Holdings, a firm that is giving all possible breaks to sportsmen and women in the country. |
Sunday, February 14, 2010
"COSTA" BROTHERS ALL SET TO TO IGNITE THE RUGBY FIELD !!!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
ISIPATHANA TO GIVE PRIORITY TO STUDIES OVER 7,S
Likely to be one of the top teams skipping the Western Province Rugby sevens along with S.Thomas’
Isipathana College rugby players are likely to skip the upcoming inter-school seven-a-side rugby tournaments which will initially begin with the Western Province Schools Rugby Sevens, which is scheduled for February 14 (Sunday). Isipathana College Principal Punyadasa Kuruppu, who is also the President of the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association, told The Island that the school’s rugby players would be undergoing a special education programme and hence were unlikely to contest the inter-school rugby sevens tournaments. "The school’s rugby players have in the past dedicated all their energies to playing rugby. This has contributed to a situation where they have failed to obtain the desired results in education. The school intends to change this trend and make students take more interest in their studies," said Kuruppu when contacted. Kuruppu also pointed out that the education of schools kids is somewhat affected with the conducting of elections. "We have planned for two elections this year and this means studies in schools will be temporarily stopped during elections. The special education programmes that have been lined up are aimed at boosting the education of students, taking into account the number of school days they’d lose due to various reasons," he said. Kuruppu said that these special education programmes would mainly target the students sitting for the Ordinary Level Examination. According to Kuruppu the all island schools rugby sevens tournament has been scheduled for February 20 and 21 in Colombo. However, he said that the dates of the all island tournament would be confirmed only on February 10 (Wednesday). It is also reliably understood that a leading rugby playing school, S.Thomas’ College Mount Lavinai, is unlikely to make the line-up of teams at this week’s Western Province Schools Rugby Sevens. According to Kuruppu, schools that don’t contest the Western Province rugby tournament can still take part in the all island tournament. Though western province schools would benefit from the provincial sevens tournament that’s scheduled for this week, the schools in the Central Province would not have the luxury of playing in a limb-losener, prior to the main tournament. Kingswood College coach Nilufer Ibrahim said that his school would be at a disadvantage by being forced to walk straight into the all-island tournament without playing in a provincial tournament. "There have been so many opinions voiced in having a rugby sevens tournament for Central Province schools, but nothing has come out of them," he said. Kingswood College won last year’s all island schools sevens by beating home town rivals Trinity 29-17 in the Cup Championship final. Kingswood would face stiff resistance from Trinity again this season who have confirmed their participation in the schools sevens tournament. Another school which is the dark horse to win the schools sevens is St. Peter’s which is raring to make up for a mediocre season, last year. The Peterites, however, made rugby fans sit-up and take notice by winning the School segment of the Carlton Sevens, held barely two months ago.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
ASHAN GALLAGE TO LEAD "GREENS "THIS YEAR !!!
4th year coloursman Ashan Gallage will lead the isipathana rugby team for the coming 2010 inter school rugby season. Despite being on the road to recovery from a knee injury Ashan has been selected to lead the famous schools rugby team in sri lanka. A lot will be on his shoulders this year as isipathana authorities have already made it clear what their targets are for the 2010 season by taking a bold decision not to take part in the western province tourney, a tournament they have consecutively won since 2006, where they won the last two editions of it with out conceding a single point to their opposition as well as the all island 7s tourney which they won from 2006 to 2008, clearly indicating their intentions.
Ashan who is a utility player in the back division will play in the pivotal centers birth, where he will be supported by his deputy NO-08 tharindu siriwardane .in addition he will have the services of some experienced senior players,in the likes of Devinda Prasad, Muqsith Jaleel, Deshan Subashana, Dhanushka sooriyaarchi, Saajid shuaib and Mohomed Rizwan. The side will be under the guidance of shamly nawaz and sajith mallikarachchi, two great legends produced by isipathana and with most of the other players having already worn the green jersey much will be expected from this year’s side. However it’ll be interesting to see whether ashan Gallage and his players will be able to cope with the pressure and enjoy a successful season.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
SAAJID SHUAIB- “NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH PASSION AND COMMITMENT”
He’s known for his daring runs, superb jumping skills and handy tackles. He might not be the biggest player in the park but his mentality and great character makes him stand out. Of course these qualities are of none other than pathana,s ace second rower Saajid shuaib. Speaking exclusively to ***** KINGS OF RUGBY***** Saajid shared his experiences of his promising college rugby career.
According to Saajid he was better known for his Basketball talents And his excellent jumping skills caught the attention of former isipthana star Mr.Thushara bandara who was the U-13 coach at that time. Noticing his promising skills He didn’t hesitate to invite Saajid to attend rugby practices for which Saajid duly obliged. Saajid whom first played for the U-13 “B” team was quick to prove what Mr.bandara saw in him as he made rapid progress which made him a regular player in the U-14,U-16,U-18 teams as his career progressed and he has managed to win the champions medal in all those age groups which he says is a rare and proud achievement he treasures . For Saajid this was the start as well as the turning point for a glittering career up ahead.”After I started playing rugby for Isipathana I felt like nothing could stop me. Earlier I used to be a normal guy where know one knew me. But after I started playing rugby every one in school and even out of school took notice of me and this encouraged me a lot to carry on” said a smiling Saajid.
However just as any other rugby player Saajid too had his obstacles with his parents who didn’t want him to play rugby being the major issue.“ My parent s didn’t like me playing rugby because I was playing Basketball as well and they were concerned about my studies”. However Saajid managed to convince his parents and continued with the sport and also played for the 1st XV team in 2008 where he was sitting for his O/L examination that year. Saajid also proved that it’s not impossible to manage ones studies with sports when he got through his O/L exam with good results notching up 3 A,s and 2 B,s as well.
Saajid recalls his first appearance for the “green shirts” which was against Trinity in 2008. “I just can’t express the feeling you get when you ware the green jersey and after you do so you feel like nothing can stop you”. “I’m so proud that I’m a member of the college 1st XV team”. With the 2010 season just around the corner Saajid says he wants to win the League title and the knock-out tournament. “To be a good player you have to be honest and you have to respect the coach, captain, and your team mates and even you opponents. Win or loose you should be able to accept it and the important thing is you should stick with your team”. Saajid who is currently will be able to play up to 2011 says he has no intention of playing club rugby and hopes to go abroad for his higher studies. However he said that his love for the game might make him change his ideas.
In conclusion he wanted to thank Mr thushara bandara for getting him into the rugby field and current head coach Mr.shamly nawaz for improving his skills. He also thanked his parents as well as his friends whom he says they with him all the time.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
ISIPATHANA RUGBY CALENDER – 2010
*** UNDER 20 LEAGUE TOURNAMENT ***
DATE OPPONNENT VENUE
24th APRIL ST PETERS HAVELOCK PARK
30th APRIL KINGSWOOD HAVELOCK PARK
08th MAY ST THOMAS AWAY
15th MAY WESLEY AWAY
29th MAY ST ANTHONYS HAVELOCK PARK
05th JUNE ROYAL HAVELOCK PARK
12th JUNE TRINITY HAVELOCK PARK
19th JUNE PRINCE OF WALES HAVELOCK PARK
26 th JUNE DHARMARAJA KANDY
Dear Brothers .....,
please dont forget , Let 's join hands together...and give them strength and to make sure that the Pathanians walk out as Champions. So don't miss the action. Be there......,,,
Keep In Touch With our Green warriors....!!!
- CHEERS FOR PATHANA RUGBY -
Friday, January 15, 2010
Former Pathanian Rizah Mubarak off to South Africa ...
First time in Sri Lankan rugby history Rizah Mubarak and Dhanushka Perera of CR&FC will be off to Cape Town, South Africa on January 22 th for two months on a special scholarship. This full time scholarship was awarded to Rizah & Dhanushka as they were the most prominent players of the 2009 season (as per to SLRFU’s special notice). Rizah, a fine product of Isipathana Collage who represented the collage 1st XV from 2005 to 2007. Packed with immense talent, young Rizah stated his sporting career in football. He represented collage U-13, 15, 17 & captained the U-19 football team.
With the desire to rugby this multi talented lad switched to rugby in 2005 and he was an automatic choice for the team. To me his golden year was in 2007 as he was a an sparkling member of the dashing sevens team. He was selected to Sri Lankan Youth team on the same year and he did us proud in Brunai.
After the collage success he joined Longdon Place Club, with the red-jersey he matured ever so in the game. 2008 is another milestone for Rizah as he was selected to National Team for the Asian Five Nation tournament. At present he is most prominent rugby player both at CR&FC and in Sri Lanka.
We wish him success in his career and to serve Sri Lanka as I clearly see he will be caring the legacy of the Sri Lankan GOLDEN BOOT of King Charly (Charls Wijewardana).
'' STRIVE WITH DETERMINATION ''
Report By - Prasad Jayanga / Dushan Wickramasinghe
Monday, November 30, 2009
GRIITY PETERITES SHATTER ROYAL,S DERAM OF A 7,S TITLE !
St.peters college came on top at the Carlton 7,s tourney when they beat the fancied royal outfit 17-12 in the schools cup final.they certainly exeled in all departments of the game and virtually ran away with the trophy.the reid avenue lads will only have to blame themselves as they simply couldnt impress unlike the other games where they dominated from start to finish.also the royalists will be quite upset as they lost a golden opportunity of winning a 7,s title which they have never been able to acheive for almost a decade.
ISIPATHANA FALL SHORT
ISIPATHANA played there hearts out against the peterites in the semi finals but the absence of satr winger wishwmithra jayasingha and the injured duo of ashan gallage and umayanga sooriyabandara was clearly evident as they seemd to lack the resourses to muster out a win.st.peters took a early 10nil lead before isipathana made it 10-07 courtesy of a superb effort by M.Rizwan.after the break the bamba lads increased the lead 17-07 through superb try.isipathana had glorius chansed missed when the ball was dropped right in front of the try line eventhough shanka poornage was the culprit at first gaknce it was prasad devinda,s lapse as he could have continued his run and scored with out opting to pass.however isipathana hit back strongly and made it 17-14 thanks to superb Niroshan Fernando try.however it was all too late as the peterites walked away as winners thanks to their early blitz.
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