It was a memorable moment for the Rajapakse family
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It was one of the most emotional and unforgettable moments for Sri Lanka youth rugby captain Namal Rajapakse when he led his alma mater S. Thomas' College to a convincing win over traditional rivals Royal College in their annual inter-school rugby encounter for the Gunaratne Trophy played at Havelock Park, Colombo over the weekend.
The expectations were high for the Thomians, led by No. 8 Rajapakse and were in early trouble, trailing 0-5 at half time. It was then that the lads from Mount Lavinia bounced back with a rich second half harvest to give a clear account of the 'Thomian grit'.
For S. Thomas' captain and No. 8 Rajapakse, it was one of the most important moments in his life. Despite playing in his fourth year for the school, Rajapakse was never served in a victorious Thomian team against Royal. That was because S. Thomas' have failed to beat Royal since 2000.
S. Thomas' came into one of their most crucial games for the season as favourites with not less than 11 coloursmen in the side, compared to that of four in the Royal side. Rajapakse, who led Sri Lanka Under-19 team for the Youth World Cup last year had a great responsibility in leading his team for a much needed win against Royal.
But the expectations were high for the young lad from the capacity crowd. Among them were his Prime Minister father, Mahinda Rajapakse and mother Shiranthi Rajapakse. His younger brother Yoshitha Rajapakse played as a flanker in the Thomian 'pack'.
Tears came to the eyes of a proud mother, Madam Shiranthi Rajapakse as the Prime Minister and chief guest father, Mahinda Rajapakse presented the Michael Gunaratne trophy to his eldest son and the Thomian captain Namal Rajapakse while team member Yoshitha Rajapakse looked on.
But the Thomian skipper Rajapakse said his team should have done better against the Reid Avenue boys. "I feel we should have done better than what we did. We did not play to our true potential in the first half. But once we found the rhythm in the second half, our boys did well to run down as many as four tries," he said.
No. 8 Rajapakse added that their failure to go on the offensive early in the first half was due to high expectations and lack of tough match practice.
"The expectations were high and there was huge pressure on us to deliver. On the other hand, it was our real tough game so far for the season. But I am glad that we were able to click well as a team in the second half and turn the match our way," he said.
Nevertheless, Rajapakse gave credit to Royal for their early show. "Royal played well, especially in the first half and gave us a tough time," he added.
But he said that even if Royal had put over that easy ten-metre penalty that came their way early in the second half and taken a 8-0 lead, the Thomians would have bounced back. "We always had a chance to do that. But we took little too long to settle down," he said.
Namal Rajapakse led from front in that 20-5 Thomian win, initiating several vital moves. Wingers Niranjan Bibile and Nilanka Muthtetuwegama and skipper Rajapakse were the most outstanding for the winners. Bibile, Muthtetuwegama, and Yoshitha Rajapakse and Sanjay Samarasinghe scored the tries for the Thomians. S.Thomas' are down to play St. Peter's in their next match scheduled for this weekend.
All three sons of the Prime Minister are playing rugby for S. Thomas'. Besides Namal and Yoshitha, who are on duty for the Under-19 first XV team, the youngest of the three - Rohitha, is a member of the Thomian Under-17 team. Hence, Prime Minister Rajapakse in bound to be a keen follower of Thomian rugby for the next few years.
Prime Minister Rajapakse is a former President of the Athletic Association of Sri Lanka (1997) while his wife - Madam Shiranthi Rajapakse headed the Netball Federation of Sri Lanka last year.
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