Dimbula Rugby Team 1966 – Sent to eLanka thanks to a well wisher
DACC: Dimbula Athletic and Cricket Club was based at its (then) picturesque club house at Radella, 5000 feet above sea level.
Although Dimbula did field a cricket team, it was rugby that dominated its interests and activities.
The club’s rugby boundaries covered a wide area comprising several planting sub districts such as Dimbula, Nuwara Eliya, Kandapola, Maturata, Uda Pussalawa, Agrapatna, Talawakalle and Pundaloya.
Training was only once a week on “Club Day” (Wednesday) when some of the planters had to travel for more than an hour to attend practices:
During the monsoon, these sessions continued into semi darkness, where players had to judge rather than see the location of the ball!
Until the early 60s, ex pats made up most planting sides and were much stronger and heavier than their local opposition in Colombo, who were generally (but not always) lighter and faster.
By the mid sixties, the composition of the upcountry sides reflected the “Ceylonisation” of estate management that had started from the mid fifties.
The once- a-week training did not give these planting sides the same level of fitness as their opponents, particularly when they played in the heat and humidity of Colombo:
However, the old policy of recruiting mainly from rugby playing schools ensured that the players had the skills to compete with the best highly trained city teams.
Several of these Dimbula players represented the national side with distinction.
Team was called ‘DimDiks’
Except for Owen Mottau (Kingswood College -. a non rugby school then) all the non Europeans players appear to be from Trinity and S Thomas. Don’t know where Perera and Amerasinghe were from. The trainer (planters trained a lot in the bar!) was a Royalist
Selvie Kanagagasabai (captain) had been in both schools
Most of them appear to be SL Australians now.
Schokman appears to be the oldest-also a Trinity and S Thomas’ product apart from the trainer
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