Neil’s books on rugby bring back nostalgic memories-By A Special Sports Correspondent

Source:Island

These are days where sportsmen and women can review their lives and careers. Some would say it’s a must do during these times where there are travel restrictions. We all experience such a period some time during our lives when we are made inactive. From a rugby perspective there is so much literature to read up. Innovative people can do a documentary on rugby or short film clip and post on social media and youtube. This writer remembers the two books penned on rugby by one time recorder of Sri Lanka Rugby Neil Wijeratne.

These are great days to read his two books ‘Rugby Across the Straits’ and our very own ‘Sevens Saga’-which caps the rugby sevens history of the island.

Wijeratne is still the person to go to when a writer wants information for a sports article. He is a serious historian and takes great pain in collecting his facts and figures for his compilations. He has been generous in parting with whatever statistics he has when budding writers and journalists tap him as a source.

He was pushed to keeping sports records on pen and paper because destiny didn’t afford him the opportunity to be a sportsman. Many feel that sport was richly rewarded because this brought the writer out in Wijeratne.

Wijeratne showed his prowess in writing as a schoolboy and penned his first novel ‘Mihiduma Atharin’ in 1968. That pen kept flowing and he produced many gems in writing; his compilations coming out in English and Sinhala languages.

He is one person who saw rugby’s changing face from being an amateur sport to its professional status. Those who speak with him will vouch that his cherished memories were when players played for the love of the game and remained as amateurs.

His writings highlight those achievements by ‘amateur’ rugby players. He mentions of players like Apisai Nagata, Sari de Sylva, Nalin de Silva, Didacus de Almeida, Michael Jayasekare and Nalaka Weerakkody in a note of acknowledgement in his book Sevens Saga. He leaves out two great names that of Hisham Abdeen and Priyantha Ekanayake in that list. But who are we scribes to challenge his thoughts as a writer? May be a writer like Wijeratne sees subtle intriguing qualities and more interesting traits in these players he has mentioned because that total package makes their presence on the field so much interesting.

Wijeratne picked up those bits of information which the spectator might have missed out on and brings them out in his writings. He also never forgot about to write on lesser known sports personalities and people who contributed to sport from behind the scenes.

We Sri Lankans have often caught the attention of overseas crowds when contesting international sevens tournaments. This could be one reason why he dedicated effort and time to pen the early history of the island’s sevens rugby.

According to him it had all happened in 1931 on a February 1st in Ratnapura when the Police team took on a planters combined outfit that marked the first rugby sevens game in Sri Lanka. The writer in his book goes on to find out the exact population in Ratnapura (8497) which adds flavour to the article and brings back nostalgic memories of the past. According to Wijeratne the person credited for introducing rugby sevens to this nation is Welshman K.F Jenkins who was stationed here as a probationary Assistant Superintendent of Police.

As rugby progressed and more clubs came into being Wijeratne simply expanded his horizons. From rugby sevens tournaments in Colombo’s Longden Place and Race Course he has captured the action in tournaments like Sabaragamuwa Sevens, Kurunegala Sevens, Ruhunu Sevens, Uva Sevens, Dimbula Sevens travelling the length and breadth of Sri Lanka. He also writes about Sri Lanka hosting its first international rugby tournament -the Cargills International Sevens-which was won by Fiji Islanders’. The team comprised all Fijian players, who played domestic rugby here, except for Chandrishan Perera, who was probably included here to keep the interest of the local crowd in the tournament till the end. The old style of playing rugby is captured by Wijeratne in his punchy style of writing English. In the article titled ‘Some days are diamond days’ dedicated to Sri Lanka’s Bowl Championship win at the 1994 Fiji Sevens he writes ‘Sri Lanka was very much famous in Fiji not because of any rugby prowess of theirs, but as a country where the Fijians are looking ahead to make lucrative playing careers. Wijeratne brings out the best of Sri Lanka rugby when the islanders are on top and dazzling and still can keep the reader glued to the page with his descriptive writing when the ‘Tuskers’ are struggling with defeat staring in the face.

Still for Wijeratne, he can’t help but find space for two legends like Abdeen and Priyantha Ekanayake in the book ‘Sevens Saga’. He writes extensively on Sri Lanka’s 1984 Bowl Championship win where Abdeen led from the front as skipper. The author underscores the leadership skills and rise to fame of Ekanayake in selected sections of the book. When one begins to think that the book is not complete without the mention of two rugby stalwarts who gave so much opportunities for rugby players one finds the names of Kishin Butani and Malik Samarawickreme and some of their contributions to sevens rugby.

During these lockdown days where rugby activity is absent Wijeratne’s books are ideal to do more than pass the time; they are educative as well.

In his characteristic way of saying it Wijeratne’s rugby books ‘offer a nostalgic pilgrimage to recapture everlasting moments in rugby seen in this island’.