ROYDEN DE SILVA THE MAESTRO – By Bevil De Silva
Source: JOSEPHIAN-PETERITE GLOBAL FAMILY 365 – Upali Obeyesekere
It was wonderful reminiscing, on Rugby and basketball with maestro Royden de Silva, who was a indefatigable second row forward for Havelocks in an era where Rugby was at its best , the double international in Rugby and Basketball, Royden excelled for his Alma mater St Peters College at both rugby and Basketball and went on to represent the country in both versions.
Royden played for St Peters College from 1963 under Stephen Alagaratnam, following year under Rohan Abeysundera, and the final year under that brilliant sportsman Darrel Wimalaratne in 65, he could not play a full season in rugby in 64, he did mention owing to an appendix operation .
He was one of the finest second rowers Havelocks ever produced, he recalled playing along with Chandralal Fernando, Anton Benedict, Lanil Tennekoon, Desmond Harridge and the like . His love for the game, he was an automatic choice for the park club, from 1966 to 1976, which was his final year, he led the Havelocks in 73, the lanky second rower in addition to his line out jumping was a terrific player in the lose, he used to hack any ball out of his reach, in typical basketball fashion , that was a treat to watch to start many a moves, which ended up in many scoring opportunities .
FROM LONGDEN PLACE TO DEPOT POLICE COURTS
The evergreen second rower, recalled after the Havelocks vs Navy ko rugby final at longden place, which was a cracker finals with Navy, they clinched the finals by beating Navy sports club by fifteen points to three . Navy was was led by PLB Nandasiri, a tireless forward, and had players like Ilex Perera , Bin Galiph, Nazeer, J. Waidyaratne, P W Perera and the likes in their side. Haveloks led by Thajone Savanghan, comprised players like, Hanzil Samad the dazzling scrum half, speedy winger H. M Sunil, Jeffrey de Jong, Jefery Yu, Lanil Tennekoon. He recalled rushing to the depot police, for a basketball finals with police Sc, where he led the Orients basketball team, in the finals ending up victorious., a rare feat in the sports history of Sri Lanka, which speaks volumes of his fitness level.
One of the most unassuming lads, that I have ever met in the sporting fraternity of Sri Lanka, Royden de Silva is an ideal role model for any sportsman to follow . He also represented Ceylon then against England, under Hadji Omar, comprised of players like, Jeyer Rodrigues, the evergreen late Didacus de Almeida, Rohan Abeysundera, the versatile sportsmen late Darrel Wimalaratne all from St. Peters, the England side came to Ceylon after a far eastern tour, under Budge Rogers, and he also represented Ceylon against Nchanga .
