Achievement in rural sport Rugby becomes life changer for Malabe boys

Malabe Boys, wearing red and yellow, on the offensive during a match

 Rugby has been an experience of effort, sweat and pain

I know the benefits of playing rugby and we had to do much convincing to get the blessings of parents to send their offspring for practices. Winning at rugby is good, but my wish is to see these boys being turned into better human beings through their involvement in rugby, 
–Sisira Guneratne, Principal Malabe Boys’ School 

We got the players to arrive in blazers when they come for matches. No player is allowed to come for practices wearing slippers. Wearing sports shoes when travelling from home to school for rugby practice is a must,”

- Ajith Fernando - Head Coach 

• The coach of the team has planted a bit of grass in a corner of the school premises, so that the boys can practice tackling without getting injured
• Malabe Boys, with just about four months of practice, finished as runners-up in their group contesting the rugby tournament 

The sport of rugby union has tremendous potential to transform individuals. This is what the sport actually did to students playing rugby at Malabe Boys’ School. After dabbling in the sport for a mere couple of months, these players have not only done their school proud, but also given the assurance to their parents that they are ready to face the future; in terms of taking on life’s challenges. 

From a tournament perspective, these boys contested Group 9 in segment A of the Division 3 tournament, conducted for up and coming teams. Malabe Boys, with just about four months of practice, finished as runners-up in their group. 

According to the authorities handling this sport at the school, the rugby experience had transformed the players, so that they acquired a positive mindset, discipline and a lifestyle that made them healthy. 

For a start, the coaching staff is up by 4 am and make arrangements at the school for the players to train twice a day. Sometimes training is held elsewhere like at the beach or a hired ground because the space provided at the school for training is not ideal to dream big in rugby. For the record, the playing area available for rugby is mostly gravel or sand. The coach of the team has planted a bit of grass in a corner of the school premises, so that the boys can practice tackling without getting injured.

Few luxuries 

That little patch of green grass is one among a handful of luxuries that the school can afford to give them. The school has a swimming pool which the players use for endurance training apart from having a dedicated coaching staff who have nurtured these boys with love and care. The boys are put through their paces by Ajith Fernando who functions as the head coach. More than anything else Fernando understands child psychology and resembles a shepherd among sheep. He is a father figure to the boys. There are parents who affirm that Fernando feeds some of the players who don’t have an appetite for food through the food that he has served for himself on a plate. 

This is a head coach that has the skill to rally together members of a coaching staff and the players to meet rugby’s challenges. “We got the players to arrive in blazers when they come for matches. No player is allowed to come for practices wearing slippers. Wearing sports shoes when travelling from home to school for rugby practice is a must,” said Fernando who added, “When the players are made to wear the appropriate attire for any rugby occasion, it raises their level of thinking and behaving by a few notches”. Most importantly rugby has given these players much self-worth. 

Almost all the parents of these rugby players have not had much engagement with sport during their youth. Hence they had to be convinced that taking to rugby would serve the boys well. A person who took the initiative in this endeavour is the school’s Principal Sisira Guneratne. “I wish to see the boys of this school engage in extra-curricular activities rather than run off for tuition classes after the school bell rings. I know the benefits of playing rugby and we had to do much convincing to get the blessings of parents to send their offspring for practices. Winning at rugby is good, but my wish is to see these boys being turned into better human beings through their involvement in rugby,” said Guneratne. 

Building a rugby culture at the school is the greatest challenge the authorities face. There is a swimming pool for themselves and other activities available at school are cadetting, volleyball and cricket. Malabe Boys’ School started with their under 14 team last year, but these boys were not allowed to continue with rugby with an entry into the under 16 tournament. This was because the governing body for school rugby put an end to their future plans citing an age group rule. The school was then forced to think of taking the leap into building a First XV (senior) rugby team at school. 

“We made it happen within four months after taking to rugby. Motivation and strength and conditioning played key roles in molding the boys. More than anything else, Ajith Fernando was determined to make things happen,” said Janaka Bandara who serves as the strength and conditioning coach and also the motivator of the side. According to Bandara the players represent ‘young blood’ in the sport, but the boys had lacked the power to endure hardships in the sport at the beginning. “Everything gelled together after the bodies and minds of the players were conditioned,” he said. Some of the names involved in making this success story possible for the boys are Rukshani (referee), Inesha (yoga), Ben Perera (Fitness), Safna Noor Khan (Ayurveda) and Chamal, Hasantha and Priyankara (assistant coaches). 

Kaushali is a mother of a player (Savithu) who sees a huge improvement in the attitude of her son towards life and other activities in life. “At the beginning of training, my son harboured doubts whether he could survive two sessions of training a day. My son used to come home with swollen feet and legs after attending hard training. But now, my son who has trimmed down immensely and got fit looks forward to the second session of training each day,” said Kushali. She said that Savithu is a very positive person after taking to rugby and displays the quality of being a very sociable person. 

At the camp conducted to ‘initiate’ these players into the sport of rugby, the authorities had conducted a residential camp where the players were expected to stay overnight at the camp site. “In the night the bed in which my son was lying on broke and he had then stood up and was gazing into a wall close by. When he had related his experience to a coach in response to a query as to why he was standing, the response he had got from the coach was ‘pull the mattress on to the ground and sleep’. These are little experiences coming from rugby related activities that have drilled toughness into my son,” said Kaushali. 

These players at Malabe Boys School will be remembered for being the first batch wearing the First XV jersey and paving the path for the next generation of players to take over from them. More importantly they have helped place the first blocks in the ‘foundation stone’ to establish a rugby culture in a school. Till then this school existing for academic purposes and didn’t attract much attention. Now, when the players arrive at the school gate with wearing their blazers everyone knows that there is a rugby match in the evening!