A man who reshaped Lankan rugby
The name Hisham Abdeen and rugby will go together for many reasons. It’s similar like ducks taking to water and Hisham Abdeen taking to rugby. He was not only one of the best products from Zahira and Isipathana colleges and most probably the best ever third rower produced by Sri Lanka. He represented Zahira College Colombo at soccer and cricket in late 70s and then crossed over to Isipathana. In a rare first season Hisham scored 25 tries for the Greens and got the nod to represent the national team in Sevens rugby in 1980 as a schoolboy. Thus he became the first schoolboy to represent Sri Lanka senior team while at school. He is also a double international, after representing Sri Lanka in Soccer against Korea in 1986.
He played rugby for Havelocks SC from 1979 to 1988 and leading the Park Club in 1983. He crossed over to CH&FC in 1989 and later in 1993, the Gymkhana Club became triple champions under the dynamic Hisham. In 1995 and 1996 he helped Kurunegala RFC and then moved to Colombo to help out Petersons SC in the next two years.
He was an automatic choice at national 15s representing Rugby in five Asiad Tournaments from 1980 to 1988. He toured Thailand and Wales in 1987 and his most unforgettable moment in International Rugby came in 1984 at the Hong Kong Sevens when Sri Lanka won the ‘Bowl’. This remains the only major success for the national Sevens team even after three decades.
In the Bowl final Sri Lanka beat Thailand 16-10. Chandrishan Perera, Saman Jayasinghe, Chula Dharmadasa, Len de Silva, C.P.P. Abeygunawardena, Rohantha Peiris and Nalin de Silva are others who played along with Hisham at the 1984 Hong Kong Sevens.
Hisham played as a third-row forward and was rock solid at No.8 position, pack leader and a dream of any coach those days. Hisham later on continued his leadership and educated the youngsters while leading from the front. In 1986 and 1987 Sri Lanka once again came to the Bowl finals of the famous Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sevens. Hisham captained Sri Lanka at the Sevens World Cup in Sydney, Australia in 1987 and performed very well though on the losing at the group stages.
After leaving the playing field it was difficult to keep him away from the oval shaped ball. Hisham got the nod to be the National Selector for two years. In his coaching career he looked after Havelocks SC, Ananda, St. Peter’s and Dharmaraja. Then he became the Assistant Coach of National Sevens and also coaching the National Ladies’ team. Later in 2009 he set up his rugby academy to promote the game throughout the country by setting up HARFA or the Hisham Abdeen Rugby Football Academy.
“We played very hard rugby, loved and treasured the national jersey. The performance at the Hong Kong Sevens in 1984 and later on 1986 and 1987 won us a place at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Sydney, Australia which is a hard thing to achieve.
It’s a dream for any rugby player to represent in World Cup Sevens. I got some fine bunch of players and leading them was not tough as they all gave 200 per cent for the country,” Hisham recalled.Speaking further he said, “We need to bring in some foreign players to represent the country in both 7s and 15s. We should aim at some good young talent from Pacific Islands such as Fiji, Tonga and Samoa. They must be very young who will at least be able to represent a club and the national team for a minimum of four to six years.”
“We also need continued training. Sri Lanka lacks Under-24 tournaments and I think competitions at this level are a must, if we are aiming big at international level. Today players at school level are at their peak but soon after they leave school only 10 to 20 percent play for clubs and the rest stop just give up. This is a sad situation and we must look after these guys who will be stars for the national team later on,” he stressed.
Hisham adamantly pointed out that the National Under-24 side should be the feeder for the Senior National team. He praised the services of Asanga Seneviratne and the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union for the efforts that are being put out to promote the game.