From Auckland to Colombo Muthu turns a new leaf
Sudarshana Muthuthanthri
What stands out Sudarshana Muthuthanthri from the rest in the local Rugby circle is his commitment and undying thirst to learn more. Muthuthanthri, 25, went on to become a force to reckon at three of the high profile domestic Rugby competitions, becoming the best player in of them, freshly after his three-month training stint at the Auckland Rugby Academy at Eden Park, New Zealand.
A fearless third-row-forward who could switch positions from flanker to No 8 to a even a centre three-quarter has represented Sri Lanka since 2012. But strangely the bulky forward made his debut for Sri Lanka as a 7s player in 2013 before turning out for the country’s 15s teams for the first time in 2015.
But what makes Muthuthanthri the talking point is his revived performances at the recently concluded Sri Lanka Super Sevens and the 47th Mercantile Super Sevens, held over three weekends in July. The teams he represented, reached two finals and won one — the second leg of the Sri Lanka Super Sevens held in Colombo, where Muthuthanthri was named the Player of the Tournament.
He credits all this to the three-month training that he underwent in Auckland, New Zealand. This comes as the first time that a Sri Lankan Rugby player got an opportunity to train with the Auckland Rugby Academy at the famous Eden Park, one of New Zealand’s and the world’s top Rugby venues.
“It was a repeat tiring after Sri Lanka Super 7s and the Mercantile 7s, it was at least six games per event. The best that came out of me happened after the three-month training in Auckland, where Red Bull played the main role by arranging everything. The programme was mainly on training and conditioning, and there were many other training programmes right throughout, which were really helpful for me. With that experience I scored at least seven tries during the Sri Lanka Super 7s Colombo Leg. The work rate and the duration I spent in the field, since I was the captain of EZY Wolves was mainly helped by the training I got in New Zealand,” the former S. Thomas’ College forward stated.
Interestingly Muthuthanthri was a Basketball and Football player at his school and switched to Rugby when he was just 17 of age. He represented the S. Thomas’ First XV team for three years and played an important role when they won the Schools Presidents Knockout Championship in 2009. From there he joined Havelocks Sports Club, what he terms as a cozy place for a good Rugby player. He became the vice captain of Havelocks in 2012, the year the club won the Dialog League Championship after ages. The following year he was elevated as the skipper and his club emerged domestic runners-up, followed by an overall third in 2014, again under his captaincy.
He was a key contributor of the Havelocks 7s outfit that won the National 7s tournament in 2013 and later in 2014 that finished off as runners-up. His contributions to the club earned Muthuthanthri a place in the Sri Lanka 7s outfit in 2015. In 2016 he took the reigns as skipper of the Sri Lanka 15s side from ace player Fazil Marija. By then he rewrote the history books as the youngest to captain Sri Lanka at 7s. He did not stop there, as Muthuthanthri worked his way to the top to cement his place in the national 7s side as an important cog and to earn something others in Sri Lanka had failed earlier.
Muthuthanthri in action
“Usually Sri Lankan players do not get the opportunity to travel to Auckland and receive a high performance training programme like I underwent. It was a great opportunity and I have to thank Red Bull for that. What they did for me was really helpful to experience Rugby in another country where the sport is highly professional and a culture. I learnt a lot there, how they focus on the game, their off the field activities and their approach. This was a great opportunity for someone like me,” the Muthuthanthri, a committed Business Management student stated.
A player with a larger and broader view of the game, Muthuthanthri also termed his training in Auckland a period which really helped him to see Rugby in the most simplest way. New Zealand, a country with a totally different climate pattern to Sri Lanka, was a strange place for him during the first few days but the association with the three New Zealand coaches in the Sri Lanka 7s side, made him adopt fast to the training patterns in Auckland. According to him it was all about discipline and there was no mucking around and above all, everyone was treated equal when it came to training.
“There was no politics or personal agendas there. There were players from many countries with a common goal and we were taught to focus only on the sport and nothing other than that. That was the best environment that a Rugby player could experience. In addition there were Super Rugby players at training sessions which also gave all a firsthand experience of professionals in the game. With them we learned something new every day. A significant difference I saw between Sri Lanka and New Zealand was how they have simplified by breaking into portions.”
Still a CIMA and Business Management student, Muthuthanthri has only worked one year since leaving school at the Stock Market, but gave that up for Rugby, which he stated need more commitment. Muthuthanthri also had to play weekend games in Auckland, where he turned out to be an impressive player among other participants from Argentina, USA, England, Namibia and Japan. He looks forward to play overseas before calling it quits and focus on a fitting profession to his degrees. But at present he is fully focused on the upcoming Asian Sevens Series to be held in Hong Kong, South Korea and
Sri Lanka.