From ‘nowhere’ to provincial rugby coach in NZ
Milinda Southland Development Team strength and conditioning coach
Sri Lankans have the uncanny ability to shine in any sphere of activity overseas especially in countries where talents of individuals are recognised on merit irrespective of where you come from. Sri Lanka has a rich tradition in rugby, but it is almost unimaginable that a former national player would be considered to coach a provincial side in New Zealand.
Believe it or not! Former Sri Lanka scrum half Milinda Jayasinghe, not only came under the radar of Southland Provincial Rugby Union to take charge of their Sevens programme, the world’s leading rugby nation embraced him wholeheartedly by granting him Permanent Residency (PR) purely because of his rugby skills.
It is a fascinating tale of someone who came from ‘nowhere’ to battle against the odds despite displaying remarkable skills as a scrum half and goal-kicking ability to boot, from a young age to don the No.9 jersey with great aplomb for school, club, country and in New Zealand as well. A contemporary of Sri Lanka cricket great Mahela Jayawardene at Nalanda, Jayasinghe was attracted to rugby despite not having any family background with the sport.
Hailing from a non-traditional rugby playing school, it continued to haunt him throughout his career. He had to go the extra mile and work harder than others to prove his ability and overcome many obstacles before achieving his dream of playing for Sri Lanka despite being selected to the national pool as a schoolboy in 1998.
Shrugging off the disappointment of not being selected to represent Junior Tuskers, the turning point in Jayasinghe’s playing career was when he represented CR&FC Under-24 team in the Inter-Club 10-a-side Tournament in 1996 and adjudged player of the tournament. The following year he was a member of the CR team which won the knockout title and was again picked as the player of the tournament.
CH&FC became his home for more than a decade when he joined the Maitland Crescent club in 1998 and enjoyed immediate success as they won the Inter-Club Sevens title. His growing reputation as a Sevens star saw him being selected to the Sri Lanka Sevens squad in 2000 under Priyantha Ekanayake, but he had to wait another year before making his national debut at the Hong Kong Sevens after a dispute with boycotting Kandy SC players was resolved at the eleventh hour before the team’s departure. Since 2001 he became a regular for Sri Lanka in both Sevens and 15-a-side squads.
He also enjoyed success at the Mercantile Sevens with Asia Capital, HNB, Butani Capital and Dialog displaying the Midas touch wherever he chose to play while plying his trade as a stockbroker, merchandiser and HR manager. He got a lucky break to play in New Zealand when former CH coach Matt Lee invited him to play his club Petonie in Wellington, which he did for three seasons from 2001.
He captained CH in 2003 and also had a stint in the All India Rugby League for a couple of seasons before joining Air Force coached by Inthi Marikar on the invitation of then Air Force Commander Roshan Goonetilleke. He led them on a tour of New Zealand in 2011 where they played against Royal Navy whom they beat with Jayasinghe being adjudged player of the day and lost to Royal Air Force. Air Force finished third in the domestic league under his captaincy. He also coached Nalanda gaining them promotion to the ‘B’ Division as unbeaten champions while they emerged runners-up in the Cup and Plate events of the Jonah Jones Sevens tournament in Malaysia.
Having come to the tail end of his career, his family took a conscious decision to migrate to New Zealand in 2013 with his wife Manji opting for a voluntary retirement scheme at HSBC to pursue a degree in Business Management.
“The reason we chose Invercargill was it was the only place the New Zealand government issued visas for the whole family to come. The plan was for me to work and my wife to study,” said Jayasinghe.
“After I came to New Zealand, a few clubs wanted me to play. I really didn’t want to play. I said I can be a fitness trainer or manager,” said Jayasinghe, who was appointed strength and conditioning coach at Invercargill Blues.
He came under the radar of Southland PRU, who wanted him to handle their development team ‘STAGS’ during his first year. He was retained when Brad Moore, the current All Blacks assistant coach, joined them as head coach the following season.
Thereafter, Southland PRU approached him to start their Sevens programme as strength and conditioning coach for the men’s team plus assistant coach of the women’s team. A Level 1 and 2 World Rugby certified coach, Jayasinghe thanks to influence of former Sri Lanka star Marikar had attended several training camps in New Zealand held by legendary Sevens coach Sir Gordon Tietjens, when in Sri Lanka and followed Super Rugby training camps conducted by Dave Renne for Hurricanes and Blues by Sir Graham Henry.
The twist in the story came when it was time to apply for PR.
“I was thinking of putting my application through my wife but my lawyer told me I had a very good chance than my wife to get PR because I was coaching a provincial team. We decided that it’s a blessing. I come from nowhere. I have sacrificed so much for rugby. If I get PR through rugby more the better,” he said.
“But when we applied after a week, our lawyer said ‘Milie it’s tough’. No one will believe that someone coming from Asia and Sri Lanka with a world ranking of 56 can coach a world No.1 team. They (immigration) wanted me to provide more information. Southland PRU also helped me with documents. That’s how I got it (PR),” said Jayasinghe.
“I was very proud at that time. Even my passport still has a visa as strength and conditioning coach for the provincial union. I believe I am the first Sri Lankan to get PR through rugby. I was like over the moon. Everything I had done for rugby paid off,” said 43-year-old Jayasinghe, who is eligible to apply for New Zealand citizenship next year.
“Personally I know the tough time I went through in rugby in Sri Lanka. Lot of people gave me a tough time. I came to a good country where there is fair play and no politics. I am very humbled and proud. I would love to come and help Sri Lanka. At the end of the day we want to help our country,” said Jayasinghe, who was President of the Southland Sri Lanka Society last year.
He has taken a break from coaching because of work commitments at New Zealand Aluminum Smelter. “I have not stopped updating my knowledge in coaching,” said Jayasinghe whose daughter Sanya, 14, also played rugby but is more focused on ballet dancing.