I received a video clip of an incident during the under 14 All Island semi- final played between Trinity and Royal. The title of the mail that was sent to me read “Losing a match due to poor judgment.” It was natural for someone to feel that he is badly treated when you make out that a decision which goes against you costs you the match. Equally demoralizing is when it happens to be an under 14 Match. This is where the young get a feeling of being cheated.
Going through the video I felt there is a cause to be cross with. Then again the game goes on as we come back for another day.
Speaking to a former top referee he had this to say: “Referees make mistakes and it has happened in the past and all are in learning processes”. It is a matter of how you take victory and defeat and how you train your charges to take it in the correct spirit.
Well and good that young lions and their guardians accepted the defeat though sporting a sour face. The question to me is: If this happened to a team where their supporters will not take things that mildly, what would have been the end result? Possibly it could be a black eye and a choice of words.
This brings to my mind that rugby has been played with passionate enthusiasm since the 1800’s. From that time to date and as the law book talks there has been emphasis on spirit of rugby. What makes a rugby player different is that a walk on the rugby pitch changes your life. Probably you might be thinking that I am talking of another country and not Sri Lanka. Then why should it not be so.
In Sri Lanka too we play the game as the Rugby Union expects. Are we a different breed who plays differently and keep changing the goal post? Some events at times seem to suggest so.
Yet the beauty of the game of rugby is that when the final try is scored and a winner is determined all ends well and all end up as friends. Do I hear somebody say, “My foot.” Yes because you feel when the final try is scored, that what happen after you played fairly was that you were not treated fairly. In the most basic form, rugby is a simple game. And it needs simple minds. You have to stick to a simple plan if you are to get the best of the game.
It is sad to listen as people keep asking what is happening to rugby in Sri Lanka. I would answer them by saying nothing. That is something you can interpret any way you want. If you ask some of the past council members they would say: “Nothing good is happening “. Ask somebody in the interim committee and he will say there is nothing wrong and we are correcting what was wrong.
Well and good as the game keeps moving on as we have had the “Caltex” league, the knock-out, the schools league etc. All that happened before is happening now. The National team has gone and come the juniors have retained their position as in the past.
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| Wilkinson the Buddhist |
Yet when a team loses and it has to be between two schools who know their rugby the issue that surfaces is whether what is happening is fair.
In the midst of all this I thought it relevant to produce parts of an Interview of Jonny Wilkinson to the Guardian of 29th September. This was about the come back of Johnny Wilkinson and not of any Johnny come back lately.
“Wilkinson’s impossible pursuit of sporting perfection has forced him to seek serenity in different fields – from Buddhism to quantum physics to studying French and music.” Definitely, I've been searching for tranquility in a world created by obsessive thoughts. The panic and doom that comes from thinking 'if I don't get this last kick it means this or that - and if I don't do that well enough today I'll regret it for the rest of my life.' Those feelings went into creating a world induced by fear of failure. The whole search was to break away from that."
Does Buddhism still help him achieve tranquility? "Yeah, definitely it’s a philosophy and way of life that resonates with me. I identify myself with it. I agree with so much of the sentiment behind it. I enjoy the liberating effect it's had on me to get back into the game - in a way that's so much more rewarding because you're enjoying the moment of being on the field. In the past it was basically me getting into the changing room, wiping my brow, and thinking, 'Thank God that's over.' I just managed to keep my head above water."
Vimal Perera is a former Rugby Referee, coach and Accredited Referees Evaluator IRB |
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