Sold on cricket, he took to rugby only in his final year at Science College. But Sanjeeva Jayasinghe, one of the brilliant three-quarters that graced our rugby fields, was no one season wonder. The journey that began in 1988 is to see its climax in the rugby knock-outs, come September.
It was the Havelocks that had his services and he wore the chocolate and pink jersey for three years. Despite the move to Kandy SC Sanjeeva has an abiding love for his former club.
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| Sanjeeva Jayasinghe |
It was a pleasure, he says, to play with the likes of Sudath Sampath, Leonard de Zilva, Nishantha Chanaka, Lalindra Rodrigo and Jeffrey Saheed. He is also grateful to club officials such as Kolitha Gunatilleke, Chaminda Rupasinghe, Ana Sarnapala and Thusith Pieris for their advice and encouragement when he launched his club career.
Captain of the club in 2001, Sanjeeva surprised many by switching to Kandy SC. Why did he do it? He confesses that he wanted to be a part of a winning team and that he believed it would be good for his rugby.
Just out of school, Sanjeeva was part of the Sri Lanka squad at the 1998 Asian Games. He continued to represent the country until 2009, with an year break on account of injury. One of the highlights of a glittering career was the try he scored against New Zealand at the 2001 Dubai Sevens. Perhaps the only one of its kind against the All Blacks. He also touched down twice against Scotland, besides tries against Wales, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong et al.Speaking of the Sri Lanka teams he was part of Sanjeeva is of the opinion that some teams were good while others did not quite come up to scratch. The XV-a-side team led by Sajith Mallikarachchi, which had Dilanka Wijesekera, Pavithra Fernando, Shan Wijesinghe, Fazil Marija, Pradeep Liyanage and Dhanushka Perera was one of the best. This team was coached by George Simpkin. The preparation for this tournament was good.
Johann Taylor, the present coach of Kandy SC, gets Sanjeeva’s vote for best coach he had. The team coached by Taylor did very well in a tri-nation tournament a few years back. There were lots of Kandy SC players in this team and this fact made for greater understanding and cohesion. Priyantha Ekanayake, a former President of the SLRFU had a plan for Sri Lanka rugby. Ideally, Sanjeeva says, we should invite a couple of countries to play against before embarking on a major assignment overseas.
Sri Lanka must plan to be Asias number one. The 2015 World Cup will be held in Japan and with three slots available for the region; Sanjeeva feels that we should aim at the third slot behind the hosts and Hong Kong. Sanjeeva played against rugby greats such as Eric Rush, Waisale Serevi and William Ryder in rugby sevens. Serevi, a legend can change a game in a matter of seconds. He has lots of admiration for New Zealander Daniel Carter.
Sanjeeva, who led Sri Lanka Sevens team for four years and the Fifteens for one year, was on the spot for the 2003 World Cup in Australia and the one that followed in France (2007). An unforgettable experience and one that should never be missed, is what he says. Allowing two foreign players for the lower placed clubs is a very good thing as it makes the tournament more competitive. He refers to the foreigners who represented the Havelocks as being very good.
The standard of rugby in the schools is very high. Recent school leavers such as Wilwara and Bilal Hassan are singled out tremendous players. An up-and-coming one is last year’s Antonian skipper and present Kandy SC full back Tharindu Chanaka. The Kingswood twins, Oshan and Lavanka Perera, are full of talent according to Sanjeeva.
Pinned down to name a Sevens squad from those he played with and against, Sanjeeva goes for the following: Sampath, Leonard de Zilva, Yuganthara Karunaratne, Rodrigo, Wijesekera, Saheed, Marija, Gayan Weeraratne, Liyanage, Indrajith Bandaranaike, Vithanage and Amjad Buksh.
Sanjeeva will be leaving his home in the hills for the past thirteen years to take up employment in Colombo in December. |
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