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The friendly match between Royal and St. Peter’s which was conducted in the true spirit of sportsmanship received the praise from all the spectators who came down to witness a gruelling encounter. The match officials Dilroy Fernando, D Nimal and SW Chang stepped forward to officiate without charging a fee to encourage the exemplary decision made by the two schools. “This was the true sportsmanship that failed to prevail in some schools and as rugby referees we are always there for the sport. What better occasion can anyone expect than this to grant your support? The match was a real thriller and the players provided the spectators what they wanted. Whatever said and done nobody is bigger than the sport,” Fernando who possesses over 30 years of experience in rugby said.

“What we have to understand here is the most important thing is the game and not individuals or groups. Individuals may come and go but the sport will have to go ahead. Last Friday’s act by these two schools (Royal and St. Peter’s) was a silver lining in the dark cloud which has overshadowed schools rugby,” former CEO of SLRFU added.

Fernando as a schoolboy played and captained the Isipathana Under-15, 17, 2nd XV and 1st XV teams and went onto play for Havelocks SC and CR & FC while still playing for his college team. He then represented CR & FC, Colombo Combined XV and Sri Lanka as a fly half and centre before retiring in 1991 to take up refereeing. Fernando could be rated as the most successful Sri Lankan rugby referee for his record of officiating in 37 international tournaments, 25 international test matches including top matches like the Commonwealth 7s final between New Zealand and Fiji in Malaysia and the Asian5Nation final between Japan and Korea in Korea and 18 Bradby Shield encounters. Fernando who possesses an enormous knowledge was appointed as a referee trainer for Asia in 2001 and an International Rugby Board educator in 2007. In terms of what took place during the semi-final encounter between St. Peter’s and his former school Isipathana, Fernando said there are procedures to challenge a referee’s decision.

“Spectators cannot disrupt a game like what happened in the knockout semi-final at Longdon Place. If you want to challenge or protest there is a certain and approved way. Throwing objects like stones and chairs is totally unacceptable and should not happen in the future,” Fernando who also served as the chairman of the rugby development committee for 13 year at Isipathana during 1984 to 2004 claimed.

He went on to say that the glorious record of Isipathana rugby has slid down to the depths of despair due to poor management. “This is the result when perfect things go into wrong hands. It’s a sorry state,” he added saying that rugby will lose sponsors if things are not corrected.

Confirming Fernando’s prediction the sponsors of the schools knockout rugby tournament, Milo of Nestle` Lanka PLC also conveyed their displeasure on the happenings that took place during the last few days. “It’s a total waste of time and money, not only ours but of the rugby lovers and the players. This is a very bad thing for school rugby. The people who sought legal advice should have at least thought about the tournament before doing such acts. This is not encouraging for sponsors and the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA) will face difficulties in finding sponsors if things go this way in the future,” a source said.

On Thursday it was reported that the SLSRFA had circulated a press release carrying  their apology to Isipathana College for the ‘inconveniences’ caused during their semi-final match against St. Peter’s which was called off after a section of supporters from their own school started throwing objects to the playing area condemning a referees decision on July 14. However it was later learnt that the committee members of the SLSRFA was unaware of a letter being issued and the secretary of the association, Denzil Darling affirmed that he had not signed any letter during the course of the past week under their letterhead. “The letter which has been circulated to the media had been issued without the knowledge of the committee members. The letter cannot be considered as a valid communiqué without the signature of the secretary of the SLSRFA, the post which is held be me,” Darling said.

It is alleged that KAD Punyadasa, the president of SLSRFA has drafted the letter himself and got the treasurer of the association AKB Dodanwala who is the master-in-charge of St. Sylvester’s College, Kandy to sign the letter which was released to the media later on July 22. The letter appeared in a local daily English newspaper on July 23 and later it was revealed that the article has played a major role in helping to obtain the court injunction which barred the final match between Royal and St. Peter’s. “A treasurer of any association or sports governing body has no right to sign circulars. It’s the job of the president and secretary. Both the president and the treasurer of our association has committed terrible mistake by misleading the media,” he added.

Unconfirmed sources revealed that the SLSRFA is on the verge of being dissolved and an interim committee is to be appointed to carry on the future activities of the association. However according to Darling the disciplinary committee of the SLSRFA will meet on August 6, the date the court injunction expires, to decide on the actions to be taken regarding the ‘mystery letter’ that went out to the press and rescheduling of the new date for the Milo Knockout Cup final.

Ramesh Rushantha Silva

( France )