Archive | April, 2016

Tags:

A tribute to Arthur Hakel – Josephian cricketer, athlete and soccer player

Posted on 29 April 2016 by admin

This was sent to Susilough de S. Wijeyeratne by Vernon Davidson to share his tribute to Late Arthur Hakel, who was one of his opening bowling partners in 1968

A TRIBUTE TO "HAT-TRICK-HAKEL"

In 1968 under Lalit de S W captaincy I was privileged to open the bowling with Arthur,who was just out of the under 16's & showed a lot of desire to succeed with hard work,application, & willingness to learn, he was very coachable. Arthur paid a lot of attention to our coaches late Mr. Farlie Dalpathado & Mr. Malcolm de Costa, Mr. Rayer Mr. AV Fernando & Mr. Laddie Outschoorn, & sought their input for his development. With his participation in athletics & also soccer he had a very high 'stamina' level which helped him bowl long spells into the wind, never complaining.
Trevor R you are right he was very 'graceful' in his approach to the wicket & a very fast arm action in delivery(a Malcolm Marshall look alike maybe Malcolm copied our Arthur) He was very quick.

Thanks Richard K for reminding about the "Hat trick" he took at Galle Esplanade in a third term game against Richmond College. It was a very windy second day & Arthur had them all 'at sea' with his pace & swing, I remember taking the catch to complete the hat trick & from day on when ever we meet, I call him "HAT TRICK HAKEL" We won the match by an innings thanks to the 'Great man'
Arthur displayed a lot of fighting spirit in his batting, he did not surrender his wicket without a fight, Us tailenders we stuck together & fought till the end. I remember Richard Kelaart Hector Perera Travis de Silva, Joe Selvaratnam Ananda Silva Arthur Hakel with our backs to the wall fighting our way out of trouble. Arthur was a good fielder as well & had a running battle with Brian Obeyesekere for the longest & fastest throws from the boundary line. Poor Lalith (wicket-keeper) copped a few nasty returns from the two boys…
I have never seen Arthur dispirited on & off the field, he always had a smile on his face, a very radiant outlook,very infectious attitude to life. Some days we would get a belting from the opposition batsmen (Royal College ) Arthur still carried a smile running in bowling his heart out. Funny thing was his hair was never out of place nor his shirt always tucked in place…even after bowling 10 -15 overs.
Arthur's contribution to College & the OBU is legendary. He will be missed by one & all. He fought a good fight with life & the Greater man" upstairs wants Arthur besides him….. Hat trick Hakel keep the shine on one side of the 'cherry'. Till we meet & swing again.

Rest in peace partner…..

Vernie




Death Announcement shared by Susilough de S. Wijeyeratne – Old Josephian cricketer

Arthur Hakel the Josephian Sportsman of the late 60's Passed away this morning and his remains will lie at 59 Medawelikada Rd, Rajagiriya late in the evening today, the funeral will be on Sunday 1st May at 4.00 PM at the Borella Cemetry. Arthur played Cricket under Lalit de S Wijeyeratne and Brian Obeysekere in 1968 and 1969 as the opening Bowler he played Soccer and Captained the Athletics team of 1968, In Athletics he held the National Schools record for Javelin which was his pet event, in Soccer he played in the last line of defence. He was true sportsman of St Joseph's College and gave his all for Josephian Sports, He was once the Chairman of the Athletic Committee and also a member of the Cricket Committee. He was also the President of the Past Cricketers Association. He was a silent worker and went about his task to see his work bore fruit. A very humble and loveable person, surely will be missed by lots of Josephians.


God Bless you Arthur will be missed, and May you Rest in Peace

Arthur's son Adrian played Rugby and did Athletics for College

Adrian Hakel (Arthur's son) email address : ah_185@hotmail.com

Arthur Hakel

 

SJC 1961

 

 

 

 

 

Obituary Notice courtesy of Daily News, Sri Lanka

HAKEL – ARTHUR

Dearly beloved husband of Angela (nee Hingert), devoted father of Natalie, Vanessa, Andrea and Adrian, fond father-in-law of Devapriya Perera, Sheyantha Abeykoon and Alwyn Martinesz, precious grandfather of Melissa, Dirane, Lyara and Jaiden, loving brother, brother-in-law and uncle, passed away peacefully and is now at rest with Jesus. His mortal remains lie at No. 59, Medawelikada Road, Rajagiriya. Cortege leaves residence on Sunday, 1st May 2016 at 3.30 p.m. Burial at 4.00 p.m. at General Cemetery, Borella (R.C. Section).  058752

Comments Off on A tribute to Arthur Hakel – Josephian cricketer, athlete and soccer player

Tags:

2016/2017 Executive Committee – JPAA Canada

Posted on 25 April 2016 by admin

The following were elected to serve in the 2016/2017 Executive Committee

for 2016/2017 at the 2016 Annual General Meeting held on April 8, 2016.

PRESIDENT CHRISTY JOSEPH
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT UPALI OBEYESEKERE
VICE PRESIDENT – SPC SRINATH WIJEYERATNE
VICE PRESIDENT – SJC VALENTINE BALASINGHAM
GENERAL SECRETARY  PHILIP NAVARATNE
ASSISTANT SECRETARY AUBREY ATTON
HONORARY TREASURER A. WIJEWEERA (MS.)
SPORTS SECRETARY – SJC P. RAVISHANKAR
SPORTS SECRETARY – SPC SRIMANTHA WIJEYERATNE
MEMBERSBHIP SECRETARY AVINASH WIJEYEWEERA
SOCIAL SECRETARY TBA
   
HONORARY AUDITOR CHRIS SERPANCHY
JT. TRUSTEE, TRUST FUND 1. UPALI OBEYESEKERE-SPC
JT. TRUSTEE, TRUST FUND 2. JEEVAN PRAGASAM

 

Comments Off on 2016/2017 Executive Committee – JPAA Canada

Tags:

2016 Annual General Meeting – JPAA Canada

Posted on 15 April 2016 by admin

The Annual General Meeting of the Josephian-Peterite Alumni Association of Canada (JPAA Canada) was held on Friday, April 8, 2016, at Markham Rugby Club in Unionville.

JPAA President Upali Obeyesekere presided at the AGM. The Minutes of the AGM were taken by 1) Jerome Fernandez for outgoing committee and 2) Philip Navaratne for incoming committee.

JPAA President Upali Obeyesekere presented the 2015 Annual Report. He said:

JPAA Canada is a unique organization. It is the only joint organization for St. Peter's College & St. Joseph's College in the whole world. The term of a president is two years and alternates between the two schools (SJC & SPC). In the history of the association, there were two exceptions to the term in office – noted below. Reason being there was no member willing to take up the office of president.

  1. Christy Joseph (SJC) served as president in 2010, 2011 and 2012 for an extended  3-year term;
  2. Upali Obeyesekere (SPC) served as president in 2013, 2014 and 2015 for an extended 3-year term; 

Upali Obeyesekere said the focus for 2015 was to give the members their monies worth and as a result he kept the ticket prices for both the Membership Nite & Annual Dinner Dance to a minimum. He said it was a lean and mean year for the 31-year old association and there were many fiscal constraints that were enforced to cut down operational costs in cricket that used up a lot of funds as both the Big Match and Saints Quadrangular are hevaily sibsidized. A match fee of $10 per player is charged which hardly meets the cost of the grounds. In addition, some players are enlisted to play in both Masters and the Main game and only one match fee is charged in this instance. 

During the 2015 fiscal year, JPAA had two members who performed the duties of Hony. Treasurer. First was IPP-Christy Joseph who helped the ex-co out for a few months and then Ranier De Lambert took over in the last few months. JPAA Canada President thanked Christy and Ranier for for their due diligence in maintaing the finances of JPAA. Following odf document displays the audited Financial Statements prepared by Auditor Chris Serpanchy.

2015 Financial Statements duly audited JPAA 2015 FS

The following activities took place in 2015.

  • In April, the 2015 Annual General Meeting took place;
  • In June 2015, the " Membership Nite" was staged at J&J Banquet Hall – Tickets were priced at $25/person and the event was an unqualified success;
  • The 31st Annual Josephian-Peterite Big Match was staged in two formats – Main Game and Masters Game – Match Fee of $10 per player was charged;
  • JPAA Canada fielded two teams in the Annual "Saints Quadrangular" T20 Cricket Tournament played at Ajax Cricket Club Grounds – 1) Josephian team and 2) Peterite team;
  • The Annual Dinner Dance held in November at the Markham Convention Centre provided the patrons an excellent fare. Internationally acclaimed pop star Alston Koch was guest artiste while DJ-Pradeep Thomas provided super dance music. Ticket prices were kept at $50/person (lowest in town) to ensure that the members, well wishers got a good deal. 

The 2016 AGM was attended by the following:

Upali Obeyesekere Srinath Wijeyeratne Christy Joseph Larry Landersz
Jerome Fernandez Ranier De Lambert Chris Serpanchy Aubrey Atton
Bhanu Wijeyesekere Rehan Goonetilleke Rod Diaz Anton Perera
Tag Theagarajah Shirley Perera Lyall Bakelmun Philip Navaratne
Arvind Kandappah Rajive Benedict Milan Gunawardena Glen Ragell
Peter Ragell Valentine Balasingham Nihal Jayawardena P. Ravishankar
Victor Santhiapillai Avinash Wijeweera Angelina Wijeweera Hazmee Hameed
Jerome de Kauwe Member 30  Member 31 Member 32

 

Excerpt from JPAA Annual Report 2015 presented by JPAA President Upali Obeyesekere

IMG_9268At this year's AGM – Christy Joseph was ushered back again as president of the association for two-year term (2016 + 2017). Some new blood was infused into the committee with Philip Navaratne having been elected General Secretary and Aubrey Atton as Assistant General Secretary. This augurs well for JPAA Canada.

The outgoing president of JPAA Canada, Upali Obeyesekere said a donation of $2,000 (Canadian) was made by JPAA Canada to Rev.Fr. Travis Gabriel, Rector of St. Joseph's College in May 2015. At a special presentation in Colombo in March 2016, at the rector's office, President Upali Obeyesekere and Immediate Past-President Christy Joseph met with Fr. Travis and presented $2,000. for infrastructure development work at St. Joseph's College.

The "Trust Account" of JPAA Canada for 2015/2016 was managed by Upali Obeyesekere (SPC) and Jeevan Pragasam (SJC).

 

 

Comments Off on 2016 Annual General Meeting – JPAA Canada

Tags: ,

In true blue spirit old Peterites worldwide came to Melbourne

Posted on 11 April 2016 by admin

Melbourne

Past students of St. Peter’s College around Australia and from overseas reconnected at a gala night in Melbourne on Saturday, October 1.Nearly 350 old Peterites, wives and friends got together for a night of reminiscing interspersed with skits and re-enactments of those schoolboy days.

It was the second reunion in three years and the Peterite spirit and enthusiasm shone through as strongly as ever. In addition to the good time, the night served as a fundraiser to benefit students at St. Peter's College, Bambalapitiya. Reunion organising committee spokesman Rienzie Machado said funds raised would pay for 3-5 scholarships over the next three years.“A Grade 11 and 12 scholarship is about $200. I am sure we can fund a few,'' Machado said.

The Blue that Crowns the World reunion truly lived up to its billing, with the highlight being the presence of old boys from overseas. Notable among them were former Peterite captains Travice Fernando and Michael Elias who travelled from Colombo. Machado said: “It was amazing to see the Peterites reconnect, it was as if we had just left the gates of our school. As organisers we aimed to lift the bar on the 2008 reunion and make it a night to remember.`What a terrific response we had from the committee and Peterites of all vintages.''

Music was provided by many past students including well-known entertainers Darrell de Silva, Randy Pieris (from Sydney) and Dwight Vangramberg (Perth).The brilliant choral group of young Peterites, based in Sydney, provided the audience with something special as they harmonised in true barber shop fashion. Other highlights of the night were specially brewed Peterite beers, a canteen re-enactment, fully catered buffet dinner, laughter-inducing skits and the appearance of Fr Rector aka Rienzie Machado.

However, the piece de resistance of the night was when Peterite voices were raised in a stirring rendition of the college anthem – Lend a Heart and Lend a Hand, with not a song sheet in sight. 
Plans are now underway for the Peterites to reconnect again in 2014, with moves for the next venue to be Brisbane.

 

Continue Reading

Comments Off on In true blue spirit old Peterites worldwide came to Melbourne

Tags:

Peterite Rugby – 75 years of proud history

Posted on 11 April 2016 by admin

Peterite rugby – 75 years of proud history.
by Ruchira Mendis – Courtesy: The Island.

 

St. Peter’s College, Colombo, celebrates its 75 years of rugby in grand scale this year as they created history in 2006 by becoming school double Champions by winning outright the Singer League and Milo President’s Trophy, the first Peterite team to achieve this feat, under the captaincy of Harendra Ariyawardane and coaching guidance of Sanath Martis.

Amidst the celebrations of 75 years of rugby, St. Peter’s rugby team achieved that invincible status in 2007 by becoming the first Peterite XV to become the "unbeatable school rugby champion" under the captaincy of Ranuka Jayasinghe again under the guidance of Martis.

Enthusiastic young ruggerites of St. Peter’s College donned the now glorious College Colours of Blue, White and Gold for the first time, in 1932 under the Rectorship of Fr. D.J. Nicholas Perera. The brilliant rugger player and sportsman, Herbert Wittahatchy took over the fortunes of Peterite rugby the same year, as Prefect of Games. No one dreamed that a glorious history was about to be created.

Brilliantly moulding a team of freshers together with Lim Billimoria (the first Peterite rugby captain), St. Peter’s entered the then Ceylon schools rugby arena with its inaugural 1st XV in the same year, 1932. St. Peter’s (SPC) became the fourth school in the history of Sri Lankan rugby to play at competitive level.

St. Peter’s played their first match against Royal College at home grounds at Bambalapitiya. Though they lost that match, their team’s performances then on field showed a glimpse of the potential that they had to lead to built a majestic legacy in the future.

Success was not long in coming their way and with brave and intelligent play against all opponents, Peterites first tasted success in 1934 recording the first rugby win against Royal at Bambalapitiya by 5-0 under the captaincy of Shirley Illesinghe.

Then in 1935, under the captaincy of Fred Keller, the Petes posted a historic feat beating the vastly experienced Trinity College, Kandy, in an encounter at Bambalapitiya as a ‘stunning’ scoreboard read 6-0. This was only their third attempt. Emotions ran high as Peterites were adjudged Joint Champs (with Trinity College) of the inter-collegiate rugger tournament.

St. Peter’s continued to grab the Schools Rugby Championship title for five consecutive years from that point onwards, a rare feat in the history of Inter-Collegiate Rugby in Sri Lanka. While remaining invincible through the rugby season in 1936, under the legendary Archibald Perera and in 1938 under Percy Perera, they reigned their supremacy in the local rugby scene.

In 1948, under the stewardship of M. Numan, former Peterite rugby player, and Harold de Silva, the captain, their fortunes began to have a new rise. Harold de Silva is today the oldest living Peterite rugby captain.

It took a long for the Peterites to settle and stamp their class after resumption as they were playing against much experienced teams.

The legendary Archibald Perera became rugby coach of St. Peter’s College in 1956 and he continued to serve the College uninterrupted till his demise in 1982 ending an era that touched hearts of all Peterites for more than 26 years at the helm.

During his tenure, St. Peter’s produced four schools rugby champion sides, namely: Under Darrel Wimaleratne in 1965, under Hamzi Hameed in 1966, under Jeffery de Jong in 1972 and under Rohan Wiratunga in 1973.

St. Peter’s College, regrouping in the early 80s with Archibald’s successor Frank Hubert as coach, assisted by Angelo Wickramaratne, were instrumental in producing another famous side in 1985 under the captaincy of Rajith Abeygoonewardena and St. Peter’s finally broke the hoodoo of losses against some top school teams, crafting a new destiny for them by beating Trinity 8-0 after 44 years, beating Royal 24-0 after 13 years and St. Thomas’ 7-4 after eight years.

In 1986, under the late Rowen Gunasekera, St. Peter’s ended the season as runners-up to Isipatana against whom they recorded their solitary loss though managed to beat other more fancied teams and drawing with Trinity College in Kandy.

Then came 1994 when the Peterites, captained by Roshare Alles, went in to ‘the lions den’ to beat Trinity College in Kandy after 53 years and in 1995, under Sanjeewa Abeygoonewardena, they tamed the Trinity Lions twice over under the watchful eyes of another Trinity Lion Ajith Abeyaratne and Nimal Lewke thus becoming league runner up by just a few decimal points to Isipatana whom they beat twice in that season. However, St. Peter’s came back strongly to win the inaugural President’s Trophy in 1995.

In 2002, under Dilanka Wijesekera, St. Peter’s became the ‘A’ Division Schools Champions to become the fist Peterite champion side of the new millennium.

St. Peter’s College has produced many brilliant rugby players in her 75-year rugby history feeding National teams with high quality players both with skills and discipline emerging from its system in every single decade. Peterite rugby players have found favour with many leading rugby clubs and are always in great demand due to this particular quality. That was so even during pre-independence days during which the British expatriates dominated the game.

Many Peterites have featured prominently in national or combined teams, be it Combined Schools, All Ceylon, Ceylonese or Sri Lankan XV’s or even at rugby 7’s. They’ve brought much honour and glory to St. Peter’s College, its rugby and its fervent followers when ever they’ve donned the Blue White and Gold jersey or the National jersey against visiting teams or playing on foreign soil.

Comments Off on Peterite Rugby – 75 years of proud history

Tags:

Celebrating Peterite Passion The Rugby Team of ‘84

Posted on 11 April 2016 by admin

By: Stewart Schneider-Loos (SPC Rugby 1983 – 1984). Courtesy: Sunday Leader.

Although it was over 30 years ago, it seems like only yesterday…With the current schools rugby season in full swing, I would like to take you back thirty odd-years to reminisce about the Peterite team of 1984.

That year we did not win a championship, but I can assure you that the blokes that made up the side were a bunch of champions who played with pride and passion.

The pre-season commenced with the commanding Frank Hubert (better known as Frankie to most) in charge as head coach. It was in fact his second season as head coach since the demise of the legendary Archibald Perera. Frankie had been assisting Archie since leaving college in 1975.

Unfortunately for college, it was also to be his last season, as Frankie took up a job overseas the following year. His support team was made up of Orville Fernando, the well-known Peterite and former Havies and Sri Lanka forward and until last week the head of the Referees Society, as well as Shanaka Abeywickrema, the former Peterite hooker.

The late Austin Fernando made up the other part of the team management as Master in Charge of Sport at college. We had Nigel Forbes of the present Rugby Foundation fame, shaping up as the captain and number eight for the season. Unfortunately, the ministry of education overruled on his eligibility to participate in the schools season that year. However, Nigel went on to represent Havelock’s Sports club at division one club rugby later that year.

Many players vying for a position in the 1st fifteen that year had been inducted into rugby by the legend himself, Archibald Perera, be it at the junior level or as a player in the second fifteen squads of prior years. Rugby was everything to us; we literary ate, drank and slept rugby.

Many of us, in what was the last of the “English Medium” attended school, just so that we could play rugby.  Thanks to Frankie, we were also fed a good diet of Peterite rugby history, culture and heritage. He would always relate stories of previous greats, and their exploits on the rugby field. Frankie was an encyclopaedia on Peterite rugby.

The season started with the usual early morning sessions, the road runs, which took us past the Bambalapitiya flats, as well as the house of the famous “De Silva’s” down Laurie’s road. Frankie, as coach was a strict disciplinarian, and took fitness training very seriously.  Some of the fitness sessions were absolute torture, with blokes actually throwing up.  Frankie, who was also the leading SLRFU referee at the time, spent a lot of time teaching us the rules of the game. He instilled in us the importance of understanding the laws of the game and that we needed to abide by them to the letter.

By the time the first game of the season came around, Viraj Fernando was appointed captain of the team. He was one of the few coloursmen in the team and was playing in his favourite position of fly half. Viraj was an easy going and a likeable chap who was able to rally the team around him.  He also had a reputation as a good basketball player.Viraj is now domiciled in Toronto, Cananda.

That year, the 1st XV squad was made up of the following players.

Our front row was made up of Props, Illanguwan Dharamalingham and Baguwan Mohinani. Stewart Loos was the Hooker and substituted as a prop when required. We had Mohamed Misverdeen (who represented Sri Lanka at the under 24’s, Captained the University of Colombo and also represented the CH&FC) and Sampath Gomez (the night driver) in the second row.  The back row was manned by the crack “spoiler” Chrishan Fernando, Balkan Rayen (Brother of former Peterite, Havies and Sri Lanka wing forward Hubert Rayen) and fast breaking Dave Croon. My position was always under pressure from Niranjan “Kitty” Wimalasena, the younger brother of “Pussa” PrasannaWimalasena. We had Kevin Rasquinho, the one tackle wonder who was a utility player that could fill in any position. Nilantha Silva was also a reserve that came on and made an impact during that season. Young Ramsey Decker was the replacement number 8 and Nilantha Pullenayagam, a strong wing forward
The scrumhalves position was shared that season by Colin Franke, and the naturally talented athlete in late Rowan Gunasekera. Viraj Fernando was the fly half and inside centre at times. Rohan Paiva, a naturally gifted player, also manned fly half position.  Jerome Brohier was the inside centre. The outside centre was Graham Raux, who incidentally was the only player in the 1st XV team of 1984 to go on and don the national colours. Tyronne Fernando was a handy outside when he ran on for college.

The wingers were Royce Buultjens, better known for his cricket and the record-breaking captain of 1985, Rajith Abeygunawardena. Crofton Joseph our ever-reliable place kicker was the fullback was also well known for his skills at hockey and soccer. Ravi Direkze also occupied the positions of fullback and or winger from time to time.

Our classroom, grade 12 English Commerce was located over the chapel, with full view of the Galle Road. During the season it was also considered the “war room” of the 1st fifteen rugby team. We would have players from other classes drop in for a chat. Many a discussion about how we were progressing, debates on who should play where as well as lots of strategy was drawn up in this room.

The names of some of the prominent players who featured in the opposition teams that year were:

St Thomas – Jeremy John, Asanga Seneviratne (Current President of the SLRFU), Graham Tissera

Royal – Sampath Agalawatte, Janaka Lenaduwa, Ajith Weeratunga, Chiro Nanayakkara, Ajith Gunasekera & Feroze Suhaib
Isipathana – Nizam Jamaldeen, Shabeen Siddik & SanathMartis (the previous Peterite and Sri Lanka Schools coach),

Trinity – Sivaji Subramanium, IkramOdayar, Dilakshan Ratwatte, Manoj Jayatissa, Roger Halangoda& Ravi Pillai
St Anthony’s – Priyantha Ekanayake (Former Kandy and Sri Lanka Skipper)
St Joseph’s – Michael Perera

SPC ended being runner’s up in the schools rugby sevens competition for the Philip Buultjens trophy. We lost to a star-studded team from Royal College in the final (five players from that Royal college team went on to play for the President cup winning CR & FC team that year). We beat St Thomas’s in the quarterfinals and Trinity College in the Semi final; this was sweet revenge for loss we experienced earlier in the season.

At the end of the 1984 season, even though St Peters was not as successful as some of the other schools, we had four players selected to represent the Colombo Schools team for the Gratiaen Cup. They were Rajith Abegunawardena, Illangoonwan Dharamalingm, Royce Buultjens and Stewart Loos.  The late Jeffery de Jong refereed that match which was against the outstation schools. Our own Rohan Paiva captained the under 17’s Colombo Schools side for the Tyrell Muttiah Trophy, which included the late Rowan Gunasekera and Ramsey Decker.

To this day, being biased, we believe that the team of 84’ broke the hoodoo in Kandy. We believe that poor refereeing decisions stopped us in our tracks. Our team was the forerunner for Rajith Abeygunawardena’sall conquering side of 1985.

There are two games that were of significance to the team that season. The first was the encounter against St. Thomas’s. The Archibald Perera trophy was on offer for the second time. St Peters had lost it the previous year and we knew it was our duty to bring it back to Bambalapitya where it rightly belonged. In that game, we controlled the majority of the possession, but failed to convert possession to points. We also missed a vital conversion that cost us a win.

It was in that game that the Petes halves combination came of age. Rowan Gunersekera and Rohan Paiva were at their best. We won ball in the lineout’s and our scrums were solid. I won a couple of strikes against the feed off the more experienced Jeremy John. We had to settle for a draw.

This was not what we wanted, we wanted a win, and we were left disappointed and empty. We had let the great old man, Frankie and ourselves down.

The second was the encounter against Trinity at Bogambara. The Lions were a star-studded outfit, while the Petes were a confident team after the draw against St. Thomas’s the previous week. We opened scoring in the 15th minute when Rowan set the line in motion after we had won a scrum in the Lion’s 25’. Skipper and centre Viraj Fernando scored by the corner flag after Jerome Brohier had cut loose.  The always-reliable Crofton Joseph missed the conversion.  The Trinitians struggled to cope with the pressure unleashed by the Peterite forwards; Chrishan Fernando, Dave Croon, Mohamed Misverdeen and Balkan Rayen were outstanding. We lead 4 – Nil at half time.

The fierce battle continued in the second half.  Trinity cut down the lead when they were awarded a questionable penalty eight minutes to the end of the match just after we lost our experienced flanker, Chrishan Fernando to injury. Nilantha Silva came on as replacement. We continued to defend the slim lead, whilst listening out for the long whistle. Our supporters were already celebrating the historic win. Had the referee lost his whistle?

At this point I was injured; however the referee would not allow a doctor on the field. The referee wanted play to go on. In semi darkness, and long past the fulltime mark, SivajiSubramaniam barged over to score the winning points for Trinity. It was a gut wrenching experience; one man had stolen the dream of ‘84! We had beaten the lions in their own den.

As a result of the poor refereeing in that game, Frank Hubert who was also the top SLRFU referee at that time resigned as a member of the SLRFU referees association. He did not want to be part of a group that involved biased referees. It was a real pity as Anton Benedict was down to referee both these key games, but was replaced by Tony Amit. It was ironic that Tony Amit would later go on to coach St. Peters at rugby.

Unfortunately, Frank Hubert would miss out on the opportunity to referee at the ASIAD in Japan later that year, due to his resignation. Frankie always believed in being fair and stood by his team. To this day he has no regrets for his actions.

Whilst many of the players have migrated to places such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA, strong friendships that were forged during that season have been maintained.From time to time, a few of us would meet when on vacation in Colombo and take the opportunity to exchange yarns and speak about the good old times.  I am sure that the teams that have gone before us as well as those after would have had similar experiences.

The Peteriteteam of 84 was a great side; it was a year that we thoroughly enjoyed and one in which we built strong bonds. It was a year that would prepare us for the rest of our lives. I always wondered why they say; “Rugby is the game they play in heaven” I now know why.

To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Team of 84’ a reunion has been organised for the weekend commencing the 20th of June. Celebrations will begin in Colombo and culminate with a trip to Pallekalle to witness the SPC vs Trinity match. We have members of that team travelling back to Colombo from around the world to participate in the reunion.

 

Comments Off on Celebrating Peterite Passion The Rugby Team of ‘84

Tags:

St. Peter’s win school’s T20 championship

Posted on 09 April 2016 by admin

 

 

St Peter's Team

St. Peter’s College won the Singer U19 schools T20 championship when they recorded an easy 38-run win over St. Aloysius’ Galle in the final played at Galle International Cricket Stadium on Friday.St. Peter’s, whose skipper Vinu Mohotti won the toss and elected to take first lease of the wicket, put up a formidable and challenging score of 162 for 8. The Peterites innings came on the back of two valuable partnerships after they had lost two wickets with the score on 37. The first partnership was for the third wicket that of 38 runs between Chandula Jayamanne who made a top score of 49 runs and Lakshina Rodrigo which was followed by a 41-run stand for the sixth wicket between skipper Mohotti and Ranmith Jayasena.

Giant-killers St. Aloysius’ who earlier defeated Isipathana College, S. Thomas’ College and Trinity College to qualify for the final, in their run chase were unable to do the same against St. Peter’s.

They fell into deep trouble when they lost their top three wickets with just one run on the board in only 1.3 overs. Taneesha Weerakoon made the early breakthrough before top scorer Jayamanne in his first over grabbed two wickets and then followed it with another in his next over.

The Aloysians made a brief recovery through a 46-run stand for the fifth wicket between Navindu Nirmal and Hareen Buddila but they faltered again losing two more wickets for the addition of ten runs and were struggling on 76 for 7.

A brief stand of 24 runs between Sajith Sankalpa and skipper Gihan Niroshan was not going to be sufficient as they were badly placed on 100 for 8 in the 18th over before being restricted to a score of 124.

Chandula who did the early damage ended with top figures of 3 for 24 while Taneesha Weerakoon and Chemila Obeysekera shared four wickets between them.

St. Peter’s 162 for 8 in 20 overs (Chandula Jayamanne 49, Vinu Mohotti 40, Ranmith Jayasena 17: Prabodha Madusanka 4 for 24)

St. Aloysius’ Galle 124 for 8 in 20 overs (Navindu Nirmal 36, Hareen Buddila 19, Gihan Niroshan 27 n.o.: Chandula Jayamanne 3 for 24, Chemila Obeysekera 2 for 13, Taneesha Weerakoon 2 for 18)

Comments Off on St. Peter’s win school’s T20 championship

Advertise Here
Advertise Here
%d bloggers like this: