ThePapare chatted to Gayan Weerarathne Sri Lanka’s Center who represented Kingswood in 2005 – 07 vice captaining his final year. He and his school captain Tilina Manoj were a famous schools center pairing and the duo went on to represent the Sri Lanka under 19 team in the junior Asiad. Soon after he joined Kandy SC where he formed a lethal combo with Pradeep Liyanage and has since been the first choice center for both Kandy and SL.
Has great vision, flair and speed and an excellent defender. Brother plays as scrum half for both Kandy and Sri Lanka Roshan Weeraratne, captained Kingswood in 2009 who shared his candid feelings towards the game and the future of Sri Lankan Rugby.
How did you feel about rugby before getting into the sport?
I started playing when I was really young. So I really don’t have much of vivid memory of how I felt before that; however, I can remember going to watch a couple of National matches. This was exciting but was not good enough to convince me to join the sport. At the same time my school (Kingswood Kandy) won the President’s trophy, and I witnessed the final match which gave me a strong desire to represent the school. I think I saw rugby as a sport from which you can bring in pride back to school.
You got into the national squad when you were still a teenager, any comments on the early start as a national player?
I got selected to 7s and 15s when I was only 17. Till then when I used to watch national matches I always wanted to play for the national team but never expected it to be so early. I was first called for a match against Kazakhstan which took place at the CR. This was a pleasant surprise and was too much to digest at the time for me. On the same note, I’d like to mention from young days my parents were very supportive of the game, specially my father. So they were thrilled to hear the good news as well. After all they were investing a lot in to the sport being by my side.
So this was an opportunity for you to play with the senior players who you watched playing. How did you make use of it?
Well it was a mixed feeling of happiness and nervousness. I was playing under a lot of pressure, because I was the only young player. It was very productive as an opportunity because I did not even have a junior to speak with, so it was solely about the game. Also I met and later became close friends with Indrajith Bandara who I used to look up to before, but I never got the chance to play with him since he left the squad as I joined. This also got me the chance to practice with Kandy(the club) which was a special training for the school rugby players back then.
How did you balance your academic work while you devoted such a lot of time to the sport?
Well it wasn’t easy, especially at the start since I didn’t have much support from the teachers. They always worried about the grades and didn’t consider rugby to be a serious game. Facing OLs along with this pressure was difficult. But when it came to my higher studies, since I was also a part of the national team everyone was very supportive. They helped me with extra classes and never let me down. My parents were understanding. They didn’t push me extreme limits in studies which was very helpful to be successful in the game.
Any message to the upcoming rugby players on how to manage studies parallel to the sport?
Firstly I’d like to remind them if you are performing well in the sport you get immense support from everyone, well not at the start but eventually. But have in mind that playing rugby isn’t about being a soldier or changing your personality. Try to keep up with the society. I have seen many friends of mine who have a bad time dealing with their social life.
What do you think of the club life at Kandy?
I think it’s getting better with the new upcoming clubs. Previously we(kandy) had to come for 8 matches to Colombo while the clubs in Colombo had an advantage of only coming to Kandy for one match. But now with clubs like Upcountry Lions things are about to change. In my experience, I believe it will add lot of competition to all the clubs and the battle will be fair.
What are your plans for the future? Considering both your personal life and rugby
Well as a national player I am really happy that we got into the top 5 nations in the rugby which really encourages me to be in the sport for a longer time. I am hoping that we’ll probably improve our odds this time and move up in the ranks. In the long term my aim is to help the school. I want to build up Kingswood rugby. Currently my school has not been able to produce any national players so I want to change it.
In my personal life I think I’ll be working permanently. The job is a blessing and it is very supportive of the game. This will be very helpful even once I leave the game.
Any benefits you have gained through rugby?
Well I think my life is founded on rugby. I developed a whole lifestyle dependent on the sport. You gain everybody’s respect and thrust. It wasn’t an issue for me to deal with seniors and meet my responsibilities. Even today I am very optimistic about my future. I have proper job which is very flexible with the sport and I am confident my upcoming life events will run smoothly without much of an issue. The bottom line is I have built a forward thinking persona thanks to the game.
Who do want yourself to be remembered as once you leave the sport?
Well lots of people have looked up to me for help in the sport even while I am playing. So once I leave too I want to be remembered as a mentor to the youngsters. I’ll do my level best to be approachable to anyone. At the end of the day I became this rugby player thanks to the support of many others. I just want to return the favor when I leave the sport too.
Finally, any word to the fans?
Yes the fan base for Sri Lankan Rugby is increasing which is very helpful. Back when we started playing in school level we had a tough time finding a picture of us playing rugger. Times have changed since then and I am sure fans play a major role in this. So I’d like to take this chance to thank everyone for helping us to build the sport. It’s an honor to play under the spotlight; if anything of such was true that’s thanks to the fans.
