A preview to the 2012 schools coaches

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Category: Features

Published on Monday, 20 February 2012 16:54

Written by Sankha DLT

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With the 2012 rugby season coming up ThePapare delves in to the characters and capabilities of the “A” division schools coaches in the impending interschool rugby tournament.

Royal College – Bilal Yusuf

Last year’s league champs and undisputed winners Royal College Colombo will have the services of former Royal wing three-quarter Bilal Yusuf for the 2012 season.

Yusuf an experienced coach in the schools circuit was a part of the 2009 Royal coaching team which won the league under Naren Dhason. Yusuf then moved to the club arena to coach the might Reds in 2010.

Last year Bilal returned to the schools circuit to coach St. Josephs College where they enjoyed a fine season ending 7th in the league under number eight Malintha Soyza. Yusuf will replace Kiwi Theo Serafim as head coach of Royal and will also have the services of former national player Asanga Rodrigo.

Isipathana College – Shamly Nawaz

Shamly Nawaz has been appointed as the Isipathana College coach for the upcoming 2012 season.

The Pathana team had an outstanding 2011 ending as the second best team losing to Royal by a point in the group stages of the tournament. Nawaz will take over from Viraj Prasantha and will be assisted by Bandula Mallikarachchi.

Nawaz a former Isipathana old boy, national and CR&FC back row forward was also the coach of the 2009 side which was captained by Niroshan Fernando. Nawaz was an outstanding player for Isipathana and went on to captain his side in 1998.

Trinity College – Neil Foote

New Zealander Neil Foote will take on the role of head coach for another year running, after a fruitful 2011 season.

He will also have the assistance of former National under 19 coach Nilufer Ibrahim. Foote is a former classic All- black and Twickenham Rugby Club representative.

The New Zealander holds the distinction of being the deputy coach for the legendary Barbarians side against upcoming Portugal. Under the Kiwi coach, Trinity managed to win the Bradby shield after a wait of 3 years and went on to win the interschool knock out trophy beating Isipathana College in the finals.

Kingswood College – Priyantha Guneratne

The Kingswoodians have gone with former Anthony’s coach Priyantha Ekanayake for the 2012 season.

Ekanayake will replace Nalaka Weerakkodi as coach for the upcoming season. The former Antonian has been a part of Kingswood College rugby having last coached them in 2007.

Kingswood College did not have the best of seasons last year as they succumbed to a couple of defeats which took away the shine off their performances.

St. Peters College – Sanath Martis

The most experienced out of the local coaches, Sanath Martis has been named as the head coach for the upcoming season.

Martis who was currently appointed as the national assistant coach, is vastly knowledgeable and has produced many champion sides during the last decade.

The last team to win under his coaching was 2010’s team under Keith Gurusinghe. A former Isipathana old boy Martis has been with the St .Peters College set up for some time creating a number of champions along the way. He will be assisted by former Peterite Collin Denis who has been a part of the team for more than half a decade.

St. Anthony’s College – Sanjaya Amunugama

Former St. Anthony’s captain Sanjaya Amunugama has taken over from Priyantha Guneratne as the head coach of the side.

Amunugama who played for the Eagles with distinction during the 1980’s went on to captain his Alma mater in 1986.

It will be the first time that he will feature in schools rugby tournament.The former Antonian captained during an era when the Eagles were on top of their game.

Science College – Mothilal Jayathileka

The most talked about team in the previous season was without a doubt Science College due to their giant killer performances. One of the main reasons for their flight to the top was due to the backing of their coach Mothilal Jayathileka.

Jayathileka started his coaching career at S. Thomas’ in 2010 before moving to neighbouring Science College where he helped them secure a top position in the schools league for the first time in their rugby history.

He has been a mastermind in creating champion teams from Kingswood, St. Peters and S. Thomas’ and has been in the national forefront for many years.

St. Josephs College – Sunanda Fernando

Sunanda Fernando a very prominent figure in the local schools circuit has been retained as the coach for the upcoming 2012 season.

Fernando who was co-coach with Bilal Yusuf last year has taken over the mantle as the head coach after his side finished 7th in the league.

The former Peterite has been a part of many championship winning teams including Dilanka Wijesekera’s schools championship winning team 2002.

Vidyartha College – Anil Jayasinghe

The Tigers who made a mark in the interschool arena last year and they owe it largely to their head coach Anil Jayasinghe is a respected rugby personnel in the country.

Jayasinghe a local referee who took on coaching has been in the coaching arena for over a decade and was the coach of the Trinity College Bradby winning team in 2008 under the captaincy of Milinda Gunawardene.

Jayasinghe who took on the head coaching responsibilities last year faired admirably winning the ‘B’ division comprehensively. An old boy of Vidyartha College Jayasinghe has proved his capabilities as a coach and will surely be eyeing the upcoming season to make a mark.

D. S Senanayake College – A. C Tennekoon

The second team which qualified to take part in the ‘A’ division, D. S Senanayke will be coached by A. C Tennakoon.

The D. S coach and former Kingswoodian is a renowned local referee and plays a heavy part in the coaching in both Colombo University and D. S Senanayake.

Tennekoon’s team which only lost to Vidyartha last year ended their season behind the table leaders and their elevation to the main division will see them face off on a herculean task in battling it out in the ‘A’ division.

 

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