Get your dirty hands off school’s rugby !!

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Category: Generalarticles

Published on Monday, 09 April 2012 12:30

Written by Chamara Wijesinghe

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Sri Lankan schools rugby is an amazing thing. The countries national sport is volleyball and the most popular sport cricket. If one were to pick a sport Sri Lanka will never succeed based on body size Rugby would be it.

The performance of the national team over the ages proves this fact. Yet every year a bunch of skinny teenagers ( less skinny now thanks to supplements) take center stage in the Sri Lankan sporting calendar and brings joy to many diehard fans across the Island. It amazes me that each week teams comprising of anonymous kids ( to the rest of the world at least) will pull crowds, garner debate and get more space on the broadsheets  far in excess of when  Mahelas SSC plays Kumars NCC .  But as  what happened to Sri Lanka Cricket after the world cup when corruption took over from charm,  success of schools Rugby has bought with it familiar enemies common to all successful  sports. Let us pray that these unsavoury elements don’t crop up this year as according to all previews it should be a cracker of a season.

Corruption or Incompetence ?

Sri Lanka is a country where corruption is rife in most sectors. And when things go wrong it’s easy to give this as a cause. However when things continue to go wrong all the time it’s really confusing as you can’t figure out whether its crookedness or actually utter stupidity. Each year the schools section of the SLRFU makes us query if they are on the take by certain schools and making biased decisions, or if they are simply incapable of performing the job entrusted them. They somehow contrive to get even the most basic details, such as the number of teams in the main section wrong or set the dates of the tourney that it clashes with national duty etc; can go on forever ………..

Dear officials of the SLRFU schools division, we understand you have a very tough job to do. We know you are only a group of educated(supposedly) adults who are either principals or masters in charge of sports of large schools. Therefore we understand the enormity of the task faced by you in trying to get ten teams play each other over a given period of time. This is such a demanding task that the schools have even agreed to book the grounds and employ their own committees and prefects to help you with logistics. So we beg of you, please take ten marbles each of different colours and keep them side by side or whatever sophisticated method you use and get the match schedule right this year for a start.

Adults who think first fifteen ruggerites will go on to play for the All Blacks

Playing for the first fifteen is a commendable achievement but please don’t treat these kids like potential professional sportsman neglecting all other basic life skills. It’s frightening the amount of leeway ruggerites are given from school and are exempt from class.

This is fine for a young boy; after all why study when you can fool around with team mates in a gym. But why can’t the teachers of these kids and their parents realize that they are doing a great injustice to these boys by not giving them at least a basic education. The concept of immunity from studies is highly prevalent in American colleges where talented black sportsmen are allowed to breeze through college as long as they play good Basketball or American Football. But what is different from our system is that they will go on to get million dollar pro contracts at the end of their college career. But even then having seen the failure of these athletes in the real world many colleges now require a stipulated amount of attendance and achievement of basic grades. This is not seen among our schools and some schools even go to the extent of concealing the ruggerites O/L results when they fail it two times or hide behind re-correction just so they can play one more season. This is very selfish considering the boy obviously has basic deficiencies in reading, writing or arithmetic which needs urgent attention.

It is extremely sad to see brilliant ruggerites leave reputed school after stellar careers to jobs but unable to progress due to lack of basic communication skills in English in some instances. Hope sensible principals with the best interest of the students at heart take notice of this and take appropriate action. Sadly some parents are so immersed in rugby that they don’t seem to notice that their son is only capable of jumping high, running fast and avoiding defenders. These skills will come in most handy one day to scale the prison wall, out run the guards chasing him and hide from the law.

School officials who can’t count to 20

Dear Principals, masters in charge, coaches, captains; this is the SSLRFU under 20 tournament. I will take you through this slowly as some of you have not understood this complex mathematical equation over the years. Under 20 means; if your age is less than 20 you can play and if you are over 20 you can’t play.(Could someone please put this up on a certain prominent rugby mad schools notice board, yes you know who you are !!!). It doesn’t specifically say it in the rule book but it also implies that you can’t play in the first fifteen if there is at least one Under 12 player shouting “ Come On Thaaththi ” during matches or if you have to take short leave from office to come and play the match. So at least this year stop playing overage players as you’re not only insulting yourselves, the school, the sport but all persons who can count properly.

Old boys committees

By and large former Ruggerites passionate about Rugby and their alma mater. Almost all are respectable professionals and well meaning and invest enormous time and resources to improve schools rugby.

Actually most schools and the SSLRFU would be lost without them. However these gentlemen in their enthusiasm and passion end up fighting among themselves, with other old boys in their own schools, then with committees of other schools, the school authorities , coaches and the players and so on. Allegations of misappropriations of millions, interferences with team selections, poaching players from other schools, manipulation of referees are all commonly levelled against various schools committees. I will not comment further on these matters as there is no concrete proof to the above but the fact is “there is no smoke without fire “. In the end when such committees implode or explode as is the case when disruptive legal action is taken the game and the boys lose out. And when you consider that these gentlemen entered office to help the game and the kids it’s obvious they are defeating their own purposes in many an instance.

Rugby Mad Parents or are they simply Mad ?

It is unbelievable what parents nowadays will do to get their son in to the first fifteen, to get him colours, to make him captain and so on. It’s nice to see parents who are proactive and want their kids to succeed. But when you see the length some parents go to achieve these goals it begs the question whether this is actually for the kid or for themselves. Are they merely competing with other parents and relatives or simply living their dreams through their more talented kids.

If you visit any school during practice you will see a bunch of parents hanging out watching their sons practice. I understand that it is a basic human right to be any place one wishes and it’s certainly no crime to watch your son play rugby. But my problem is what do these people do for a living? How is it that when the rest of the country has to slave from 9 to 5 or even more to make ends meet that there’s another group of 40 to 50 year olds who can sip a cup of tea and watch rugger practice on a Wednesday afternoon in shorts . Are they billionaires by birth, are they drug dealers, are they maintaining their family on 7,500 rupees like the good minister said is possible; please tell me how you do it because I would love to do the same but sadly not as capable. Let’s say it’s irrelevant and what they do with their time and how they make their money is their issue; fair enough but are they setting a good example by their sons? They will be entering a far more competitive world than their dads so what’s the message dad is giving by sitting around watching sport all the time? Eventually there is the allegation that a certain player got in his because his dad is pally with the coach or worse still, bribed him which only brings misery to the kid involved.

Then there are the mums. I’ll admit I’m a bit old fashioned and maybe slightly chauvinistic. But let’s face it rugby is a “MANS” game. If you want further proof of this look no further than what “ Ka mate, ka mate! ka ora! ka ora! Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru ! “  translates to. Yes,The All Blacks start each match by talking about life ,death , and a HAIRY MAN !!! Not to say that mums don’t have a role to play. They actually have a huge role to play. This role should involve seeing their son gets proper nutrition and sleep for Rugby, especially to see he isn’t consuming obscene amounts of harmful supplements his coaches are prescribing and dad is sponsoring, isn’t neglecting his studies, is well mannered off the field, has a well pressed jersey and shorts for match day, isn’t drinking or smoking, is able to take victory and defeat in the right spirit and looking in to many more things which good mothers do. Their role should not be to hang around practice gossiping, it should not include criticizing team selection in front of their son, doesn’t involve screaming and shouting at referees, coaches and other players like maniacs on match day and it certainly doesn’t involve behaving or dressing in a manner which makes the coaches take their eyes of the boys, and the boys shorts tighter than they should be.
The problem of the over ambitious dad and the manic mum is that they get so caught up putting pressure to succeed in rugby that they fail to see where their son is really heading or what effect their behaviour is having on him. So do encourage and be proud of your sons’ achievements but do it from a distance and in a respectable manner which will set a good example to your child and not end up traumatizing them for the rest of their life.

Coaches and Referees in the stands

There’s a group of self-proclaimed rugby experts who voluntarily coach their preferred team each week. They do so by shouting “ WORK IT “ at regular intervals on match day. Five meter scrum attacking with a heavier pack and they scream “ WORK  IT “ , defending in own twenty five with no support and it’s still “ WORK  IT !!! “. There is a saying that “ It’s far better to be silent and let other people think you’re an idiot, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt “. But these guys were too busy shouting  “ work it “ to read sayings. They also advice kickers with gems of advice such as “  Good Touch Putha ” or before a place kick “ Make It Sure Now “ as if the kicker has more devious ulterior motives.  Then they spot things the referee can’t;  “ CROOKED “ they shout each time the opposing teams hooker throws in ,  “ FORWARD PASS “ if more than three passes are made by the opponents  , or “ OFF SIDE “ if they are simply not sure what to say.
This goes on for eighty minutes. Most of these guys are harmless and add to the atmosphere and character of the game. No one wants pin drop silence at a rugger match after all. But the problem is the stressors of combining coaching and refereeing all alone in a crowded stand gets to some people and in the heat of the battle bottles, stones, crackers and various objects get thrown to the field and fellow ” coaches” and “referees”  in the stands get abused and assaulted. This leads to match stoppages and the highly efficient SSLRFU making an ambivalent decision which inevitably leads to a court case and the whole season getting derailed. These things are better nipped in the bud and proper crowd control, regular announcements to the effect, stern action against offenders and serially offending schools should take place. If not serious harm may occur to players and referees or a brawl or stampede in the stands will lead to grave consequences.

So let us pray that this year’s season is devoid of all of the above. I’m being very optimistic here; but it’s just a simple prayer to the gods of Rugby. Let Rugby lovers remember this season for brilliant tries, dogged defence and outstanding teams and not for allegations, arguments and animosity. Let our brilliant young boys showcase their talents in a free, fair and safe environment. May Rugby be only one part of their development as they transform from outstanding young talent in to well balanced successful adults.

And to all those mentioned beforehand I humbly request you to please “ Get Your Dirty Hands Off Schools Rugby !!!!! “.