if there is one thing i can say with a lot of certainty it’s that rugby has taught me a great many things.
It taught me to work hard towards a dream, but also that success is not determined by winning!
It taught me that amidst the joys of victory, your first task is to reach out to the defeated; and likewise in the agony of defeat, acknowledge the skill of your victor.
It taught me that it’s not always the biggest and the strongest who wins, sometimes it’s the one who wants it the most.
It taught me that there is no ‘I’ in a team, but also that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
It taught me that knocking the stuffings out of each other for 80 minutes, builds lifelong friendships.
It taught me that the only difference between my opponents and I was the color of our jerseys.
In hindsight rugby is one of the greatest classrooms of society and its alumni societies, cherished examples.
However what transpired at the Royal College Sports complex on 18th May 2010, tells me that there is something seriously wrong at Hogwart (Harry Potter). Have the ‘old ways’ been destroyed?? Have our teachers been mislead? Have our principals and administrators been led astray? It almost feels like the Ministry of Magic’s infiltration plan is working. Voldomort’s day!
What unfolded was absolutely horrible. Don’t get me wrong. Rugby is a hard game, not for the faint hearted! Punches, elbows, knees, kicks and shoulder charges are all illegal, but prevalent. Eye gouging though, is not part of it, a most cowardly act if ever there was one! In 50 odd minutes of rugby there were 20 odd incidents of violence, which included 5 eye gouges! And the acts were only getting worse and more blatant! And they were all being delivered by Isipathana!
This begs a few questions. What were the referee and his assistants doing? What should the Royal College team have done? What should the rest of us do now?
To the first question – it is inconceivable that they missed this. To add to all the thuggery there were two perfectly legal tries that were disallowed. They all need to be taken to task! A repeat of this cannot and must not happen.
The second question – should Royal have meted out justice themselves as the ref and assistants were not taking charge of the game? Some quarters suggest they should have hit, elbowed, kneed and kicked right back. Some even suggest they should have eye gouged right back, An eye for an eye… But they chose not to….Thereby setting an example to all of us in all parts of society, dare I say many a Royalist as well. As an alumni of the sport may I say to the Royal college class of 2013 – I am humbled by your actions, you guys are all better men than I am.
The final and most important question – the schools and referees association I understand are looking into this. They will set the tone with their actions, let’s hope they do what is right. However as alumni of the sport of rugby and this includes members from our Isipathana branch, it’s time to make sure this sport remains the classroom it used to be.
Past players, rugby advisories, principals, coaches, support staff, it’s time to assemble dumbledors army! Lets unite and ensure rugby values come back.
So I propose an oath to be signed off by all schools who wish to play the sport of rugby. The administration of this will be in the hands of advisories, coaches and referees
For players –
In the name of all players, I promise that we shall take part in these Rugby matches respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them, committing ourselves to a sport without doping and without drugs, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honor of our teams.
For officials –
In the name of all the referees and officials, I promise that we shall officiate in these Rugby Games with complete impartiality, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them in the true spirit of sportsmanship.
For coaches –
In the name of all the coaches and other members of the rugby fraternity, I promise that we shall commit ourselves to ensuring that the spirit of sportsmanship and fair play is fully adhered to and upheld in accordance with the fundamental principles of Rugby.
Alumni rugby fraternity
