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| Wednesday, 31 December 2003 |
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Didacus - the final touch down by Sharm de Alwis There have been a few golden boys of Sri Lanka rugger in the glorious past, beginning with Kavan Rambukwella. Others who wore the crown were Mohan Sahayam and Michael Jayasekera. But the High Priest when it came to all-round competence was Didacus de Almeida who had no superior in the three-quarter line whether in attack or defence. Having hung up his boots which might possibly have been bequeathed to him by Achilles, he spent the autumn of his years living a leisured life of contentment with the landowner's spread around waist. Contentment, is after all refined indolence and he paid the ultimate price when his maker told him, "pack up, you have a lot to do here." Those who have been watching Sri Lanka rugger in the last few years will never know what heroes we produced. Didacus de Almeida stood tall in the Hall of Fame. For an year after Kavan discarded his boots because he was no longer enjoying the game due to excessive attention by two or three defencers, pretenders to the throne were strutting. When the need for a true star was felt Dida exploded across the rugby fields like TNT. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. He it was in the entire CR team of his period who would get spectators up from their seats to cheer - empty chairs in a thronged gathering! Dida was an amateur but he could have crunched bones with the best of the professionals, and I personally wonder what marvels he would have executed had he been eligible to play for England or other first class countries. Nobody, just nobody, ever went past him, not even John Dawes of the British Lions who had come here with London Welsh. Given a bone-jarring flying tackle, Dawes told him, "You should not be in Ceylon. You should be playing for England.." Another great that Dida marked was Duncan Harvey, the fastest and best center in the East at the time who told him, "you are the complete inner." Twelve players were carried off the field after a "Dida Special." As an attacking player he flashed his blade of superior talent over every blade of grass he burnt in his tracks to the glory line. His was fine artistry, yet ferocious in its essence.... the touch of the tiger. And there was that touch of arrogance, even, in his spring-heeled gait. He was there before Viv Richards of cricket. And he never crowed after a sensational try. Dida encapsulated into one frame all the essentials of an inner - slicing run, jinx, dummy, swerve, side-step and punt ahead or chip. And he was built like of South African steel. Didacus de Almeida played for the country when heroics were common-or-garden stuff. The fellows of his ilk were Maurice de Silva. Rajah Sumanasekera, Stanley Unamboowe, Dharmasiri Madugalle, G. Thiruchttampalam, and Nimal Maralanda to make a formidable three-quarter line. And of course, there were Abdul Majeed and Jeff Rutnam to have given him ample reason to play on. Didacus de Almeida lived life to the brim. If we can grab at the helm of his garments we have reached a stage. He was one hell-of-a guy who never pulled his punches in the walk of the byways of life. |
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