Orville will continue to referee as long as he is fit
FAROOK Lantra
Former St. Peter's and Havelocks rugby player Orville Fernando, 52 is
a top notch rugby referee. He may be the oldest 'A' Division referee,
but age has not diminished his reputation as a tough no nonesence
referee who commands respect from both players and officials alike
because he is spot on in taking decisions.
According to Orville, first he studied in St. Thomas' College, Mount
Lavinia for two years and later joined the St. Peter's College,
Bambalapitiya to continue his studies.
After he left school, he joined the Havelocks Sports Club in 1975 as
a second row and prop forward. He took to the whistle and officiated his
first club match in 1992, and got the opportunity to officiate an
international tournament in Sri Lanka in 1991, The Penguins (UK) vs Sri
Lanka and did a fantastic job and in 2002 his 1st international to
officiate abroad was in Hong Kong the under-19 Asian Tournament from 1st
to 15th January 2002.
His excellent performance in refereeing gained recognition and went
ahead to officiate the traditional annual Bradby Shield encounter
between Royal College and Trinity College (Kandy) and the Referees'
Society gave him the opportunity to blow this Bradby encounter for four
years, two matches in Colombo and two matches in Kandy, and he handled
the game admirably.
He was also detailed to blow in several league finals conducted by
SLRFU. The last crucial match he blew was the Clifford Cup finals held
in Nittawela, between arch rivals Kandy SC and CR & FC.
Orville also was appointed as a touch judge at the recently concluded
Asiad held in Colombo did a grand job. Orville has the courage and guts
to control crucial rugby matches detailed by the Sri Lanka Rugby
Referees Society.
Orville further stated that he will continue refereeing as long as he
is fit. |