Newly promoted DSSC - a determined lot

Yasaratne GAMAGE

Team work , well planned procedures and hard work can bring victory and fame and that is what DS Senanayake College, Colombo has proven in the field of schools rugby over the past 35 years.

How they stepped

Lakshan Wishwajith (Captain)

Devin Ariyakumara (Vice captain)

When tracing back their history it is interesting to note how they improved despite ups and downs with great encouragement. They started way back in 1977 when the game was first introduced to the college with some prominent names of those days including DIG Ranmuthugala, Ramzi Raheem, T chang and J Settar pioneering the introduction of rugby to the school.

It was Imran Hassen who led the first team from DS , an under 17 squad while in 1982 they won Philip Buultjens Trophy with a team led by Naushad Sattar which is still a shining achievement in school rugby history.They also won the All Island Sevens plate championship in 1994 with the captaincy of Mahesh Kumara.

DSS has produced many outstanding club players during the last three decades such as Imran Hassen , Thusitha Peris, Lakmal Abeysuriya and Marlon de Silva.

Saga continues

DS rugby saga continued on the timeline and they won the Division Two Segment A championship in 2006 despite their demotion in connection with an eligibility of a player prior to the season in the same year.

The qualification they gained in 2010 to play in the Division 1 group C was indeed a morale booster for DS lads and a year later they ended up being segment B runner up to earn a promotion to Division 1 which was a 10 year long wait for them. This is a tremendous achievement since they had struggled and sweated for many years without much success but to see themselves positioned in Division one.

Memorable victory

Last year their main intention was to finish within the first two in the Singer Division 1 Segment ‘B’ League tournament. They performed exactly as they should have been were really outstanding to outplay their opponents with an explosive brand of rugby on a couple of occasions. One of their remarkable victories last year season was when they annihilated St Anne's College, Kurunegala by a record margin of 152-0 points. No 8 Devin Ariyakumara and Centre Prneeth Tharindu who showed excellent rugby skills in that match are awaiting to do the same this year too.

Apart from this huge victory D.S. Senanayake College also had the better of C. W. W. Kannangara MMV Borella (63-3), Zahira College (47-10) and Prince of Wales College Moratuwa (43-10) by convincing margins. Their only setback of the season was when they went down Vidyartha College Kandy 12-40 in their opening match of the tournament in Kandy which was a bitter experience for D. S. Senanayake College who also faced the humiliation of four of their key players being yellow carded following a tense battle for supremacy. Despite the absence of a few players in the line up they kept their heads straight and bounced back in style to make deviations in their next few outings to overcome Mahanama College 12-10 and went on to beat Lumbini MV 15-7 in their next fixture. Their next target was to beat St. Sylvester's College, Kandy by 20 points to 12 points . In the last three matches of last year they scored convincing victories over Royal College, Panadura by 42-0, St Sylvester College, Kandy by 53-0 and Ananda College, Colombo by 42-10 to which sealed an envelop with a promotion.

Defeat is experience

Though DS team received a blow from the defending champions Royal College , Colombo when they defeated DS by a rousing 45-5 in their first match of the current season, skipper and third year coloursman Lakshan Vishwajith and his strong group want to remain tough and stiff to give a good challenge in the matches to come.

Coach, a former Kingswoodian and well known referee A C Tennakoon is optimistic about their defeat and want to learn form every second of the game played against Royal. It was our first match in Division 1 and we did not take our tactics in time. Our opponents scored from our mistakes and in the next game boys will minimize their faults. It was a good experience , we got the service of a consultant to boost their morale and the lads are ready for a kill, AC said.

Bold and strong

We made some mistakes and paid the penalty, now it is time to do well in the next games, we are confident for our second game with Science College, Mt Lavinia said skipper Lakshan Vishwajith. He is well supported by his deputy No 8 , Devin Ariyakumara. Ishan Arnold, Lahiru Rajaratne , Devinda Tennakoon and Vidura Herath all are three year experienced players who can sway and make a quick turn to penetrate opponent defenses. Praneeth Tharindu and Bagya de Alwis are second year coloursmen in the strong line up of DS rugby 1st xv. Their coach Tennakoon indeed has done a great job to bring the lads to taste victories more than anything else while MIC Sanath Illeperuma also strengthen the rugby backbone of DS.

The D. S. Senanayake College First XV rugby pool for 2012 season:

Prop forwards: Lahiru Rajaratne, Vidura Herath,

Hooker: Lakshan Viswajith ( skipper )

lock forwards: Krishan Anald, Devinda Tennakoon

Flanker Irshad Mohommad

Number eight: Devin Ariyakumara,( vice captain )

Scrum half: Niroshan Madusanka

Fly half: Chamoda Perera

Centres: Gayan Dilshan, Praneeth Tharindu, P. P.T. Lakmal, G. M. Abeysekera

Wingers: Chaminda Udara, Bhagya de Alwis

Full back: Sachinka Abeysekara

reserves- Jude Jayawardena, Stephan Perera, Thisara Thenuka, Mohomad Roshan, Veranjan Dharmasena, Oshan Umesha, Rashmika Sashi, Lahiru Malinga, Nikshan Amindra, Suraj Sandun.

Coach: A. C. Tennekoon
Master in Charge: Sanath Illepperuma