Royal Champion of Champions

Branu Rahim

Vision: To be the most successful team in the 2009 School’s season and take Royal rugby to the next level.

Mission: To win the Bradby Shield and all other trophies on offer during the season, remain unbeaten by winning every game and ending up as league champions.

This virtually sums up the commitment of the 2009 Royal College First XV rugby team. The song that immortalised our World Cup winning 1996 cricket team, ‘We are the champions’ must surely be reverberating in the ears of this wonderful rugby team who lived true to their aspirations.

But more importantly, it is 21 years after Lasitha Bonsa Guneratne’s all-conquering Royal team of 1988 that yet another lineup has emerged equal to the task. The 2009 side is not only unbeaten, but have also won every game played this season.

This year’s team took Royal rugby to great heights and the matches played saw champagne rugby being dished out, which sometimes depicted poetry in motion. Although no records were broken in their quest for superiority, they will remain as one of the finest rugby sides to emerge from Royal College.

The season started off with a bang when Royal took on the Thomians and defeated them 37-33. A close game indeed, but from then onwards, the team improved with every match. Came the first Bradby, Royal unleashed a brand of rugby which only they were capable of in bearding the Lions in their own den with a convincing 24-12 victory.

The second leg encounter played in Colombo was indeed a treat to watch when the Royalists tied the Trinity team in knots and ran circles around their famed three-quarters. The score-line of 31-15 in favour of Royal did not do justice to the superlative brand of rugby played by the Reid Avenue boys in regaining the Bradby Shield with an aggregate score of 53 points to 27.

Next it was the turn of Kingswood to feel the fury of a Royal team coming to avenge last year’s defeat. It was a stupendous performance which would have put even club rugby to shame. The score of 43-15 by no means reflected the fantastic play of the Royal team.

The coup-de-grace was a move initiated almost from the Royal goal-line with the ball changing hands among the entire three-quarter line covering the distance of nearly 100 meters before the skipper himself was on hand to take a pass and score the try of the season!

It was Isipathana’s turn next and there was speculation that Royal was going to meet their waterloo. After a close 5-3 first half lead, the Royalists clawed their way to plant another three tries, one of which was converted, while not allowing the Pathans from adding to their 3 points and also preventing them from crossing the Royal line. The blue and gold jerseyed boys wrapped up the season with a smashing win in their final outing with St. Joseph’s College.

The wonderful performance of the 2009 Royal rugby team may well evoke the persistent issue of comparisons as to which team from which era was the best Royal side. Let us take the performance of this team during the season into consideration. In winning all their matches, Royal defeated St. Thomas’ College Mt. Lavinia 37-33; trounced St. Anthony’s Kandy 39-6; thumped St. Peter’s 30-10; drubbed Mahanama 54-13; whizzed past Trinity in the Bradby first leg in Kandy 22-12; rolled over Dharmarajah Kandy 30-3, overpowered Trinity in the second leg in Colombo 31-15; thrashed Kingswood 43-17; dumped Isipathana 22-3 and hammered St. Joseph’s 49-7. In the process they won all silverware on offer - the Bradby Shield, the Michael Gunaratne Trophy in the game with St. Thomas’ and the Milroy Fernando trophy against Isipathana.

Finally the team crowned themselves as unbeaten 2009 President’s League champions in an era where stiff opposition was the order of the day with only the top rugby playing schools figuring in Division 1 Group A with such inclusions based on the previous year’s performance and ranking together with promotions from Group B and demotions from Group A. So, here was a champion of teams, a team of champions.

Statistically, the team won all 10 matches played and scored a total of 357 points for and had 119 points against them. While averaging 35.7 points per game, Royal triumphed over all other schools with scores of over 20 points while only St. Thomas’ was able to score more than 20 points against them despite ending on the losing side! With such an array of accomplishments, make no mistake that the 2009 time is the best side I have seen in action in the past decade and a shade better than the unbeaten 2002 team led by Zulqar Hamid.

I say this as an old boy who has played rugby for the alma mater and being passionately involved in the game at Royal College for the past 20 years and more - firstly as a parent of two rugby-playing children, then as a member of the Royal Rugby Management Committee with close links to the unbeaten year 2001 and 2002 teams and now as a member of the Rugby Matches Organising Committee.

The success of the team this year can be attributed to a relentless pursuit of excellence coupled with dedication and team-spirit. Although teamwork was the key to their unfolding achievements, there is one player who deserves to be singled out whose contribution to the team was exceptional.

It is none other than skipper Naren Dhason who led from the front. He appeared omnipresent at all times and in addition to his mercurial play in the pivotal fly-half position, his cover defence too was par excellence saving many certain try-scoring opportunities of opposing teams with his ferocious tackles. Also, he had a personal tally of 7 tries, only surpassed by two other team-mates who had an additional try apiece. An extraordinary feat indeed.

The man behind the Royal team’s success is that unassuming New Zealander Theo Serafim. As head coach, we observed a paradigm shift in his methods to instill the winning ways into the boys.

He was ably supported by his deputy, Old Royalist rugby player Bilal Yusuf who also figured in the unbeaten 2002 team. Together, the duo has done wonders with the team, transforming them into an unbeatable combination with special attention to detail and imparting of exceptional skills.

Theo, who agreed to come down to Sri Lanka to coach this Royal College side did so more out of a love for the sport than any monetary consideration. In his own words, he also came here ‘to prove a point’ which he has accomplished beyond doubt.

Also, it was certainly nice to see players being re-cycled. But then, with a great winning side and an average score of 35.7 points per match, who wouldn’t? Well done Naren Dhason and the 2009 team!