God may save the Queen, but Qeen’s name is likely to be Matilda, come Sunday morning. Watching the warm up games over August, I told my rose waving rugby buddy that I feared his team might not make it out of the Group of Death. He laughed, and then was annoyed. Much like the English rugby public are going to ...
On Channel Eye with my good mate Jayan Goonetillake, I put him on the customary spot just before we handed over to the international commentators. “England, by ten” he said, confidently. Most punters said the same. Manjula, our Sinhala anchor tossed the question my way and I said “Wales by three”. Off air Jayan told me that if I was ...
After their fairytale debut in the 2015 edition of the Rugby World Cup, Japan’s dreams of another favoured scalp were thwarted by a late Scottish charge on Wednesday. The game against the Scots should ideally have been a run-of-the-mill warm up for the Thistles but ended up being game eagerly anticipated by Japan’s leapfrogging of Scotland in the rankings in ...
It appears that All Black fans and non-All Black fans have one thing in common. They expect the Blacks to turn up and thrash all comers. Luckily, for the few discerning rugby fans, there’s enough objectivity to realise that world rugby has never been more competitive. As a result, when 91,000 people gathered at Wembley, many would have expected a ...
That’s a tall claim, and I’m aware of it. I’m sure there are some incredible achievements in sport. But given the nature of rugby, given that one man can’t come out and play a blinder of an innings like in a cricket world cup, the Japanese win over the world’s no.3 side, South Africa, must rank up there with the ...
With Twickenham hosting the most watched Rugby World Cup ever, and also – according to Graham Henry, who should know – the most open World Cup ever, it was strange that nobody had mentioned the gentlemen who would actually decide its fate. The referees. When England kicked off against Fiji after a quirky and rather dark opening ceremony, the packed ...
This is really the most fun my life gets. I kid you not. Watching the world’s best rugby is where it’s at for me. It may be disappointing that the pinnacle of my enjoyment is watching grown men run into each other, but I choose to look at it positively. Ever since New Zealand 2011, I’ve been waiting for London. ...
Two test series against our neighbours, and two defeats. There’s little point crying over the smudged leather, but we should at least look at what we’ve learnt and move forward. Assessment of Losses The series against Pakistan was a highly competitive series. While the margins may not have suggested it, Sri Lanka ran Pakistan close. Some Warne-ian leg spinning from ...
When Asfan Thajudeen ghosted languidly over for the try that gave St. Thomas’ Preparatory School the lead that that would not be assailed by S. Thomas’ College Mt. Lavinia, there was something poetic about it. Both brothers, Wasim and Asfan, share physical characteristics. Tall, handsome and long of limb, one wiry full back could easily have been mistaken for the ...
Royal are crowned Champions of the Singer League 2015, and deservedly so. When I saw them play S. Thomas’ for the first time, I had already seen Isipatana a few times for the season. I remember saying on commentary that this was the best Royal side since 2009, and in terms of complete performance, they were more of a title ...
It seemed like the time for losing Test matches in four days was behind us. But given how poorly Sri Lanka fared in the New Zealand tests 6 months ago, and the very average performance in the World Cup, the preceding half year may have made us forget that we are still very much an average team, reliant on individuals. ...
The thing with Phoenixes, is that if you don’t have ashes, there’s nothing to rise from. If last week’s performance by STC in the Archibald Perera Trophy against SPC is anything to go buy, the Phoenix has certainly raised its head and dusted the embers off its feathers. Calling the game from the sidelines at Bambalapitiya, I had a sense ...
It’s nice when climaxes fulfill expectation. We couldn’t have asked for a better clash to finish the season, which has brought itself down to the last weekend with just a hair’s breadth between the two unbeaten teams. The clash for the Major Milroy Perera Trophy has never been short of spice, regardless of the relative strength of both teams. However, ...
This weekend saw some interesting rugby matches. Royal v Peters was entertaining and had some good technically superior rugby shown by both teams. Science and Patana did the same. Both games yielded 21 tries, which is really good entertainment for those who buy tickets or watch online. STC and SJC then contrived to play out an exciting, if slightly comical ...
Once upon a time, in a land Far Far away, there lived a Dictator. He did what he wanted, he tolerated no dissent, he treated people as he wished, and then he got voted out. Because people didn’t like that stuff. And democracy is still a thing. Or so we thought. Turns out people love fascism. They love it when ...
I was watching the Bradby with an old Royalist buddy of mine. Having played first eleven cricket and been Head Prefect of his school, he knew a thing or two about Reid Avenue and its dynamics. Watching the stress levels rise, even though when it was clear Royal were the better side, showed just how much this game means to ...
Royal v Trinity It’s that time of year when everybody’s a rugby fan. Just like everybody’s suddenly a boxing pundit. Yes, it’s Bradby time, and while I’ve chosen not to make the arduous trek to Pallekalle this year, I may have just picked the wrong year to do that. It looks like this will be the closest Bradby encounter in ...
On Saturday morning I was walking out of Royal College after playing some basketball, and I bumped into the Royal assistant trainer, whom I knew. I said “Machan, make sure y’all stop at 40″. I wasn’t joking. He smiled and ominously said “we’ll see.” We all saw. Five years ago I wrote this article Upon re-reading, I could almost publish ...
Except in this case it’s not so much Maria, it’s me. Recently, a friend of mine gave me some really well intentioned advice. He said I seemed to be alienating myself from listeners and readers because – put simply, ‘I had nothing good to say’. I was forced to reassess and contemplate and have been thinking about this a while ...
That was an anticlimax wasn’t it? It’s like really hitting it off with this girl at a party and then finding out she has a boyfriend. And he’s good looking, has cooler wheels, and is successful, but a bit of a dick. Regardless, you don’t stand a chance. New Zealand had lost that game before they walked on the pitch ...