Hetti appointed head coach at Zahira

Monday, 21 October 2024 02:14 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Shamseer Jaleel

Veteran Radhika Hettiarachchi has signed up with Zahira College for the 2025 rugby season. His contract will come effective from 1 November 2024.

Hetti is a former Rajans, Kandy SC, CH. CR, Up Country and national sevens and fifteens player and former Army SC and Nepal men’s and women’s head coach and Royal assist coach.

He played for Dharmaraja in 1995 and 1996 and later on started his club rugby career at Kandy Sports Club playing from 1997 onwards leading the outfit for League and Knock out championships in 2004. Later on, after playing CH and FC, CR and FC he turned out for the Nawalapitiya based Up Country Lions SC leading them in 2012.

Hetti was an automatic choice both in sevens and fifteens, representing the national team from 1998 to 2010. He led the outfit to wins in Singapore Sevens (Bowl) and was the skipper of the 2010 Commonwealth Rugby sevens team to India.

He started his coaching career at Rajans from 2012 to 2016 taking the side to unbeaten league championship in 2013 which was the first time for the Kandy School to-date. During his stint at Rajans Coaching, he won the William Weerasinghe trophy encounter against Kingswood for four years. After shifting to Nepal took their rugby to a different level looking after both men’s and women’s outfit showing a lot of improvement in the Asian nation for the oval-shaped ball game.

After returning to Sri Lanka in 2019 took over the head coach role at Army for two years before shifting to Royal College as an assistant coach for the last three years.

Hetti will have former Trinity Lion, Havies and national player, Kavinda Jayasena as his forwards coach, Nafees Naizer (Trainer), Prince Chamara (kicking coach) and Nimesh de Silva (Physio) will be the rest of the panel for Zahira in 2025.