Thursday, 23 October 2014 00:00
-
- {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By David Stephens
Whenever the Gymkhana Club is brought up in a casual conversation about sports, the ensuing dialogue is almost certain to be steered toward the rugby exploits of CH&FC. One, or perhaps all, of the involved interlocutors may extract a tale from its storied past, which has over the course of several decades played a significant role in cementing the Gymkhana’s reputation as a local sporting bastion.
Last year the Gymkhana Club – which consists of the Colombo Cricket Club and the CH&FC hockey and rugby teams - celebrated its 150th anniversary. Apart from giving its clubhouse a facelift, the Gymkhana also embellished the CH rugby team with several new foreign faces.
The three additions, Bryn Hudson, Doug Edwards and Luca Rees, fit into the club’s development blueprint of strategically recruiting players to piece together a well-rounded unit for the future. Such plans are designed for one singular purpose: reclaiming the preeminent position the club occupied for such a broad period of its past.
Established in 1892, CH&FC was at the height of its rugby powers throughout the ‘80s and into the early ‘90s, crafting a glorious dynasty with a swarm of titles including a string of league, knockout and Sevens championships. Although they continued to win in the early 2000s, their dominance began to taper until abruptly stalling during the past few years.
Nevertheless, their early imperious play was crucial in redefining the sport and, as the club constantly stresses, they seek to once again exert such influence.
The club’s current Rugby Chairman and Convener Iqbal Hassen was a regular fixture in the teams that played during that watershed period. Understandably, he expresses an acute awareness of the significance of those triumphant three decades and an even deeper desire to return to those dizzying heights.
To do so, Hassen has enlisted the services of a raft of past icons through the club’s Rugby Advisory Committee. The names that make up this think tank group are Patrick Ranasinghe, Rohan Abeykoon, Kenneth de Zilwa, Ronny Ibrahim, Jude Pillai, Ajith Upawansa, Janodha Thoradeniya, Didya Illyas, Nazim Mohamed, Prasantha Wimalasena and Chandrishan Perera.
Presently, the club’s crosshairs are fixed firmly ahead, with a collection of young talent occupying CH’s ranks. Rimze Jamaldeen, Rajitha Sansoni, Eroshan De Alwis, Hasthika Bandaranaike and Hamza Hassen are some of the players who carry this billing. Apart from shouldering the club’s on-field aspirations, they are also required to “be an example to the younger generation of rugby players”, a central component of the club’s vision.
With the start of the new club rugby season a mere punt away, it remains to be seen just how close to their once incandescent selves CH&FC are. Undoubtedly though, their ascent towards this lofty goal, although steep, is firmly under way.
