Viper and Nalaka take charge of Antonians’ rugby

By Shamseer Jaleel

Former Antonian Nihal Viper Gunaratne Jr. and Nalaka Weerakody will be the Head Coach and Assistant Coach respectively of St. Anthony’s College Katugastota’s rugby team for the 2015/2016 season.

Gunaratne, who played for the Antonians from 1974-1976, is a top-class coach in the country, having successfully coached many schools across all levels. Gunaratne played for Kandy for over 15 years as well as representing the country. He coached Kandy, St. Anthony’s, Dharmaraja, St. Joseph’s and the Hambantota Sharks in club rugby. 

Weerakody, who played for Kingswood, Kandy Youth and CR&FC, ended his rugby career at Kandy SC as one of the best kickers the country has ever produced. He represented the Sri Lanka Youth team in 1995 and went on to play for Sri Lanka for a decade. 

He also helped the St. Joseph’s College rugby team’s kicking department last season. Robert Navaratne will handle the junior teams with referee Priyantha Gunaratne taking charge of the Under-12 outfit.