Sajeewa Jayakody, in an article entitled “S.Thomas’ College ’s bold beginning in rugby,” August 6, 2025 …. with highlighting being an imposition by The Editor, Thuppahi
The 1961 S. Thomas’ College rugby team captained by Tony Sirimanne….
Back Row: M.Flamer Caldera, C.R. Dickson, H.R. C . D’Silva, M.N.A. Gunasekera, H.L.C. D’Silva, C.L.Perera, G. D’Silva, S.J. P. Guneratne, B.C. Molligoda, R.Jayatileke, N.Dias- Abeysinghe.
Seated: Mr P. Perera (Coach), J. Cader, H.S.Kanagaabai, T.Sirimanne (Captain), The Warden, M.G. Koch, M.Samarasinghe, Mr L.W. Abeywardena. ….
Ground: C. Asirwatham, C.H. Weerasooriya.
In 1955, S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia took a bold step into school rugby. Seventy years later, the echoes of those early tackles and tries still resonate through the proud rugby history of the school. Before 1955, STC played only soccer. But that changed thanks to Noel Gratien — an Old Thomian, Oxford graduate, and later a Supreme Court judge — who strongly believed that rugby could open more doors for Thomians in plantations and mercantile firms. At the time, many top jobs in those sectors went to British nationals or Ceylonese who played rugby, particularly from Trinity and Royal.
Gratien’s advice to Warden R.S. de Saram led to STC’s first-ever rugby team. The team was coached by Mahes Rodrigo — an Old Royalist and one of Ceylon’s greatest scrum halves — and filled with talented athletes from other sports like swimming, cricket, and athletics. Swimmer K.S. Ananthan captained the team, with cricketer S.B.L. Perera as his deputy.
That first team played just two matches — one against Trinity and one against St Joseph’s. STC lost 0-13 to a strong Trinity team, but the newspapers praised their spirit: “Trinity win, but S. Thomas’ make great debut.” Then came a historic 5-0 win against St Joseph’s — STC’s first ever rugby victory.
The years that followed saw STC build its rugby identity. In 1958, Percy Perera, affectionately called “Penalty Percy,” took over as coach. A former Peterite and Clifford Cup referee, he gave his time voluntarily, driving his black Morris Minor twice a week to train the Thomian boys. The master-in-charge was the respected Lassie Abeywardena.
In 1960, STC rugby reached a new level. Led by Nihal “Baila” Samarasinghe, the team was packed with six public schools athletics coloursmen: Nihal Samarasinghe, Maurice Fairweather, Ronnie Asirwatham, Mohan Samarasinghe, and Bandula Molligoda among the backs, with Selva Kanagasabai at wing forward.
That year’s match against Trinity, captained by the outstanding line out jumper Eric Roles, was fast-paced and fiercely contested. It remained scoreless until the final ten minutes when a mis-kick by Trinity’s Tony Buultjens was picked up by STC’s Maurice Fairweather — the fastest schoolboy sprinter in the country. He raced past the defence and scored under the posts. STC won 5-0, their first-ever triumph over Trinity. However, they lost to Royal 0-11, who executed their game plan with precision.
In 1961, under the leadership of scrum half Tony Sirimanne, STC returned even stronger. At Trinity’s home ground in Kandy, they stunned the hosts with a 10-6 victory. Two weeks later, STC dominated Royal and won 8-0 at Longden Place, securing a proud double — beating both Trinity and Royal — just six years after taking up rugby.
Gratien’s vision proved right. Twelve players from the 1960 and 1961 teams were selected for careers in plantation management — jobs once held mostly by Trinitians. In 1966, led by Selva Kanagasabai, Dimbulla Athletic and Cricket Club, a dominant team in the hills, had seven Old Thomians in its side. Some of them went onto play in 1970, when, led by Ken Murray, Dimbulla won the A Division League Title, pushing down the formidable CR and FC and Havelocks into second and third place.
Many players from that era captained top clubs in the Clifford Cup Competition: Rodney Ingleton led CR & FC in 1961 and 1962, Frankie David captained Havelocks in 1966, Selva Kanagasabai led Dimbulla in 1966; Tony Sirimanne captained CR & FC in 1968.
Larry Schokman, a top athlete who left STC before 1955 and learned rugby later, also captained Dimbulla and played for Sri Lanka as a wing three-quarter.
Several others coached by Percy Perera represented Sri Lanka in a time when the competition included tough, British expatriates. These were Ingleton, David, Dickie Jayatilleke, Fairweather, Cholmondeley Henricus, Maxim Flamer-Caldera, [Selva] Kanagasabai, Tony Sirimanne, Juni Cader, and Bumpy Jayasekera.
Now, in the 65th year since STC’s first win against Trinity, Thomians remember with pride the foundation laid by Percy, Lassie, and their brave teammates.
1960 Ss. Thomas’ College Rugby Team: Seated(from left): Percy Perera (coach), DLR Kumarasinghe, TL Sirimane, N Samarasinghe (captain), The Warden, NU Algama, A Ellawala, Mr. L Abemardene. Standing (from left): M Samarasinghe, G Weerakoon, RNH Gooneratne RT Asiriwatham, R Wanigasekera, MA Cader, CL Perera, JM Wanigasekera, BWR Thomas, BC Molligoda, RL Stork, HS Kanagasabai, MC Koch. Absent: MD Fairweather
AN EDITORIAL NOTE, August 2025
TONY SIRIMANNE is … alas, was … my nephew: he passed away tragically from a heart attack in Sydney in 1981 when I was in Colombo on research — a heart-breaking blow to all of us. Tears flow even now.
My partiality is compounded now by connections that have developed since with Selva Kanagasabai, Eric Roles and Mohan Samarasinghe — every one of them, thankfully, still battling on.
Sajeewa’s review is an important historical essay — particularly in marking Noel Gratiaen’s wisdom & vision.
ALSO SEE .... https://thuppahis.com/2020/10/26/four-bajans-in-british-ceylon/
EMAIL NOTE FROM Herbert Perera in Germany, August 2025
Hallo Mike, thanks for this mail. This was during my time and brought back memories. I distinctly remember the match when we defeated Trinity and Maurice Fairweather catching the ball and running to touch down as if his life depended on this. Most of the players in the photo were with me in the hostel and I knew them very well. Thanks a lot.
EMAIL NOTE From David Schokman in Perth, August 2025
“Good reading. Some of you are favourably mentioned. I too remember Tony Sirmane with fondness, a great guy.”
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