The Dialog ‘A’ Division League Rugby match between S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia and Isipathana College Colombo, will be played on Saturday, July 5, at Mount Lavinia for a very special trophy — the Rizvi Suhayb Memorial Trophy.
This trophy has been introduced in honour of Rizvi Suhayb, the legendary Thomian rugby captain of 1989, who sadly passed away last year after battling a terminal illness. Suhayb led the Thomians to a golden season in 1989, guiding them to both the ‘A’ Division League Rugby Championship and the Premadasa Trophy Knockout Championship.
That year, the Thomians had a dream run, staying unbeaten in the league tournament. They recorded famous victories over top schools — beating Trinity College 16-3, Royal College 3-0, St. Joseph’s College 9-4, winning all three trophies against those three schools. In the knockout final, they defeated Isipathana College convincingly by 15-3 to lift the prestigious Premadasa Trophy.
After school, Suhayb went on to captain the Sri Lanka Under-20 team on a two-match tour of Thailand in January 1990. He later represented Kandy Sports Club before retiring from rugby
Following discussions between S. Thomas’ Rugby Committee members Chirantha de Zoysa Sajith Gunaratne and Sanjeewa Saranapala, and Isipathana Rugby Committee members Kamal Mahendra and Roger Rodrigo, both schools agreed to introduce this new trophy in Suhayb’s memory.
In the current season, the Thomians, captained by scrum-half Venuka Wickramasuriya, started with a thrilling 29-28 win over Kingswood College last Saturday. They are scheduled to face Zahira College on Saturday, June 14. Meanwhile, Isipathana College, led by dynamic flanker Thinethra Dodangoda, began their season by defeating Mahanama College 34-19 in their opening league game. Earlier, Isipathana claimed the Dialog Knockout Title by edging out Trinity College 12-9 in a tense final.
Adding more importance to the July 5 clash, the Under-16 match between the two schools will also be played for a newly introduced trophy — the Sudesh Abeysinghe Memorial Trophy. This trophy honours Sudesh Abeysinghe, the 1988 Isipathana rugby captain, who sadly passed away a few months ago in the United States.He later turned out for CH and FC captaining the club and also donned the Sri Lanka Jersey Both schools are also exploring the possibility of bringing down a foreign referee for this highly anticipated match if an agreement is reached
By – Daily News