Rugby’s rich history full of silverware and remembering Commander Matthysz

By a Special Sports Correspondent

Sri Lanka rugby’s riches surface time and again when a match is played in the name of a trophy or a shield. The game played with the oval shaped ball has a long and illustrious history in this island spanning 145 years. Last Saturday (January 13) Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club (CR&FC) hosted Havelock Sports Club (Havies) in their traditional rugby encounter which is now played for the Commander Eustace Matthysz Trophy.

Rugby is a household name in this island and more than in the clubs scene games are played for shields and trophies when it comes to school rugby. When games are played in remembrance of individuals of repute it adds to the sport. The best example for this is the Bradby Shield which is played in the name of former Royal College principal E.L Bradby. This tradition can be seen in school rugby where there are so many games played for shields and trophies. The payback time for starting such practices is seen when a team is demoted to B Division, but still gets to play against A Division teams because the annual game is a traditional fixture and there is a trophy on offer. Luckily teams are not demoted in A Division club rugby; hence the tradition of all clubs playing against each other in the first round continues.

There was a period in rugby where much of its face was changed. Starting with the traditional home and away fixture club rugby had much to look forward to. But now there is no second leg between two teams if one team doesn’t make it to the Cup Competition. The bottom half teams in the league tournament are forced to play in the Plate Competition. Only the best four teams in the points table get the opportunity to contest the Cup Competition. This season reigning champions Kandy SC, CR & FC, CH & FC and Havelock SC are likely contenders to qualify for the Cup Competition of the tournament, which has one more week of matches left to complete its first round. Hence it’s these four teams which would see a rematch in the second round of the tournament.

The CR & FC vs CH & FC game and the CR & FC vs Havelocks SC games took top billing. But all that changed in the early 1990s when some renegade players from CR & FC left the Longden Place club and joined Kandy SC; going on to make the Nittawela Club a force to be reckoned with in the club rugby scene. Even this season despite the much publicity given for the CR & FC vs Havies game all roads will lead to Nittawela this Saturday (January 21) when the all-conquering Kandy SC, under the leadership of Lavanga Perera, hosts CR & FC in a game that will decide the leader of the points table after the first round of matches. Still with all the planning at matches in Western Province venues, the Nittawela Stadium, up in the central hills of Kandy, remains the much-visited ground to attract large crowds.

Another tournament that has still held on to its lofty status is the Clifford Cup competition. The trophy to be given away at this tournament was initially introduced by Lady Clifford for the game between All Ceylon and United Services Kandy. Match arrangements were to coincide with her birthday which fell on August 26, but the match was postponed and played on September 2. The war disturbed the tournament and it was revived as a quadrangular in 1926 before being recognized as the main tournament for clubs in 1950. Havelocks SC were the first winners of this event when it took the form of a fully-fledged inter-club league rugby tournament. The cup was used at rugby for many years after that, but it lost its pride when many other trophies were awarded. It was last offered in 1985 before it resurfaced in the rugby scene when SLR decided to bring the trophy back as a piece of silverware in rugby.