The De Silva Factor in the Bradby

It is Bradby Time and also time to reflect, reminisce and rejoice over the many Ruggerites, who proudly wore their respective jerseys at the Bradby and delighted the rugby loving public with their own versatile contribution to the game. Bradby battles have always been intense especially when the score line has been thin between the First Game and the Return. But this piece is not about winning or losing. It is about the versatile contribution on the field made by five de Silva siblings and the progeny of one of the siblings as well.

Of course, over the years, many de Silvas would have represented either of these two Great Institutions at the Bradby. But the outstanding and dedicated contribution made by the five de Silva Siblings and the second generation youngster is worthy of note. The five de Silva siblings are the progeny of pioneer businessman, a leading produce exporter who also ran a fleet of lorries to the South, Sherman de Silva and Mrs de Silva, and the second generation youngster is the progeny of Sanath de Silva, the third de Silva sibling to play in the Bradby.

Between 1956 and 1999 the five de Silva brothers and the second generation youngster represented one or the other of these prestigious Institutions not only at rugby but at other sports as well.

The eldest of the de Silva siblings was Harendra (HS) de Silva. He was a tall, well set second-row forward. He represented Royal at Rugby from 1956 -1960, eventually captaining in that final year. Altogether he played in ten Bradby games in five consecutive years. He was not only a tremendous asset in the set scrums and line-outs but had a long left boot for line kicking and a place-kicking boot as well. One recalls the near 50 meter left-footed zooming penalty kick to touch by him in the first Bradby of 1958 from the Royal 25 to the Trinity 25.

From the ensuing line-out throw-in by Trinity HS along with his skipper Dudley Fernando helped Royal win the ball, quickly fed it to the scrum half Potuhera to set his fly-half and the threes moving elegantly for Lorenz Pereira, the right winger to score one of the most remarkable tries in the series coming from the right wing to score on the left as an extra man, leaving the Trinitians simply hapless and flat footed! It was a team effort ,no doubt, but greater part of the credit must go to HS for that kick which placed Royal from a defending position to an attacking one. HS led Royal in 1960 binding in the second row with Para de Alwis. He was also a fine athlete excelling in the field events such as the Putt Shot and the Discus Throw, eventually captaining the College Athletics team as well in 1959.

His younger brother, Lalith de Silva played in the Bradby from 1957-59. He was a great asset, a ferocious tanker, playing in the Front Row as a tight head prop. Though heavily built he was also quite mobile. Woe be unto anyone who crossed his path on the field. Hitting against a rock would have been a better option! He had the distinction of playing in some remarkable Bradby encounters. In 1957 he was in the front row along with Kingsley Jayawardene as the loose head prop and Ranjith Gunatilleke as the hooker.

That was the year which marked the resilience of Royal rugby after a drought of seven years! In 1958 he teamed up in the front row with Chulaka de Zoysa, a fast-breaking loose head prop with the fleet-footed Ken Balendra as the hooker. In 1959 this writer had intimate knowledge of how strong, solid and protective both Lalith de Silva and Chulaka de Zoysa were in the Royal front row as he had to occupy the hooker’s birth in the absence of Ken Balendra, who was unfortunately taken ill a week or two before the first Bradby game at Bogambara. Had Lalith remained in school he could, perhaps, have played another year but opted to leave for professional studies in architecture.

Next in line were R.S.I. de Silva (Sanath) and his younger brother R.G.M. de Silva (Gihan). Sanath represented Royal from 1966 to 1968. He first played in 1966 as a fly-half under I. Thurairatnam (Mousie) and then as a centre three-quarter under Brian Lieversz (1967) and in the cracker Royal team led by C.R. “Bulla” de Silva (1968.) Sanath also belonged to a special class of sportsmen who not only played in the Bradby but also represented Royal at cricket as a wicket keeper batsman under the captaincy of Ranjith Gunasekera in 1968. His brother Gihan fashioned himself after his eldest brother HS and played as a very mobile second row forward and a line-out specialist from 1966 -68. In a period when assisted jumping in the line-out was taboo, he was a real asset indeed. One remembers him playing no mean part in ‘Bulla’ de Silva’s 1968 team when Royal beat Trinity in the first game by a then record breaking score of 19-00, more importantly in the Bradby Return that year played at Peradeniya University Grounds in a do or die battle where Royal, saddled with injuries, held gallantly onto to a slender 5-3 win.

Youngest and the fifth of the siblings Niroshan de Silva played for Trinity as a second row in 1970 and for the first time as a centre three-quarter in the single encounter Bradby of 1971. He also represented Trinity at cricket as a batsman and went onto win the prestigious Trinity Lion for cricket as well.

The de Silva factor does not end there. Sanath de Silva’s son, Viraj, too, played his part in contributing his mite at the Bradby. He represented Royal at rugby as a wing three-quarter from 1996 to 1999 eventually as the vice-captain /secretary to Dinesh Rahim. He was a gifted player with a fine turn of speed. He also went onto captain the Royal athletics team as a sprinter in 1999 thereby emphasising his versatility.

No account of the de Silva siblings will be complete without reference to their home, flanked on the one side by Cambridge Terrace and on the other by Cambridge Place, with a seasonally blooming ‘Tabebuija Rosea’ tree standing majestically at the Cambridge Place entrance. It was an open house and Mrs Bridget de Silva, the indefatigable materfamilias was a genial hostess any time of the day. It was not unusual for respective friends of the de Silva siblings to foregather there for a chat and a cup of tea and even a meal so readily offered and, of course, an occasional sing-along with Sanath exercising his deft fingers on the piano adding to the jollity and camaraderie we all enjoyed. One remembers rather nostalgically the many times we met there. Even the Royal rugby team met there for a morale-boosting preliminary chat before proceeding for the Bradby in Colombo. It was a household that produced five brothers each showing his skill, acumen and commitment in the Bradby encounters over the years with equal acumen from a second generation de Silva as well.

ULK