The Pink Shirts, led by newly appointed skipper Abdulla Faiz for the 2024/’25 season, are eyeing to regain lost glory to the century-old rugby powerhouse at Park Road.
Twenty-seven schoolboys from Havelock Town led by Roy Joachim decided to form a club with the sole purpose of playing some friendly rugby in 1915. Although there was no constitution, no office bearers, no material, and even no ground, the boys had a vision to foster camaraderie.
With a foundation set by Joachim, the Havelocks were built on principles of camaraderie and sportsmanship, and in 1920, they entered competitive rugby. Today, after 110 years of producing outstanding sportspeople, the club yearns for silverware as the Havies faithful await a league crown for the first time since 2012.
The 1960s and ’70s were golden decades for the club, winning nine league titles (1961, ’63, ’64, ’67, and ’68, and 1970, ’74, ’76, and ’77).
It is also reported that on 12 September 1907, the first international rugby union match played in Ceylon was held at Havelock Park between the New Zealand All Blacks and an all-Ceylon team.
During the 2023/’24 season, the Havelocks under Azmir Fajudeen had to be satisfied with a third place in the league and ended as runners-up in the Clifford Cup Knockouts. The coaching duo Saliya Kumara and Dhanushka Botheju are continuing their stint with the Park Club.
The year 2012 still echoes in the hearts and minds of every Havies fan; led by Henry Terence, the Park Club broke a 31-year hoodoo to win the League title, putting an end to Kandy’s decade-long dominance.
This year, the Havies have signed some outstanding schoolboy talents from the 2024 season. They are the Isipathana trio Kalindu Silva, Nisaja Jayaweera (ex-skipper), and Dinada Wickramaarachchi; Raul Peter (St. Peter’s); former Wesley skipper Shem Mendis; former DS Vice Captain Thiven Perera, Jayageeth Basnayake (Trinity), and Janidu Wijerathna (DS). The team has also got back the services of experienced campaigner Charana Chamikara.
The club was the stepping stone to arguably the greatest player Sri Lanka has ever produced, the legendary Hisham Abdeen.
In the meantime, the Havies formed their first-ever women’s rugby team this year, 110 years after the formation of the club, and will be vying for honours alongside Navy, CR, Army, and Sri Lions SC in the women’s league, which runs parallel to the men’s tournament.
In the Havelock SC Golden Jubilee Souvenir of 1965, Past President A. Sivaramakrishnan’s message states: “One of the most endearing traits that has remained fundamental to the founding tenets is the fact that politics, religion, race, ethnicity, and any other division have no place in the club’s idea of sportsmanship.”
The message goes on to say: “We were one of the first clubs, way back in 1923, to ensure that Ceylonese sportsmen gained their rightful place in our membership, in a general milieu where Europeans held dominance. Those fundamental values remain ingrained into our club’s psyche even today because we believe that sports can be a uniting factor on any platform. It’s not whether anyone wins or loses, it’s how we play the game, and that’s what we intend to take to the next century and beyond.”