brand logo

‘I may take to rugby administration’: Yoshitha Rajapaksa

03 Apr 2022

  • ‘If doing so is the right thing, I may do so’
By Revatha S. Silva Yoshitha Kanishka Rajapaksa, 33, was to end his over 15-year rugby career yesterday (2) as his team Navy Sports Club was scheduled to meet Ceylon Rugby and Football Club (CR&FC) at Longdon Place, Colombo in a Plate encounter of the ongoing Nippon Rugby League, organised by Sri Lanka Rugby. “I have been playing the game since 2004. I felt it was time I should step down. Now our youngsters need to come in and carry the game forward,” said Rajapaksa in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Morning Sports on Thursday (31 March). “I would like to be involved in the game’s administration and do my bit for the further upliftment of the game of rugby,” Rajapaksa said, airing his views from Temple Trees, where he currently works as Chief of Staff of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. “But those plans will depend on my other work. Yet, as an ex-player, I am obliged to serve the more underprivileged rugby players of the country. If joining the administration is the right thing for that, I may do so,” he stressed. Did his political clout help his ascendancy in national rugby at any stage of his career? “Being part of a political family, such accusations are very normal for me,” opines Yoshitha. “But here, the biggest proof is my contemporary players and coaches. They will testify whether I played for my country purely on merit or due to any political backing,” responded Rajapaksa. “I always played the game with great love and passion. I didn’t make a living from it,” he added. As the last hurrah of his long career approached, Yoshitha acknowledged his coaches and mentors, ranging from his U 13 school coaches up to his national trainers. “I should thank Asanga Seneviratne who turned me from a flanker to a hooker, M.E.C. Perera, Leonard, Ronnie, and Nilufer Ibrahim, Sanath Martis, and my four trainers Ranjana, Tharanga, and Mothilal Jayathilake – all of them and numerous other people helped me on my way in this journey.”


More News..