There was a time when it was important for the scrums to yield ball to the Police threes who, once fed with the ball, did the rest. I recall covering a Police match when the final scrum seconds away from the long whistle, mattered most. Police fans were yelling in a refrain " Save, us Siva; Save us Siva!" And Siva did the needful!
In the good old early days rugby in the Police was just a recreational exercise, with not much attention paid to taking the game to the higher echelons and pushing and shoving with the elite clubs playing in that era.
But when the renaissance of Police rugby is now being spoken about and how it became a formidable and fearless force that went on to win the plum of the country’s rugby the Clifford cup , various heroes are are talked about. The name that props out liking a winning ball from the scrum is that of a hooker par excellence SUBRAMANIAM SIVENDREN.
Although now domiciled in Los Angeles, California with his family and as usual keeping fit with his morning jerks and looking as fit as a fiddle, although ageing like all do, SIVENDREN still stays in touch with the game’s progress in the country and his old friends.
Good fortune
SIVENDREN who could be best describe as a rascal, had the good fortune of learning the nuances of the game from that doyen of St. Peter’s College rugby the one and only Archibald Perera in the 1960s .
Perera had the rare ability of turning out a mediocre ruggerite into a champion if he had slight talent. And in SIVENDREN, Perera spotted a champion in the making who could make waves not only in school rugby, but in club and the country’s rugby as well.
After a successful and enjoyable season in inter-school rugby where he helped his school by the canal to beat formidable exponents in inter-school rugby, SIVENDREN joined the Police scrum that was recruiting sportsmen including ruggerites.
And one such ruggerite who the police were fortunate to recruit or enlist was SUBRAMANIAM SIVENDREN who we feature as our ‘SPORTS LEGEND’ this Friday.
A rugby whale
SIVENDREN was not a big fish that the Police officers doing the recruitment netted, but a rugby whale as it were.
Once he wore the police uniform and went for rugby practice on the first day, he was hell bent and determined to get Police rugby into the elite scrum where Havelocks, CR and FC and CH and FC dominated.
He set his sights on turning out a formidable team that opponents would fear and respect and put to second best the more formidable and big rugby clubs that were dominating the local rugby world.
Cunning hooker
From playing in the ‘B’ division, SIVENDREN who was a clever and cunning hooker who always beat his opponent and won the ball from the scrum for his team with his intelligent hooking showed the young players in the team how and it was not long before the Police showed great improvement and won the right to play in the elite league.
SIVENDREN sported the Police colours of blue with great respect and pride and once he sported the jersey, it did not long for him to inspire and motivate his team mates who did not have much rugby in their veins in them but were keen as mustard to learn.
SIVENDREN joined the Police as a Sub Inspector and with diligence of some hard and honest work being an example rose to the top and shot up to the top and retired as a Deputy Inspector General. With his retirement Police lost a hard to find motivator, honest and dedicated administrator of rugby and Police have yet to find a personality like SIVENDREN.
Police captain
SIVENDREN hooked and won the oval ball for the Police from 1958 to 1970 captaining the team in 1963, ’66,’ ’67 and 1969.After much sweat and toil SIVENDREN’S moment of unquenchable joy arrived when playing in the Clifford Cup after gaining promotion from the B league, when the Police hand cuffed the strong CR and FC team by 9 points to 6 in the semi final. It was indeed a moment for the ruggerites, every cop and the top brass to savor and the rugby that got them off the starting blocks as it were for greater deeds.
Still heavy in the head after the night’s celebration beating CR this is how SIVENDREN described those enthralling moments. ‘Eerie excitement and spine-chilling moment that could have filled the pages of a horror movie dragged all of the Havelock Park into swooning rapture as cup holders, the Ceylon Rugby Football Club were battered blue and red into a bloody mess by the Ceylon Police led by SIVENDREN,who had equalized 6-all just two minutes before time.
‘I won the ball off a scrum and it went to the second row , where no 8 Anton Benedict held it. The CR wing forwards, Sari and Tony de Sylva then pounced on Anton and referee Christofelsz did not hesitate to award a penalty to us. Full back Bagoos Sourjah rushed in and converted that famous 40-yard kick which went through the uprights and Police had won. We had beaten the reigning champions’.
Going into ecstasy
Many years later SIVENDREN going into ecstasy and recalling those chilling moments said that the funniest part was when the then IGP Eleric Abeygunewardene in joy was pouring beer on my head. I jokingly told him that I wished my mouth was on my head’. That was ‘SIVA’ who was also known as a ‘playboy’.
After his playing days were over he was not lost to police rugby. His expertise was much sought after and he was appointed Director of Sport which post he held from 1987 to 1992 with great efficiency.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man and when Police enjoyed their greatest moment in the game by beating Havelocks in the Clifford Cup final in 1972 under Anton Benedict the chief strategist was that man for all seasons SIVENDREN.
History making team
That history making team had some players who were not great schoolboy ruggerites, but who became larger than life when they joined the Police where they picked up the nuances of the game quickly.
I will be doing an injustice to them if I do not mention their names – Bandula Wijesingher, Sam Samarasekera, ‘Rock’ Banda, P.S.Kularatne, Jurangen Savanghan, R.M. Lafir, Nimal Lewke (double international in boxing and rugby), Daya Jayasundera, Nimal Abeysinghe, Nizam Hajireen, Bagoos Sourjah, Charles Wijewardena and S. Somachandra.
These are SIVENDREN’S after rugby achievements – he had been to London as the Sri Lanka delegate in 1978 at a Rugby Congress – attended a rugby training program with the English Rugby Football Union in Bishen Abbey, the English sports centre. – accompanied the national rugby team to Hong Kong on three occasions. – toured Australia with the sevens squad for the Sydney Sevens in 1987. – toured Hong Kong with the Sri Lanka team and on a Far East Tour in 1989. – was in South Korea for the Rugby Asiad in 1992. – toured Hong Kong as manager of the Police team in 1989.
Team mates
SIVENDREN’S team mates in the Police teams were –Brute Mahendren, Sumith Silva, Rahula Silva, Franklyn Jacobs, James Seneratne, Muni Gomes, Rodney Aluvihare, Mike Schokman, Terry Williams, Tony Mahath, S. Bambaradeniya, Leslie Ephrums, M.A. Majeed, T.M.I ‘TANKER’ Hamid, Raja Pothuera, Ananda Piyasena, Anton Benedict, Daya Jayasundera, Bagoos sourjah - galaxy of ruggerites.
KISHEN BUTANI who with his rugby experience and excellence in administration and a great strategist who took CH and FC’S rugby to Wuthering Heights when he was President of CH and the Gymkhana Club described SIVENDREN thus.
‘He was a man for all seasons. He was a honest and dedicated friend and was ever ready to help me when I sought his help when faced with a rugby problem. Men of SIVENDREN’S calibre will never surface again in Sri Lankan rugby’, was how BUTANI described his friend.
Incidentally BUTANI who did wonders for CH rugby was deprived of being President of the Sri Lanka Rugby Fooball Union when others hooked the ball away from him!
Add new comment