By Namal Rajapaksa –
Namal Rajapaksa MP
Those who know me and my two brothers know well how deeply we love the sport of rugby.
Having begun playing around the age of six, we played during school, during college, captained university teams and finally represented Sri Lanka internationally. In addition to enjoying the game, in recent years, we also tried to do whatever we could to elevate the sport in Sri Lanka for younger generations that will follow us in the years to come. In this effort, we brought down internationally-acclaimed rugby players to Sri Lanka and worked to get access for our players to obtain playing experience abroad.
In all honesty, we simply enjoyed playing the game. And as we began to reach the final stages of our sports careers, we felt like we should try to give back to a sport that had given us all so much. I think and hope that these efforts would have made at least a small contribution to the development of the game.
Today, we’re incredibly saddened to see that the bitter, vengeful politics that took over this country after elections earlier this month, have even made its way to the sports sector. Just a few days ago, my brothers – Rohitha and Yoshitha – were both informed, by telephone, not to attend rugby practice. No reasons were given. They were just asked not to come.
Not wanting to tarnish the sport through any potential conflict, we took a decision to simply respect the request and not question the decision regardless of how unjust it seems. Though deeply hurtful, we felt this would be the best decision we could make at this time.
For some, rugby was also a part of politics. But for the three of us, it was the sport we loved.
On behalf of both of my brothers and myself, I want express our deepest gratitude to all those who supported us during our rugby careers. I think you all know how sincerely we loved the game. And if given the opportunity, we will never hesitate for a moment to contribute to the development of the sport in any way that we can.
*Namal Rajapaksa MP is the eldest son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. His writings can be found at http://www.namalrajapaksablog.com
M / February 2, 2015
Not much fun being told what to do over the phone eh??!!! Karma’s a bitch lol!!
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M / February 2, 2015
Not much fun being told what to do over the Phone en???? Karma’s a B****!! lol!!
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su siri / February 3, 2015
There will be plenty of qualified players in a country of 15 million,. to select from. I am sure they also love the game, but never had the opportunity. The country has lost nothing…NOTHINg!…by the removal of Yoshitha Hussein and Rohithja Hussein. The country is not your rich boy playground anymore! It is a good day for the island nation!
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su siri / February 3, 2015
BTW, is that one of the missing luxury buses in the background of the photograph? LOL!
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BBS Rep / February 3, 2015
Namal,
Taking the stance of an aggreived party will not work at this juncture of your life.
Born to the powerful and later ‘super rich and powerful’ you were in a class of distinct advantage when it came to selection, training and the access to high end sports supplements.
Your brother Yoshitha assaulted a rugby referee Dimitri Gunasekera and showed a blatent disregard for the rules of the game. No one had the guts to reprimand him at the time.
In the game of rugby you say you loved so much you nor your brothers nor your close associates played that game by the rules.
I think your decision to keep out of the game is a wise one.
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SL-Walah / August 5, 2015
These Rajapakse SOBs have have done irreversible damage to the game of rugby, where its status have slid backwards by many years because new talent and skills have been deprived by these three (3) bastardized evils. The murders and other crimes they have committed in the name of the game of Rugby will not just fade away, but will haunt them and then be hunted down to pay retribution.
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