A storm of controversy has erupted within Royal College Colombo’s rugby program following a damning open letter by Harim Peiris, the father of the 2022 Royal College rugby captain. In the letter, Peiris details the horrific abuse his son endured, shedding light on the toxic culture that has allegedly taken root within the school’s rugby program. His letter, addressed to Royal College Principal Thilak Wathuhewa and shared with the media, calls for urgent reforms to ensure the safety and well-being of student players.
Peiris’s action follows a series of public complaints, including a recent Daily FT expose on October 1, 2024, where concerned parents demanded the removal of the Royal Rugby Head Coach, Dushantha Lewke. The letter and the subsequent media reports have exposed an unsettling truth about the state of Royal College rugby: players are being subjected to abusive coaching practices, physical assault, and a dangerous disregard for player safety that has left several students with life-altering injuries.
A Captain’s Ordeal: Assault, Abuse, and Injuries
Peiris recounts the traumatic incident involving his son, the captain of the 2022 rugby season, who was viciously assaulted by a group of “invited old boys” within the Royal College Sports Complex dressing room. The attack, reportedly instigated by an Advisory Committee member with the complicity of the coaching staff, followed a defeat in the team’s first league match. Peiris’s son suffered head injuries, including a concussion and a ruptured eardrum, requiring medical treatment. Despite the severity of the attack, the team management attempted to cover it up, only for an independent medical examination to reveal the blunt force trauma.
“My son was assaulted in the dressing room by ‘invited old boys’ after a league match defeat,” Peiris wrote. “The response of team management was to cover up the assault.”
The father expressed his disbelief that such practices are tolerated at one of the country’s most prestigious institutions, describing the culture within Royal Rugby as one of “thuggery and violence.” He accused the team management of using intimidation and fear tactics, not just on his son but on other student players who are now too afraid to speak out against the abuses they endure.
A Culture of Overtraining and Neglect
Beyond the physical violence, Peiris highlights how Royal College rugby players are being overworked to the point of physical breakdown. He asserts that players have sustained “crippling, career-ending, and life-long injuries,” not during supervised matches but during over-aggressive training sessions.
“Royal College rugby players are not getting injured in league matches but during reckless overtraining sessions organized by the coaching staff,” Peiris wrote. “Practices are held practically five days a week, with invited opposition and old boys, with little to no regard for player welfare.”
Peiris highlighted the particularly devastating case of Chamod Kavindu, the 2019 squad’s hooker, who suffered a severe head injury during a pre-season practice against opposition from the security forces. Kavindu underwent brain surgery, had part of his skull replaced with a titanium plate, and continues to require treatment to this day. His pleas to the Head Coach for support were met with indifference; the coach, according to Peiris, even blocked Kavindu’s phone number after the incident.
“The culture in Royal Rugby today has no regard for player safety,” Peiris stated. “These boys are schoolchildren, not professional athletes, and they are being subjected to extreme and reckless physical training with no thought for their long-term health.”
Systematic Player Abuse and Cover-Ups
Peiris’s letter draws attention to the wider issue of student player abuse that, according to him, has been rampant in the Royal Rugby setup for years. In 2019, parents of junior players raised similar concerns about player abuse and violence within the squad, leading many junior players to leave the sport altogether. These patterns, Peiris asserts, have continued through to 2024, with parents voicing their concerns yet again.
Peiris criticizes the Royal College Rugby Advisory Committee for enabling this culture of abuse. He argues that the committee, run by a small group of individuals who treat it as their personal fiefdom, has consistently glossed over flagrant student abuse, covered up wrongdoing by the coaching staff, and denied all allegations.
“They have seen fit to deny reality, defend the indefensible, sweep the human costs of their practices under the carpet, and cover up all wrongdoing by the team management and coaching staff,” Peiris wrote.
Psychological Impact on Students: PTSD, Anxiety, and Panic Attacks
One of the most troubling revelations in Peiris’s letter is the psychological toll these abusive practices have taken on Royal rugby players. He stated that many players now suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sleep disorders, anxiety, and panic attacks—symptoms usually observed in soldiers returning from war, not students playing a school sport.
“You may be kept in the dark by the team management, which practices a culture of intimidation to silence critics, that many Royal rugby players display serious symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including nightmares, sleep disorders, acute anxiety, and panic attacks,” Peiris warned.
This, Peiris argues, is why the parents of the 2024 rugby squad have requested psychological counselling for their children, in addition to other reforms.
A Call for Reform and Accountability
In his letter, Peiris urges the Royal College Principal to act immediately to reform Royal Rugby, beginning with the removal of the coaching staff, including Head Coach Dushantha Lewke, whom Peiris accuses of nurturing a culture of abuse. He suggests that hiring a foreign coach with actual team management authority could bring much-needed change to the program.
“It is very clear that this situation did not evolve by itself but was created and nurtured by the team management, headed by the Head Coach,” Peiris said. “But the systemic player abuse at Royal Rugby must come to an end.”
He also warned that failure to take action would be a “grave dereliction of duty” on the part of the school administration and could compel newly elected education authorities to intervene more directly to rectify the situation.
A Tepid Reaction from Royal College
Peiris expressed disappointment at the tepid response he received from Royal College after lodging a formal complaint about his son’s assault in July 2022. After more than a year of waiting, the administration finally responded in April 2024, claiming that a disciplinary inquiry had been conducted and that the Royal College Union membership of one individual had been suspended for ten years. However, Peiris described this response as woefully inadequate given the severity of the situation.
A Call for Immediate Action
Harim Peiris’s letter stands as a stark warning about the dangerous and abusive practices that have allegedly taken hold within the Royal College rugby program. His call for urgent reform and accountability is a plea to protect the well-being of young student-athletes and restore integrity to a sport that has been marred by abuse, overtraining, and intimidation.
Without immediate intervention, Peiris warns, the Royal College rugby program risks causing irreversible harm to its players both physically and mentally. The ball is now in the court of the Royal College administration and the education authorities to ensure that these boys are not merely trained as athletes but cared for as students, human beings, and the future of the nation.
Courtesy: Daily FT
This was hinted at the aftermath 8th 78th Bradby matches by none other than the players themselves. They charged that they had been coached to bite and stomp on opposing players, but all of this was ignored, sadly. What goes around comes around too