Former Isipathana, CR&FC, national youth, Sevens and
Fifteens player Shamly Nawaz, one of the most knowledgeable readers of
modern-day rugby, has been appointed as the Head Coach of the Sri Lanka Air
Force rugby side.
Nawaz who started his school rugby career at the
tender age of 11, played in all age groups till he was 19. In 1994, at the age
of 15, he made it into the Isipathana first XV team, and in 1996 he was
appointed as the captain of the Under-19 National XVs for the Junior Rugby
Asiad. He was re-appointed as Captain in 1997 making him the first to do so. He
led the Isipathana Under-19s in 1998, became champions in the Anchor Blacks
10-a-side in Singapore and All-Island Milo 10-a-side champions in 1998. Later
on, he went on to represent the national side in both forms of the game from
1998 to 2004. In club rugby, he played for Havelocks in 1998, loyally
representing the Red Shirts from 1999 to 2007. He led the Longden Place club in
2003.
He started off his coaching career with his alma
mater, coaching the junior side from 1999 to 2002. Later on, for his good work
he was appointed as the Head Coach of the Isipathana senior outfit from 2008 to
2010 and from 2012 to 2013. In 2014, he was chosen for the Zahira outfit for a
five-year spell. In club rugby, he was the Assistant forwards coach at
CR&FC in 2014 and 2015. From 2017 to 2018 he was in charge of the Police SC
outfit, taking their rugby to a different level after nearly two-decade long
lean spell. His good work saw the Thomians hiring him for the 2019 and 2020 rugby
seasons, where they saw some good results immediately. One of the major
achievements by the hard-working Nawaz was that he coached his alma mater,
Isipathana, to wins in the league and knock out tournaments in 2012 after a
lapse of 13 years. After taking over Zahira, he took the Maradana lads into the
top division in rugby during 2017 after a decade in the lower divisions.
Nawaz went on to coach and play in his university
team at SLIIT and coached many mercantile teams in the past. He is a World
Rugby Level 2 accredited coach, having achieved WR Level 1 and 2 certifications
in Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. He went one level up in his
qualification in 2019 when he got his World Rugby Coach Educator license to
deliver and develop Young Rugby coaches in our region. Currently he is
working and learning 3Dimentional coaching.
With the backing of their new sports-loving Air
Marshal and top-class golfer Sudarshana Pathirana, and Air Commodore Janaka
Amerasinghe, who is the Chairman of Sri Lanka Air Force Rugby, they are out to
surprise many this season.
Former Antonian rugby player Amerasinghe, speaking
to Daily FT said: “We have got one of the best coaching staff in the country.
Nawaz is rich in his knowledge proved himself as a player and coach. I am sure he
will take Sri Lanka Air Force rugby to the next level. We are all out to change
the rugby culture at Air Force.” (SJ)
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