Rugby at Royal and Summa

Summa Navaratnam passed away on October 19, 2023. May 21, 2025 marks his 100th birth anniversary. My first interactions with Mr. Summa Navartnam was in 1977 when he was coaching the Royal College 1st XV and we were attending under-17 practices. We had just entered Royal College from Royal Junior School after passing the 1976 NCGE examination. The under-17 coach was Air Vice Marshal Harry Gunathilake but Summa didn’t hesitate to teach us a few tricks of the trade while in the grounds. When we grew up to be 1st XV players ourselves (1979 and 1980), he became a close mentor and coach to us. And as we moved on in life, we slowly turned into friends.

- BY SRI JAWA JAYAWARDENA

Around 2010, when he wanted to formalise the Summa Navaratnam Royal Junior Rugby Academy with its own constitution and so on, he entrusted that task to me. This work brought us closer, and I soon became his de facto physician. It enhanced our conversations and interactions. I realised this was an extraordinary man, whose values and life experiences should not go waste. Here are some things he has told me.

Royal in the 1940s

The year was 1939, when World War II started after Germany's invasion of Poland drove Great Britain and France to declare war against Hitler. It was also the year that Royal appointed Mr. E.L Bradby as its principal, a name that resonates so loudly in the school’s rugby discourse now. Royal was not the school of today, with thousands of students. It was only in 1940 that its roll passed 625 students.This was also the year when Summa, at 14-years-old, started playing rugger. After seeing him run, the House rugger captain asked him to come for rugger practices and to join the House team. All students of Royal belonged to four Houses at the time: Hartley, Harward, Marsh and Boake (Reed House came to being in 1970). Summa played for Boake House. Inter-House events are among colleagues and are often stepping stones to represent the Royal and compete with other schools. Summa also represented his House and the school in boxing.Summa was an athlete before he became a rugby player. He had demonstrated his speed as a sprinter when he ran in events as under-12, then under-13 and under-14. Summa recalls a year when he was also the most senior rugger player in the House team. Athletics was in the third term and rugger was in the second term. So he was able to take part both in athletics as well as in rugby for school starting in 1940, a practice he continued till 1943.