The skipper of the 1982 Royal College rugby team and former Sri Lanka centre Ted Hiran Muttiah will be the chief guest for the second leg of the historic 75th Bradby Shield Encounter which will be worked off at the Royal Sports Complex on June 15 (Saturday).
Muttiah, a penetrative runner and a fierce tackler turned out for Royal College from 1980 to 1982 and played a key role in Royal emerging Noel Gratiaen Cup League champions in 1981 winning 10 games out of 11 with a solitary defeat against Trinity (3-16) in the Bradby Shield first leg at Nittawela though winning the return game (10-3) at Longden Place.
In 1982 he was bestowed with the captaincy of Royal and under his leadership they had a season of mixed fortunes winning seven games against Wesley (19-6), Ananda (19-4), St. Anthony’s (23-0), Dharmaraja (3-0), St. Peter’s (14-9), St. Joseph’s (12-11), and Vidyartha (14-13) while losing to Isipathana (0-6), S. Thomas’ (3-13), and the two Bradby Shield games to Trinity (6-9) and (4-6). After the school season he turned out for Kandy SC in the SLRFU Trophy knock-out tournament along with Trinitians Ashan Ratwatte and Thusith Seneviratne.
He joined the CR and FC in 1983 and helped the club to clinch the SLRFU Trophy knock-out tournament with a 12-9 win over Army in the final under the leadership of Cargo Siriwardena which went onto tour Bangkok for the Asian Club Rugby Championship in December 1983.
It was in 1984 that Muttiah blossomed out as a top class centre missing out by a whisker of being selected for the nine-member Sri Lanka Sevens Squad, led by Hisham Abdeen which bagged the Bowl Championship at the Hong Kong Sevens in March, 1984.
After a mediocre League Rugby Tournament in 1984 he played a vital role in a resurgent CR and FC outfit which clinched the Premadasa Trophy with a 16-13 win over a formidable CH and FC led by Chandrishan Perera in the final.
He was richly rewarded by being picked for the Sri Lanka Rugby Team which took part in the Rugby Asiad in Fukuoka City, Japan in October 1984 and his crowning moment came on his debut against Malaysia when he scored two dazzling tries to give the Lankans a 14-12 win - their solitary victory in the 1984 Asiad.
Muttiah migrated to Australia in 1985 but returned to Sri Lanka in 2017 and is presently the Chief Commercial Officer of South Asia Gateway Terminals. (R.S.)
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