He was fast in play and was a brilliant rugby brain. He was a remarkable man,and an excellent rugby coach.
He impressed both as a player and coach. As a coach, Kalu as he was popularly known excelled at the highest level and worked alongside with some of the top coaches. He was a talented player during his playing days and was a bone jarring tackler. He did his best in sports for the Antonians. He represented St. Anthony’s College at cricket, athletics and rugby in the early 1970’s. It was at rugby that he really shone as a centre three quarter and at times manning the last line of defence and on some occasions taking the spot kicks when the regulars failed. .He was a member of the champion Antonian team of 1972 led by Tuan Dole which beat Trinity for the first time
He played for Kandy Sports Club while still in school and later joined the Sri Lanka Navy before returning to his home town and gave his best for Kandy Sports Club as a player and coach He also represented Up Country.
He was a stern disciplinarian where schools rugby was concerned. At one of the matches played by the school,a player was shown the ‘red card’ for an unwarranted dangerous tackle which sent the opposition player to the ground. Kalu Perera lost his cool and slapped the offending player. On the following day the papers carried the story headlined ‘The Black Shot’. He was the head coach of the Antonians for several years and guided the side to win several matches. Kalu was a coach par excellence who coached St. Anthony’s College for several years and produced players of the calibre of Lakshman Ekanayake, Priyantha Ekanayake, Leroy Fonseka, Shanitha Fernando, and Bharatha Seneviratne. One of his best products is Priyantha Ekanayake, who was a top class forward with good rugby knowledge and was one of the best third row forwards.who led the country at four Rugby Asiads.
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