Priyaraj Lakmal Munasinghe, (also known as PL) is a Sri Lankan

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

player.

Education

Munasinghe was educated at S. Thomas' College, Mt Lavinia

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, where as Head Prefect he was awarded the Victoria Jubilee Gold Medal, winning colours in rugby and athletics. He played in the rugby first XV in 1973, 1974, captained the school in 1975, and played in 1976. He placed second in the under-19 100 metres (described in the school magazine by athletics captain WR Gunasena as a "lion hearted run") at the Public Schools Athletics meet in 1974 and was part of a successful 4x100 metres relay team.

The Royal Thomian Rugby Match 1975

Under his leadership at the Royal Thomian rugby match in July 1975, his team came from behind to beat the favourites 8–3 to win the Michael Gunaratne Trophy. Sharm De Alwis has described his two tries as a "spectacular sensation" where he "sliced through the entire defence to score under the posts" not once but twice (it must be assumed that he sidestepped and cut inside, as De Alwis refers to him paralysing the opposing stand off – also referred to as fly half or No 10). Leading from the front he not only scored the two match winning tries but marshalled a defence which the Ceylon Daily Mirror described as:

the virtual stone wall erected by the Thomian back division who tackled as if their life depended on it. Particularly impressive in this department was full back (Shane) Pinder, skipper Munasinghe and wing three quarter
Devaka Fernando Devaka Fernando is a Sri Lankan physician and academic. He was president of the Osteoporosis Society of Sri Lanka and the Founding Professor of Medicine at the University of Sri Jayawardanapura. Education Fernando was educated at Dean Row Sc ...
who tackled their opponents to a virtual standstill.", Mahesa Abeynayake describes their team spirit.

Club and National Rugby

Munasinghe went on to captain the Sri Lanka schools against the Combined clubs side and subsequently represented

Havelock Sports Club Havelock Sports Club is a Division 'A' rugby union team based in Sri Lanka that plays in the Dialog Rugby League. The club has a long history and rugby is the club's main sporting activity. The "Havies", as they are commonly known amongst its mem ...

and Sri Lanka. Munasinghe has been listed among the best three-quarters to play rugby between 1968 and 1982. His career was cut short by a knee injury during a practice game.

Professional

Munasinghe is a chartered accountant, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and a Fellow of the

Chartered Institute of Management Accountants The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) is the global professional management accounting body, based in the United Kingdom. CIMA offers training and qualification in management accountancy and related subjects. It is focused on ...

(UK). He was a director in Carpenters Fiji Ltd and is currently chief executive officer of Courts (Fiji) Ltd. In November 2016 he was listed as the chairman of the Water Authority of Fiji.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munasinghe, PL Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Alumni of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia People from Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Sri Lankan rugby union players Sportspeople from Western Province, Sri Lanka