Quentin Shelton Nagalingam Israel (19348 November 2007) was a

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

coach and a school teacher from

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Education

Quenta, known to his friends as 'Q,' went to school at

Trinity College, Kandy Trinity College, Kandy, is an independent private school for boys in Kandy Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1872 by British Anglican missionaries of the Church Missionary Society, modelled on Public School (United Kingdom), British Public school tradi ...

where he played

as a centre three-quarter between 1953 and 1954 under the guidance of Dharmasiri Madugalle and Lucky Vitharana. In 1954, he was the Captain of the

Hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

team, as well as an accomplished hurdler. Though an alumnus of Trinity, 'Quenta', went on to coach S. Thomas for number of years, and even bested his alma-mater. He then coached the Thomians, taking 43 wins in a row, beating Trinity and winning the

Bradby Shield The Bradby Shield Encounter - commonly known as "The Bradby" - is the pinnacle of Sri Lanka's school rugby union season. It is played annually between two of the most prominent boys’ schools in the country and traditional rivals Royal College, ...

on five occasions. He was a member of the staff at both institutions. Quenta was the president of

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 ...

, as well as its coach. He has been called one of the best rugby coaches, having studied the strengths and weaknesses of every opposing team. He also served in the

Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union Sri Lanka Rugby is the governing body for rugby union in Sri Lanka. It is one of the oldest governing bodies in the world, being founded as the Ceylon Rugby Football Union in 1908. History The Ceylon Rugby Football Union was founded in 1908. T ...

Club rugby

Israel represented the

from 1958 to 1965, and was a member of the 1961

Clifford Cup The Clifford Cup is the most prestigious club rugby knockout tournament in Sri Lanka, and arguably the oldest rugby tournament in Asia. The Clifford Cup commenced in 1911 and has been played continuously since 1950, having completed 79 seasons. T ...

winning team. Although he did not represent Sri Lanka, he was a member of the All Ceylon pool and squad, which he would later coach, winning on many occasions. He also held positions of honorary secretary, entertainment secretary and president.

Coach

He is most widely known as the 1st XV coach at S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, who registered 43 wins in a row. One of his protégés was Sri Lankan player

Michael Jayasekera Education Jayasekera was educated at St Peters College Bambalapitiya where he represented the college in First XV Rugby and moved to S. Thomas' College, Mt Lavinia Sri Lanka, where he won colours in cricket, rugby and athletics. He won the ...

, described by Havelocks Rugby Club coach Gamini Fernando as "being gift-wrapped and delivered to his club by Quentin Israel". Jayasekera went on to become the Chairman of the Board of Selectors. Another protégé was Sri Lankan player

PL Munasinghe Priyaraj Lakmal Munasinghe, (also known as PL) is a Sri Lankan rugby player. Education Munasinghe was educated at S. Thomas' College, Mt Lavinia Sri Lanka, where as Head Prefect he was awarded the Victoria Jubilee Gold Medal, winning colo ...

. Jayasekera and Munasinghe both played in 1975 and 1976 and were later described as the best Thomian team, by sports journalist Sharm de Alwis. He later coached

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, which won the

on five occasions. He also served the

(SLRFU), besides being the coach of the national under 19 side, and taking over coaching of Galle Rugby Football Club after retiring from

Schoolmaster

Israel taught mathematics, chemistry, and physics, and is known for his emphasis on education despite his enthusiasm for Rugby. He also coached another XI Cricket team at S Thomas College, Mt Lavinia. Additionally, he served as a House Master and Headmaster of the Upper School, where he had the reputation of being a strict disciplinarian. STC-RugbyTeam (1975) PLM

Commemoration

Junior School Challenge Cups (donated by Herbert Lakshman Fernando) are awarded to the 'Most Promising Student' and the 'Best All-round Sportsman of the Year' at Trinity College in memory of Israel. The Toronto Chapter of the St Thomas College's Old Boys Association 7-a-side tournament rugby tournament for the Quentin Israel Memorial Trophy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Israel, Quentin 1934 births 2007 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Kandy Faculty of Royal College, Colombo Sri Lankan rugby union players