Full Name -  Sudharshana Muthuthantri 
Hometown- Moratuwa, Colombo
Birthday -  25.08.1991

Today on the Buzz I’m happy to have a man who is an amazing human beyond his star studded career in Rugby.  ‘Muthu’, as he is well known among the Sri Lankan Rugby circles, had the honour of leading the country’s 7s and 15s teams. His passion for the sport started at S. Thomas' College.  Muthu became the vice-captain of Havelocks in 2012, the year the club won the Dialog League Championship. Today the news is out as he will leading the CH team and today on the Buzz I wanted to speak to him beyond the game he loves the most. As a friend I can say that he is a man with an amazing heart. His self made achievements and his humble personality are commendable.

How old were you when you started playing rugby? 18 yrs when I started playing rugby in College at under 18 level.

What was your first rugby memory? Wearing the blue-black and blue in College.

Who was / is your role model and why? Richie McCaw the All Blacks captain who leads by example on and off the field and has been a big part of the culture for the All Blacks and has the highest winning percentage as an All Blacks captain and is known as the greatest All Black ever.

What do you eat before a big match? I eat carbohydrates which might be rice, pasta or manioc as carbs and of course need to be having some vegetables for essential vitamins and a bit of protein to complete the meal.

How do you react to your negative/positive comments on social media? I don't react to a lot of things on social media I think the times that we live in is dominated by it and I don't think everyone uses it for the right reasons. Social media can build up a person's character and in the same way, try to bring that person down in the next moment. I appreciate people who are good to me on it and do not let the negativity bother me too much. This is because I don't let the positives affect me either basically I don't look to validate myself based on people's opinions. I just use social media to connect with people and spread positivity, uplift people and share the love.

Who has been your biggest support? My biggest support would be my family I guess but I'm pretty independent and tend to do things on my own.

How has rugby changed your life? Rugby has changed my life in so many ways it has helped to express myself as a person, given me a platform to help people. Rugby has taught me how to be a leader of men, most importantly, and how to work with different individuals who bring different points of views to the table. I was blessed enough to work with people from different cultural backgrounds and experience people basically, which made me have an open mind towards things and look at certain subjects and situations through another person's point of view.

What should our education system work on? And do we give enough attention to sports at the school level? What I think about our current education system right now is that it's very repetitive and goal-oriented. I think it's important that our students have a broader understanding of what's happening in the world and prepare them to face challenges when they step into the world we live in. Cramming books and repeating that knowledge in an exam is not education. We should expose our kids to more than just basic subjects taught in school. I think sports at school level is quite competitive as it is. Students definitely should be encouraged to engage in extracurricular activities and also excel in them. I think this can teach a lot of valuable lessons about character, discipline, self-awareness and how to be respectful and humble which are qualities that definitely should be encouraged in children from young days.

What’s a typical day of a professional rugby player? Especially when the season is on? A typical day of a rugby player when the season is on is quite full-on. We start the day at 5.30 am, we train in the morning have round sessions which finishes around 10, have our meals, rest up we have team meetings and film study sessions during the day as we get prepared for gym sessions in the afternoon or evening. Then we might do another session late evening which will end around 6 pm. So I must say it's packed but I enjoy the process of preparing myself which might be strenuous for some.

How was school life? And what did you want to be when you were growing up? School life was fun at S.Thomas' College Mount Lavinia. Well, you don't expect anything less when you get the privilege of studying at STC - the school by the sea. It was a lot of activity all year around big match time and trucking were my favourite activities apart from playing sport. Enjoyed spending time with friends so much so that I ended up doing so many sports and got involved in so many clubs and societies basically anything to stay out of the classroom. Early morning Chapel was something that I was blessed to experience every morning in College.

On the spot

Who do you feel is a better rugby player? Fazil Marija, Omalka Gunaratne, Namal Rajapakse, Chi-Chi? All of them are different players playing in different eras. Namal aiya was a great athlete and a smart player as a number 8 in College. Later he played hooker at the club and national level. I think he is a smart player with the ball in hand he played sometime back when the game was very different from what it is now. He was great in the era he played. Chichi would also be a smart player with his decision making as a fly-half and a game manager. He played number 8 as well. He has a unique style of playing which is fascinating. When you play with him you see how he reads the game. Fazil aiya would be the more complete player I think, given he played as a 10 for national level and Kandy for so many years. He is the best 10 we had in the country for a long time. Omalka is still young and still learning. He will be great no doubt.

Your favourite place to work out? High Octane, FHITT, Zimantra? I don't have a favourite place to train, but my strength and conditioning coach has been Motilal Jayathilake from school days. He is my favourite person to train under. He has been there with me right throughout.

Just for Fun...

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Nothing.

What was your favourite toy growing up? I had a lot of toy guns. l liked guns.

Name 3 celebrities you most admire? I don't admire celebrities but I if you talk about sports personalities I would say, Stephan Curry, Tom Brady and LeBron James. 

What weird food combinations do you really enjoy? I love food, let's just leave it at that.

Do you think that aliens exist? Yes, I believe that we are not alone.

What are you currently worried about? I am worried about Covid and how we as a country and a nation are going to overcome this pandemic.

What movie can you watch over and over without ever getting tired of? The theory of everything, Five feet apart, and Dear John. 

What “old person” things do you do? Stay at home most of the time and just chill.