He was the professor of Western classics and dean of the faculty of arts of the University of Ceylon.
He then qualified as a Barister from the Gray's Inn and gained a Diploma in Journalism from the University of London.
He was appointed professor of classics in 1947 and then dean of the faculty of arts of the University of Ceylon.
He served in the board of governors of Trinity College and Ladies College; chairman of the Church Missionary Society Schools and education officer in the Ceylon High Commission in London.
Rodrigo married Evelyn Fernando, daughter of Dr Solomon Fernando, who was one of the first western qualified physiscans in the island, and her mother was a daughter of Charles Henry de Soysa.