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by Chris Dhambarage

Royal College are the Milo Schools 'A' division league champions for 2003. Last week they cleared their final hurdle by overcoming their traditional rivals S. Thomas' College Mount Lavinia by 17 points to 6 in their annual fixture played at Havelock Park.

Royal also retained the Michael Gunaratne Trophy for the third successive year. Their success was in the balance at one stage and were trailing 3-6 at the half way mark. But they fired all cylinders in the second half with a magnificent performance with full back Shehab Bahudeen leading the way.

In fact Bahudeen was the cynosure of all eyes as he scored the only try of the match and also fired across four penalties to seal the game in Royal's favour. He has been under tremendous pressure throughout the season but rose to the occasion with a splendid effort which even inspired his teammates.

Bahudeen formed the overlap and joined the line on several occasions which resulted in Royal scoring their match winning try midway in the second half. Until then the exchanges were even and the match was poised for an exciting finish. But Bahudeen was on target with three more penalties and Royal made sure that they would pull off this game by a clear margin.

Royal started the season as one of the strong contenders for the title even though they were fielding ten newcomers in the side. However they also had enough experience to support the freshers with two national players Rajith Jayasundera and Lakshman Dissanayake and Sri Lanka youth cap Varun Wijewardena forming a good combination.

Royal's progress in the tournament received a tremendous blow when they suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Wesley College mid way in the season. But they proved that they are capable of fighting back and soon came into their own by defeating Isipatana and also went on to beat their traditional rivals Trinity College in the first leg of the Bradby Shield.

The Thomians certainly played a better game during the first 30 minutes of play and enjoyed a major amount of possession in the line outs and set pieces. But they failed to drive away that advantage and convert them into points by committing some crucial mistakes at vital stages of the game. They finished the Milo Schools league tournament with three victories from six outings and were placed fifth in the points table.

Peterites redeem lost prestige

St. Peter's College redeemed some of their lost prestige as they defeated their traditional rivals St. Joseph's College by 21 points to 11 in their 35th annual battle of the saints encounter at Longden Place.

The Peterites went through some anxious moments but eventually held their nerve to register a consolation win with their points coming from a goal, one try and three penalties. The defending champions however continue to occupy the seventh place in the Milo Schools 'A' division league points table and are facing a demotion into the 'B' division from next year.

The Peterites were under tremendous pressure from the kick off following their ordinary performances in the earlier outings and considering the improvement made by the Josephians during the season. But they played well despite the odds against them and went on to retain the Rev. Fr. Basil Wiratunga Shield for the fourth successive year.

Mohamed Sheriff played a vital role in their success while putting over three penalties and also converting a penalty try. Their solitary try was scored by centre Rumeiz Ishak in the first half. But St. Joseph's had a real chance when Priyan Fansisco touched down for a spectacular try to reduce the margin to just three points. However the Josephians conceded a penalty try during the latter stages of the game and with that their hopes were completely dashed.

Easy for Antonians

The Swarnatilleke twins Eranga and Suranga shared five tries between them as St. Anthony's College Kandy defeated their home town rivals Dharmaraja College by 36 points to 9 in their Milo Schools 'A' division league tournament match played at Nittawela.

The Antonians simply underlined their dominance by scoring six tries out which three were converted by Mohamed Reyal. Prop forward and skipper Eranga Swarnatilleke was in excellent form scoring two tries while Suranga Swarnatilleke touched down on three occasions. The Antonians eventually completed the Milo League in the fourth place behind Isipatana, Wesley and Royal.

In fact both St. Anthony's and Isipatana had the identical average of 2.75 points but the latter finished third because they had scored more tries than their opponents.

Ananda triumph

Ananda College beat their traditional rivals Vidyartha College Kandy by 25 points to 10 in their Milo Schools Rugby Tournament match played for the Gopallawa Shield at Longden Place.

The Anandians who led 10-3 at half-time cut loose in the second-half and collected their points from five tries. Vidyartha College managed to score only a goal and a penalty. S. Dahanayake scored two tries while G. Fernando, D. Danushka and T. Jayasinghe scored a try each for the winners. S. Priyadarshana scored the solitary try for Vidyartha with S. Pushpakauma adding the extra points and also converting a penalty.

Sylvestrians beaten

Thurstan College came up with a superlative performance to beat St. Sylvester's College, Kandy by 15 points to 12 in their Milo Schools 'A' Division league rugby tournament match played at the Bogambara Stadium. The Thurstanites collected their points from one goal, one try and one penalty while the Sylvestrians responded with four penalties.

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