Schools Rugby Review : Dazzling display by Trinity
by Chris Dhambarage
Trinity College have cleared their first hurdle in their attempt to
regain the Bradby Shield after a lapse of four years. Last week at the
Bogambara Stadium in Kandy they produced another dazzling performance to
beat their traditional rivals Royal College by 36 points to six points
in the first leg of their 61st annual inter school rugby encounter.
The Trinitians looked a well knit side as they outplayed and
outclassed their opponents in all departments of the game running down
as many as six tries. This was easily one of their best efforts for the
season and will scrum down in Colombo in two weeks time for the second
leg with a healthy thirty point lead.
The wet whether conditions at the Bogambara Stadium certainly suited
the Trinitians who enjoyed playing the run and pass game which has been
their hall mark throughout the current inter school rugby season. And
who knows had the whether been kind Trinity College would have even
doubled their score.
Nevertheless the Trinitians could be even more than satisfied with
this victory after having lost to Royal College in their previous eight
outings. They went into this game not with the best of frame of mind
having gone down to their home town rivals St. Anthony's College in
their previous outing.
But they took this opportunity to bounce back into recognition and
also set the tone to regain the Bradby after a lapse of four years. Not
only that they have also brought an end to Royal's dominance during the
last few years where they have been humiliated both in Kandy and in
Colombo.
Altogether this season have been a fantastic one for the Trinitians
who have also clinched the Singer inter school 'C' division league title
where they remained unbeaten throughout the tournament. This means that
they will be promoted into the 'B' division league next year and
certainly another great season ahead of them.
The manner in which they took on the Royal side was quite outstanding
after a somewhat nervous start to the game. It took them more than
fifteen minutes to open scoring but from there onwards it was very much
one way traffic as Trinity College put up a marvellous performance to
seal the game in their favour. In fact they had scored three tries even
before half time and went on to add three more in the second quarter
under extremely difficult whether conditions.
Antonians win sevens title
St. Anthony's College Kandy put up a tremendous performance to win
the Cup championship at the Singer SriLankan Airlines inter school seven
a side tournament worked off at the Nittawela Stadium in Kandy last
week.
The Antonians who have also won the Singer 'B' division league title
went on to beat St. Peter's College by 12 points to 7 points in a
thrilling final. They displayed a great amount of determination
throughout this three day tournament and added the finishing touches in
a spectacular manner.
They looked a very tired outfit no doubt when they reached the final
having battled through some of the top schools teams in their earlier
games. In fact the Antonians were able to create the biggest shock in
the competition when they knocked out the newly crowned 'A' division
champions Kingswood College in the semifinals.
This was a fantastic effort considering the fact that the
Kingswoodians had a superb track record in this tournament and also had
a lot of crowd support at the Stadium. But the Antonians rose to the
occasion with a stunning performance and further underlined their
superiority in the current schools rugby scene.
In the final too they went through some real anxious moments before
turning the game in their favour with a last minute try. The Peterites
although coming second in the Cup championship could be really pleased
with their overall performances. They seem to have done a lot of
training and their preparations were good for this tournament as they
defeated Isipatana College 17- nil in the semifinals.
The Peterites who are placed third in the league points table gave a
good account of themselves in the preliminary round matches while
proving their determination and more importantly the will to win. This
has been their moto throughout the league tournament and finally it was
just a solitary try that separated them from the champions in the Cup
tournament.
Science College win Plate
Science College added more humiliation on Wesley College as they
clinched the Plate championship with a close 19-14 victory in the final.
This was no doubt a great moment for Science College who have failed to
make any impact in the concluded Singer league championship.
But they took this opportunity to prove their talent and potential
while collecting their points from two goals and one try against their
opponents two tries. Science College handled the wet ball quite
effectively and the soggy ground conditions also suited their style of
play.
They were more prepared to keep possession with them unlike some of
the other opponents who decided to find touch by kicking around the
park.
This was a good move by Science College who added pressure on their
opponents with every move they initiated. In the semifinals too Science
College had the credit of overcoming another fancied team Ananda College
by 17 points to seven points.
The entire tournament was filled with a lot of upsets and a similar
incident occurred when Vidyartha College Kandy defeated S. Thomas'
College 12-5 in a preliminary round fixture.
The Thomians had a very poor tournament as they were knocked out from
the tournament having earlier gone down to Science College 3-12. But St.
Anthony's College showed early signs of making their presence felt when
they trashed Ananda College by 60 points to nil and again they routed
Zahira College by 48 points to seven points.
These big victories no doubt were recorded against some of the weak
opponents yet it helped the Antonians to boost their morale and enter
the final round with a great amount of confidence. |