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.