Petes - Thomians in vital clash

Chris DHAMBARAGE

RUGBY: A rousing game of rugby is on the cards when two top teams St. Peter’s College and S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia battle it out for the Archibald Perera memorial trophy in their annual inter school rugby encounter at Bambalapitiya today.

The kick off is at 4.30 p.m. Both teams have made a good start to the new inter school rugby season and have already made their intentions quite clear.

The Peterites humiliated St. Anthony’s College Kandy by 33 points to three points last week in their opening fixture and look set to retain the Singer ‘A’ division league title for the second successive year.

The Thomians looked equally brilliant in their opening encounter last week as they defeated Trinity College Kandy by 19 points to 15 points to regain the Canon R. S. de Saram Shield after a lapse of three years.

They seem to have found the right combination with the inclusion of some new talent as they begin to redeem some of their lost prestige.

In fact the Thomians did not enjoy a successful season last year as they were placed fifth in the final points table having notched up just two victories.

In contrast St. Peter’s College had a memorable season as they went on to clinch the Singer ‘A’ division league title after a lapse of ten years.

This year too they have shown early promise and will be determined to produce a repeat performance. However the pressure will be on the Thomians who will be up against another tough opposition for the second successive week.

Last year of course the Thomians experienced mixed fortunes and also suffered a crushing 8-28 defeat at the hands of the Peterites. They made a very promising start to the season by overcoming Zahira College by 33 points to 13 points.

The Thomians after going down to Trinity College (0-12) had the better of Ananda College but failed to maintain the same momentum and lost badly against Kingswood College (12-46) and St. Anthony’s College (17-34) respectively.

The only consolation for them was at least they concluded the season last year on a winning note defeating Thurstan College by 34 points to nil.

The Peterites too made a poor start to the season last year where they were beaten 6-13 at the hands of Royal College. But they picked up their form from there onwards and went on to beat Nalanda College (44-0), Wesley College (19-8), Thurstan College (56-7) and Ananda College (74-3).

The Peterites of course suffered a minor setback when they went down to Kingswood College Kandy by 26 points to 15 points but recovered magnificently to score a thrilling 11-10 victory against St. Anthony’s College in the ultimate match which decided the Singer ‘A’ division league title.

Isipatana v Wesley

Meanwhile Isipatana College will confront Wesley College in another Singer ‘A’ division league rugby tournament match at Havelock Park today. Kick off is at 4.30 p.m.

Isipatana College will be hoping that the weather will keep fine for this important fixture because their previous outing against Kingswood College had to be abandoned after less than fifteen minutes of play due to heavy rain in Kandy.

Isipatana were the runners up in the Singer ‘B’ division league tournament last year and will be determined to maintain their supremacy in the schools rugby scene.

The Wesleyites of course will be hoping for an improved performance having gone down to Royal College 12-35 in their opening match last week.

Isipatana College had a fantastic season last year where they recorded five superb victories against St. Anthony’s College (22-8), Science College (73-0), Vidyartha College Kandy (43-0), Dharmaraja College Kandy (29-0) and Royal College (22-7). Their only setback was the 13-17 defeat at the hands of arch rivals Trinity College Kandy.