Schools Rugby Review
Unbeaten Peterites register their fourth successive win
Chris Dhambarage
RUGBY: St. Peter's College have done it again. This time in a more
spectacular manner. They have recorded their fourth successive victory
in the current inter school season.
Last week on their home grounds at Bambalapitiya the reigning 'A'
division league champions put up another marvellous performance to
overcome Trinity College Kandy by a convincing margin of 24 points to
three points.
The Peterites also kept their unbeaten record in tact and seem to be
well on their way to retain the Singer 'A' division league title for the
second successive year. The manner in which they completed their task
was quite outstanding as they completely outclassed their opponents by
running down three superb tries.
St. Peter's also had their goal line uncrossed for the second
successive week while conceding just a solitary drop goal to their
opponents. The Trinitians of course made a promising start to the game
and kept their hopes alive to a certain extent until the end of the
first half.
However the Peterites launched a fresh assault after the interval
which turned out to be a quite a successful one as they added two more
tries through prop forward Arjuna Bopitiya and number eight Haren
Ariyawardena.
Another bonus for the Peterites in this game was the excellent place
kicking of their fly half Irfath Meedin who converted all three tries in
addition to putting over a penalty in the first half.
Kingswood v Royal
Kingswood College staged a magnificent late rally to beat the
unbeaten Royal outfit by 29 points to 12 points in their Singer inter
school 'A' division league rugby tournament match played at the Royal
Sports Complex in Independence Avenue last week.
Kingswood's success was even more significant considering the fact
that they were trailing almost until the last fifteen minutes of the
game. But in a breathtaking performance the lads from Kandy came back
roaring to score three superb tries and turn the game in their favour.
The Kingswoodians were under tremendous pressure after Royal had
taken the initiative by scoring twice which gave them a close 12-10 lead
at half time. But in a dramatic turn of events they got their act
together well at the correct time and powered their way to register
their second successive victory in the tournament.
S. Thomas' v Kingswood
Kingswood College bounced back into recognition with a smashing 48
points to seven points victory over S. Thomas' College Mount Lavinia in
their Singer inter school 'A' division league rugby tournament match
worked off at the Bogambara Stadium last week.
This was an important outing for the Kingswoodians because their
reputation was in danger after having lost their opening fixture to
Isipatana College in a match which was not completed due to bad weather.
But this time they really made amends and were absolutely in control
of the situation while collecting their points from four goals and four
tries. The former 'A' division champions displayed their true potential
with a powerful performance and also proved that they are one of the top
contenders for the league title.
Kingswood College completely rattled the Thomians while touching down
at regular intervals with their forwards and the three quarters
combining more effectively. The match winner for the Kingswoodians
undoubtedly was their scrum half Roshan Weeraratne who scored four tries
and also converted four of them in contributing a total of 28 points.
Wesley v Ananda
Wesley College pulled off an exciting 15 points to 12 points win over
Ananda College in their Singer inter school 'A' division league rugby
tournament match worked off at Longden Place last week.
The Wesleyites who led 10-7 at half time went through some real
anxious moments as they edged out their opponents while collecting their
points from one goal, one try and one penalty. Even then it would have
given great satisfaction for the Wesleyites who tasted success for the
first time this season after three unsuccessful attempts.
Wesley could consider themselves rather unfortunate because they were
up against three top teams in their opening outings. This time of course
they were facing a weak opposition but were forced to put up a gallant
performance to snatch a thrilling victory at the end.
The Anandians seem to be improving well after having suffered two
heavy defeats at the beginning of the season. Last week they restricted
the powerful Royal outfit to a certain extent and this time they almost
performed the near impossibility with a mere penalty separating the two
teams at the end.
Isipatana v Thurstan
Isipatana College powered their way to score an emphatic 18 points to
three points victory over their traditional rivals Thurstan College in
their Singer inter school 'A' division league tournament fixture played
at Longden Place last week.
Isipatana simply underlined their superiority by collecting their
points from one goal, one try and two penalties while conceding just a
solitary penalty to their opponents. In addition Isipatana College also
had the satisfaction of retaining the Abdul Jabbar Shield for another
year.
Even then Isipatana will be somewhat disappointed that they could not
pile up a big score against a weak opposition as they were completely
restricted during the entire second half.
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