Schools Rugby Review:

Thomians in stunning win over Peterites

Chris Dhambarage

S. Thomas' College have created the first major upset of the current inter school rugby season. Last week they brought down the defending champions St. Peter's College by 22 points to 19 points with a superlative performance on their home grounds at Mount Lavinia.

This was also their second successive victory in the Singer Under 20 Division One Group A league tournament and they also regained the Archibald Perera memorial trophy after a lapse of two years.

This was easily one of their best performances in recent times as they came from behind twice to snatch a thrilling victory from the jaws of defeat. In a game of fluctuating fortunes S. Thomas' College held their nerves and scored a last minute try to seal a memorable victory at the end.

The manner in which they handled the pressure was quite outstanding and their game plan was to keep play with the forwards for long as possible. The only drawback was that they just could not retain the possession and that gave their opponents the chance to settle and launch a fresh attack.

Even then S. Thomas' College were able to cross their opponents goal line on four occasions and that alone was a creditable achievement against a champion outfit. However they succeeded in converting only one try and that turned out to be a crucial factor which the Thomians will be keen to improve in their next outing.

The Peterites would like to forget this game and concentrate on their remaining fixtures of the tournament. They of curse went into this vital game with their heads high following a smashing 49 nil victory against Dharmaraja College Kandy in the previous week.

But this time they were stretched to the maximum as their unbeaten record came to an end despite having made a desperate attempt to pull of the game. They played their hearts out but this was not their day because a couple of crucial mistakes at vital stages of the game prevented them from making any inroads.

Isipatana v Royal

Isipatana College recorded their first win in the current season when they defeated arch rivals Royal College by 17 points to 12 points in their annual encounter played at Longden Place last week.

The lads from Havelock Park also retained the Major Milroy Fernando Memorial Trophy. But more than that Isipatana will be quite satisfied with their effort following their heavy defeat at the hands of Trinity College in the previous week.

This time however they came out with a better game plan and sealed the match in their favour while scoring two goals and a penalty against their opponents one goal and one try.

This confrontation no doubt generated a great amount of interest because the match was not played last year due to a controversial legal battle between the two school authorities.

However all the expectations and the predictions of a rousing battle was dashed as the game turned out to be a scrappy affair from the kick off except for an occasional brilliance from the three quarters. In fact the game progressed at a slow pace with both teams committing a huge amount of mistakes that prevented them from working the backline.

Royal certainly paid the prize for a series of blunders during the latter stages of the game when they were just beginning to dominate the proceedings. The Royal forwards did all the hard work to keep their opponents pinned in their territory but some poor ball handling prevented them from adding the finishing touches.

Isipatana of course struck two vital blows in the first half through their dynamic centre three quarter and skipper Dinesh Chaturanga and speedy winger Wishvamithra Jayasinghe. Royal hit back with a penalty goal and another unconverted try from Chandraratne to reduce the margin to 14-12 at half time.

Trinity v Vidyartha

Trinity College powered their way to score a massive 60 points to nine points victory over their home town rivals Vidyartha College in their Singer inter school under 20 Division One Group A league tournament match worked off at the Nittawela Stadium last week.

The Trinitians fresh after their impressive win over Isipatana College during the previous week in Colombo went on the rampage while scoring as many as ten tries and converting five of them.

The Lions playing their first tournament fixture at home gave a fine exhibition of fast open rugby while completely outplaying their opponents who were in fact promoted to the Premier division this season following a successful campaign last year. The huge Trinity forwards certainly enjoyed the home conditions as they created many scoring opportunities and the three quarters backed up well with seven of their tries been scored in the second half.

Nevertheless Vidyartha College despite the heavy odds against them made a desperate attempt to upset their more fancied opponents while counter attacking and intercepting on a couple of occasions.

However the Trinitians did not panic and struck to their game plan before deciding to open out with a power packed performance that also signalled a warning to the rest of their opponents. Trinity College will have a free week and will take on S. Thomas' College in another vital game on May 17 at Pallekelle.

St. Joseph's v Wesley

St. Joseph's College continued with their impressive record in the current season while overcoming Wesley College by 27 points to 10 points in their Singer inter school under 20 Division One Group B league rugby tournament match worked off at Bambalapitiya last week.

This was also their second successive victory in the tournament following a successful campaign in the Western Province and all island seven a side tournaments worked off recently.

The Josephians proved their dominance by running down as many as five tries but managed to convert only a solitary try which prevented them from pulling off the game by a more convincing margin.

Kingswood v St. Anthony's

Kingswood College Kandy bounced back into recognition with a splendid 19 points to 12 points victory over their home town rivals St. Anthony's College in their Singer inter school under 20 Division One Group A league rugby tournament match worked off at the Nittawela Stadium in Kandy last week.

The Kingswoodians were trailing 3-7 at half time but in a dramatic turn of events they changed the situation of the game while scoring a goal and putting over three superb penalties against their opponents goal and penalty.

The matchwinner for Kingswood College no doubt was their vice captain and scrum half Roshan Weeraratne who contributed all their points in addition to controlling the game that helped them to avenge their last year's defeat.

The Kingswoodians have produced some dynamic place kickers in the recent past with former captain and full back Nalaka Weerakkody been outstanding. Roshan Weeraratne seem to be following in the same path and look set play a major role for his team in the current inter school season.

Ananda v St. Sylvester's

Ananda College survived a fierce late rally before recording a close 37 points to 32 points victory over St. Sylvester's College Kandy in their Singer inter school under 20 Division One Group B league rugby tournament match played at Longden Place.

In a high scoring game the Anandians took a commanding 32-6 lead at half time but came under tremendous pressure during the latter stages of the game following a superb fight back from the Sylvestrians.

In fact the lads from Kandy were just one try away from forcing a draw as they went down fighting after having made a pretty ordinary start to the game. The Anandians made a flying start and ran down as many as five tries during a spectacular 35 minutes of play.