Trinity remain unbeaten defeating Thomians 15-10

Chris Dhambarage

Trinity College Kandy have cleared another huge psychological barrier on their way towards winning the Singer inter school under 20 Division One Group A league title.

Last week at the Bogambara Stadium they produced a scintillating performance to snatch a thrilling 15 points to 10 points victory over S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia.

Their third successive win in the current season had a great amount of significance because they also regained the Canon R. S. de Saram Shield. But more importantly Trinity College kept their unbeaten record intact and could now face this week’s opponents St. Anthony’s College with a great amount of confidence.

Even then their success was in the balance until the final stages of this absorbing contest before centre three quarter Shamrine Sameem dashed through the tired Thomian defence to score the match winning try. The match was heading towards a ten all draw at one stage after Trinity College had struck twice in the second half.

This was certainly a great comeback from the home side who were trailing 0-7 at half time and were somewhat outclassed during the first 35 minutes of play.

However the Trinitians showed a lot of character during a powerful performance in the second half where they did well to snatch a fantastic victory almost from the jaws of defeat. Never before they have been so much under pressure this season and the game turned out to be a real test of skills and nerves for Trinity College.

They had survived a similar situation in Colombo where they overcame some stiff resistance before overcoming Isipatana College by a convincing margin.

But this time the opposition was even much stronger as the Thomians too went in for this high profile encounter with an unbeaten record and having brought down the defending champions St. Peter’s College in their previous encounter. But Trinity College never gave up hope and stuck to their game plan before adding the finishing touches in a spectacular manner.

St. Peter’s v St. Anthony’s

Defending champions St. Peter’s College scored a morale boosting 13 points to 3 points victory over St. Anthony’s College in their Singer inter school under 20 Division One Group A league rugby encounter played at the Nittawela Stadium in Kandy.

The Peterites who will take on Vidyartha College this week produced a disciplined performance and cleared their hurdle while scoring a goal and two penalties. This was also their second successive win in the tournament following their 15-7 triumph against Kingswood College Kandy in the previous week.

No doubt the pressure was on the Peterites because the Antonians were capable of making an impact in front of their home crowd. However the lads from Bambalapitiya stuck to their basics and scored an early try trough the experienced Dilshan Paul with Harsha Weerakkody adding the extra pints and also converting two vital penalties.

Even then the scoreline does not clearly indicate their dominance as the Peterites failed to add the finishing touches on a couple of occasions. This was mainly due to some superb spoiling work and solid defence from the Antonians who went down fighting in another close encounter.

Royal v Dharmaraja

Royal College came out with their best performance for the season to beat Dharmaraja College Kandy by 39 points to 22 points in a high scoring Singer inter school under 20 Division One Group A league rugby encounter worked off at Reid Avenue.

Royal will be satisfied with this effort not only because they scored six tries but they also dominated the proceedings which something they have failed to do so in the previous outings.

But this time they looked more confident and succeeded in penetrating their opponents goal line at regular intervals before winning by a convincing margin at the end.

Royal of course went into this game with the backdrop of some uncertainly because Dharmaraja College had almost beaten S. Thomas’ College in the previous encounter. But the lads from Kandy failed to deliver the same form and struggled to find their touch before making a brief comeback in the second half.

However by that time Royal College had virtually sealed the game in their favour having taken a commanding 25-5 lead mid way in the second half. Nevertheless the Rajans had the satisfaction of scoring three more tries in the latter stages of the game which helped them to earn at least the bonus points.

Kingswood v Vidyartha

Kingswood College made the maximum use of a weak Vidyartha outfit to notch up a massive 67 points to nil victory in their Singer inter school under 20 Division One Group A league rugby match played at the Bogambara Stadium in Kandy.

The Kingswoodians also regained some of their lost prestige following last week’s defeat at the hands of St. Peter’s College while running down a many as eleven tries and converting six of them to complete a rousing victory at the end.

St. Joseph’s v Prince of Wales

St. Joseph’s College cruised to their fourth successive victory while outplaying Prince of Wales College Moratuwa by 37 points to 11 points in their Singer inter school under 20 Division One Group B league rugby match worked off at Longden Place.

The Josephians who are enjoying a fine season this year staged a superb second half rally while scoring one goal and six tries against their opponents one try and two penalties. However St. Joseph’s College were trailing by a solitary point 10-11 at half time but got their act together well in the second half to turn the game in their favour.

Wesley v Ananda

Wesley College came out with a fine performance to beat Ananda College by 25 points to 17 points in their Singer inter school under 20 Division One Group B league tournament match worked off at Longden Place.

The Wesleyites were in a spot of trouble having made an awful start to the game and were trailing 15-17 at half time. But they really made amends with an improved performance in the second half and went on to register their third victory in the current season.

Mahanama v Science College

Mahanama College maintained their impressive record this season while outplaying Science College Mount Lavinia by a convincing margin of 41 points to 12 points in their Singer inter school under 20 Division One Group B league tournament match played at Longden Place.

Mahanama College who are still unbeaten in the tournament got off to a flying start and completed an emphatic victory while collecting their points from three goals and five tries.

The most significant contribution came from their dynamic fly half and play maker Sahan Umagaliya who ran down five splendid tries including a hattrick.