Trinity win in injury time

Chris Dhambarage

Trinity College survived their biggest challenge this season as they just managed to keep their unbeaten record intact with a thrilling 25-24 victory over home town rivals St. Anthony's College in a key Singer inter school under 20 Division One Group A league tournament match worked off at the Nittawela Stadium last week.

The table leaders were heading towards their first defeat in the tournament before part time place kicker and prop forward Mohamed Riyazie fired across a crucial penalty during injury time to snatch a memorable victory from the jaws of defeat.

The Trinitians seem to have made it a habit to turn things around in their favour with their last minute efforts. In the previous outing too Trinity College produced a last minute try through centre three quarter Shamrine Sameen to beat S. Thomas' College Mount Lavinia 15-10 at the Bogambara Stadium.

This time it was their prop forward Mohamed Riyazie who emerged as the match winner having reserved his best for a last moment penalty. Until then St. Anthony's College were well in control of the situation and were well set to register a historic victory.

The Antonians certainly surprised their more fancied opponents with a determined performance where Imad Riyal was simply outstanding putting over four penalties in addition to one conversion. Despite having the odds heavily against them the lads from Katugastota played their hearts out to dish out some fantastic rugby before going down fighting.

Kingswood v S. Thomas'

Kingswood College put up a magnificent performance to beat S. Thomas' College by 29 points to 7 points in another Division One Group A league tournament fixture played at Mount Lavinia last week.

The former league champions playing a well organized game completely outclassed their opponents and stamped their class by scoring twice during each half.

Kingswood of course went into this important game with their heads high having notched up the second biggest victory in the current season where they routed home town rivals Vidyartha College by a massive margin of 67 points to nil last week.

They were able to carry on with that same form despite performing away from home and cruised to their fourth victory in the tournament. Even then the manner in which they completed their task was quite outstanding because they never let their opponents settle down and conceded only a solitary try.However by that time Kingswood College had virtually sealed the game in their favour having built up a commanding 15 nil lead at half time.

St. Peter's v Vidyartha

Defending champions St Peter's College produced a superlative performance to beat Vidyartha College by a massive 77 points to 3 points in their Division One Group A league tournament match played at the Nittawela Stadium in Kandy.

The Peterites also established a new season record while registering the biggest victory in the tournament overcoming the previous best of 67 points to nil by Kingswood College against the same opposition two week's ago.

This was easily the best performance from St. Peter's College who played like a true champion side while running down a dozen of tries and successfully converted seven of them.

They were of course restricted to a certain extent in the first half where they managed to take a 17-3 lead.

However the flood gates were opened in the second half as the Peterites piled up a further 60 points with 45 of those points coming in the last 20 minutes of play. This was a tremendous effort considering the fact that most of their tries were initiated from their own territory.

Isipatana v Dharmaraja

Isipatana College coming out after a well earned rest produced another powerful performance to beat Dharmaraja College Kandy by 26 points to nil in their Division One Group A league tournament match played at the Bogambara Stadium in Kandy.

Isipatana who are also in contention for the league title kept their goal line checked and touched down on four occasions while converting three of their tries. This was a creditable achievement considering the fact that Dharmaraja College had scored at least two tries each against S. Thomas' College and Royal College respectively.

But this time Isipatana College were able to put up a solid defence despite going through some anxious moments during the initial stages of the game. The lads from Havelock Park settled down beautifully with a combined effort and cruised to their third successive victory in the tournament.

Prince of Wales v Ananda

Prince of Wales College Moratuwa produced a stunning performance to overcome Ananda College by 24 points to 11 points in their Division One Group B league tournament match worked off at Longden Place.

The Cambrians despite having taken up the game recently showed a lot of maturity in their approach and gave their more senior opponents a real taste of their own medicine. The manner in which they handled the pressure was quite outstanding as they reserved their best for the latter stages of the game where they completely dominated by running down four superb tries.

Prince of Wales of course went into this game with the odds heavily against them and having notched up just a solitary win from their previous three outings. This time they proved that they are capable of staging an upset and have also signalled a warning to the rest of the opponents competing in the tournament.

Ananda College were never in the game and looked completely off colour from the moment they conceded an early try to their opponents.

In the previous game they gave a good account of themselves before going down fighting to Wesley College at the same venue.

Wesley v Lumbini MV

Wesley College produced their best effort for the current season as they routed Lumbini MV by a huge margin of 55 points to 5 points in another Division One Group B league tournament match played at Havelock Park. The Wesleyites after a shaky start to the game cut loose in the second half and had their own way while running down as many as nine tries and succeeded in converting five of them.

They managed to take a close 10-5 lead at half time but soon recovered well and came into their own in the second half.

This victory would also provide Wesley College with a great amount of confidence for the rest of the season as they look to narrow the margin with the table leaders St. Joseph's College.

Thurstan v Science College

Thurstan College came out with an improved performance to register a convincing 42 points to nil victory over Science College in their Division One Group B league tournament match played at Longden Place.

The Thurstanites who had just a solitary win to their credit before this outing enjoyed playing against a weak opposition where they touched down on six occasions while converting three of their tries.

St. Joseph's v St. Sylvester's

Meanwhile St. Joseph's College further consolidated their position while defeating St. Sylvester's College Kandy by 56 points to nil and record their fifth successive victory in the Singer Division One Group B league tournament.

The Josephians are now well on their way towards winning the league title having built up a clear lead over their closets rivals Mahanama College and Wesley College. The lads from Darley Road dished out another fine performance as they went on the rampage while planting as many as ten tries and converted three of them.

St. Joseph's College have now scored a total of 33 tries and have accumulated a massive 177 points from their five outings.

The best individual effort came from their wing three quarter Sachintha Maduranga who was responsible for five superb tries.