Schools Rugby Review:

Royal in sensational win over Petes

Chris Dhambarage

Royal College received a tremendous boost ahead of the important Bradby Shield encounter when they brought down the high riding St. Peter's College outfit by 17 points to 12 points in a key Singer inter school under 20 Division One Group A league rugby tournament match worked off at the Royal Sports Complex grounds in Reid Avenue.

Despite going in as the underdogs Royal completely surprised their more fancied opponents with a superlative performance that has also helped them to climb into the fifth place in the latest points table.

This is a fantastic effort from Royal considering the fact that at one stage they were almost down and out after having lost their two opening matches of the tournament against Kingswood College and Isipatana College respectively.

But since then they have made steady progress and have looked a completely different outfit during their last couple of outings. The most significant fact is that they have touched the peak form at the correct time of the season with the first leg of the annual Bradby Shield game around the corner.

Their success over the Peterites was even more significant because they were playing minus their play maker and Sri Lanka Youth player Bilal Hassen who was nursing an injury. But the return of their experienced fly half Naren Dhasan certainly made a huge impact on the side as he controlled the game with his clever passes and booming kicks.

Even then it was the Royal forwards which did the damage with a superb combined effort that put a lot of pressure on their opponents from the kick off. It was quite clear that the Royal pack were more superior in both line outs and the set pieces where they almost held their own while scoring three splendid tries.

The only major concern for Royal of course was the absence of a reliable place kicker where Duminda Attygalle fumbled with two easy conversions and also missed a couple of crucial penalties that prevented them from winning the match by a bigger margin.

Kingswood v Isipatana

Kingswood College Kandy kept their hopes alive of regaining the league title while overcoming the formidable Isipatana College team by six points to three points in a thrilling Singer inter school under 20 Division One Group A rugby tournament match played at Havelock Park.

This was another fine performance from the Kingswoodians who held their nerves under tremendous pressure to pull off the game with the help of two crucial penalties against their opponents solitary penalty.

With two more games still in hand Kingswood College could now be considered as one of the top contenders for the title with all their key players striking form at the correct time. They of course went into this clash under tremendous pressure and were in a must win situation following their only defeat against St. Peter's College.

In contrast Isipatana College had nothing to lose because they were virtually out of the running for the league title following their second defeat in the current season at the hands of S. Thomas' College at Mount Lavinia in the previous week.

However this was a great chance for them to salvage some of their pride and to redeem some of their lost prestige with an improved performance. But instead they made a complete mess of the situation and looked a dejected outfit with several chances going astray.

In fact Isipatana could have even forced a honourable draw at the end had their captain and centre Dinusha Chaturanga converted their last minute penalty which was from kicking range. But the luck seem to be not with Isipatana this season because in the previous outing too Chaturanga missed a vital conversion that dearly cost them the match against S. Thomas' College Mount Lavinia.

Trinity v Dharmaraja

Trinity College also made their final preparations ahead of the Bradby Shield encounter with a hard fought 25 points to 14 points victory over their home town rivals Dharmaraja College and played at the Pallekelle Stadium in Kandy.

The Trinitians no doubt will be somewhat disappointed that they could not win the match more convincingly and will also be worried because they were able to score just two tries more than their opponents at the end.

This was mainly due to the spirited effort put up by the Rajans who have always looked a competitive side despite being placed at a low position in the league standings. In fact they even took a close 7-5 lead at one stage which was a clear sign of their capabilities.

Dharmaraja College of course could not sustain their position but still they can be quite satisfied with another pleasing performance. They caused a great amount of concern to their opponents and were always in the game before winger Wishwajith Wijesinghe scored his third try for Trinity to put the issue beyond doubt.

S. Thomas v Vidyartha

S. Thomas' College cruised to a comfortable 64 points to nil victory over Vidyartha College Kandy in another Singer inter school under 20 Division One Group A league rugby tournament match worked off at Mount Lavinia.

The Thomians after a series of close encounters had their own this time as they planted as many as 12 tries to register one of the biggest victories in the current inter school rugby season.

This performance was really encouraging for S. Thomas> College who have been able to maintain their consistency and to remain among the top five in the league tournament.

St. Joseph's v Lumbini MV

The table leaders St. Joseph>s College moved closer towards winning the Singer Division One Group B league title while completely outplaying Lumbini MV by a huge 82 points to nil in another inter school under 20 rugby tournament match worked off at Longden Place.

The Josephians who are enjoying a splendid season also cruised to their seventh successive victory while collecting their points from six goals and eight tries after having led 41 nil at half time in a completely one sided encounter.

Another significant fact was that St. Joseph>s College completed 50 tries in the tournament during this match and now they are just two penalties away from topping the three hundred point mark having conceded only 34 points to their opponents.

Dynamic wing three quarter Sachintha Maduranga led the try feast while crossing their opponents goal line on as many as eight occasions during a dazzling performance. In the process he also had the honour of completing a hattrick of tries for the second time in the current inter school season.

Maduranga with a total of 20 tries to his credit will no doubt make an attempt to overcome the previous record of 33 tries set by Rinaz Mohamed of St. Peter's College during the 2002 inter school rugby season.

Former Sri Lanka captain Hisham Abdeen (25 tries) and Hamesh Gunaratne (28 tries) are two other outstanding players who were able to leave a lasting memory with their individual brilliance on the field while representing Isipatana College.

Mahanama v Wesley

Mahanama College continued with their impressive run this season while overcoming the more fancied Wesley College team by 14 points to 5 points in their Singer inter school under 20 Division One Group B league rugby tournament match played at Longden Place.

After a scoreless first half Mahanama College opened out the game during the second quarter and collected their points from two goals against their opponents solitary try.

Their success of course was in the balance until the last few minutes of the game with the Wesleyites taking the initiative through a superb try mid way in the second half.

But Mahanama regrouped from there onwards and went on to score two spectacular tries that sealed the game in their favour.