Fifteen royal THOMIANS nearly upset the ROYAL apple cart
Sharm de Alwis
We were ushered through the Main Gate and as we moved to the arena of
combat we took in the manicured lawns and the dignified buildings
structured in keeping with the dictates of intent, purpose and design
but the absence of a single statue in honour of the fine Thomian who was
responsible for producing so many eminent Thomians homed in with stark
perception.
Canon Reginald Stewart de Saram has been, pound for pound, mind and
sinew, about the most illustrious product of the school. The OBA might
well address the issue and launch a fund for which no member needs to
contribute more than a thousand rupees to erect, perhaps at the
entrance, a worthy statue to honour the great man.
And there on the grounds decked handsomely for the occasion and with
the five rupee tender for a seat mustering terms of equality with the
Bradby, fifteen gallant Thomians were to give life and meaning to what
Sasi Ganeshan has told me was Warden de Saram’s inspiring assertion that
“A Thomian is never dead until he is buried.”
The rugby in the first half was decidedly in favour of the Royalists
who kept amassing points at will, rushing like an express train on the
nearby track, pounding the Thomians to make hapless errors.
The lackluster display by the Thomians evoked memories of superior
House matches at Asgiriya before Trinity took possession of Pallakelle
and I had seen in a box of chocolates better centers than the much hyped
four striving their best on the day.
True Grit aka Thomian Grit emerged after the turn-around. That was
when the Thomian forwards performed to their true potential with the
threes spiritedly complementing the good work and with seconds to go for
the long whistle Royal had only the slightly bigger half with 34 points
to 33 before another act of folly left the door ajar for Royal to make
good the offered penalty to win by 37-33 when it had been a near
emulation of the table-turning performance of the school by the sea [the
sea came later] in their cricket Big Match.
The half-time scores saw STC trailing 07-31 after an initial first
ten minutes of fury when STC was drubbed NIL-21.
The final scores were RC 3 goals, 2 tries, 2 penalties and STC 3
goals, 1 penalty goal, 1 try. The try of the match was that of Thomian
full-back, Jeremy Fernando when he dummied and swept past several
defenders to touch down under the posts for an easy conversion.
The Michael Gunaratne trophy which has been in Royal’s trophy
cupboard for the fourth successive year was retained by Royal’s 25th win
in the 47th year of the series. Just as Dilroy Fernando blew a perfect
whistle to demonstrate why he is an IRB rated referee, it was nice to
see Anil Jayasinghe, Pradeep Basnayake and Haris Omar studying the
proceedings whereas the predecessor kept away even when Kingswood played
St. Anthony’s at Bogambara which is Trinity’s backyard.
With them was the one who always keeps back his smiles to check if we
have any to trade with. Mano, of course, was as usual with the face
wreathed in smiles.
The gender divide is closing up and Kirthi Sri Karunaratne may well
shift his venue for fresh and young looks in an array of fashionable
attire.
It took me so long to get home that in terms of fuel and time
consumption I could have done better returning from Kandy.
As a synopsis of the game I give you the views of Haris Omar who
captained his school, the Club and Country:
“As many as 70 points were scored which indicates the level of
options taken by the two teams and this was their first game of the
season. There is great potential for the future. The boys have size and
strength but it was evident that Royal was lacking in fitness to last
the game.
New rules give scope for a lot of opportunities around the scrum. STC
has a talented stand-off and he manoeuvered the game adroitly.
But both sides were weak in rucks. They were moving away from support
and the flow of the game was not maintained.
Today’s game calls for strength and continuity instead of playing in
fits and starts. Open play must be improved upon for continuity of the
line. Territory usage was not good enough. Must explore different areas
with intelligence.
The Royal stand-off is also good and controlled the game in the early
stages but lapsed later. Royal has a good three-quarter line.
The manner in which STC came back means that hope can be put up and
that, basically, when it comes to a game in general, nothing can be
taken for granted.” |