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Fifteen royal THOMIANS nearly upset the ROYAL apple cart

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.”

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