St Peter's held the key to rugby sevens heaven

Chris DHAMBARAGE

They came, they saw and they conquered. That in essence symbolizes the success story of the St. Peter's College seven-a-side rugby team.

Last week the lads from Bambalapitiya added another feather to their cap by winning the Cup Championship in the inaugural Carlton International seven- a-side rugby tournament organized by the 'Tharunyata Hetak' and worked off at the Sugathadasa Stadium.

Even then their success had a great amount of significance because the Peterites were able to clinch a major sevens title after a lapse of five years. They have of course been in the forefront of schools rugby for many years but have struggled to be consistent.

This was something that was really worrying the Peterites who had even experienced mixed fortunes in the recently concluded inter-schools league tournament. A first round exit from the knock out tournament added more concern to their talent and potential.

But it was quite clear that the side had plenty of individual brilliance and it was their inability to perform as a team that had really brought them down in the recent past.

Nevertheless they had the unique honour of winning the President's Trophy title for three successive years from 2006 to 2008. With the departure of some of their more senior players from the squad, St. Peter's College had a tough season this year where they had to battle hard at least to be among the top ten in the league.

They eventually survived to fight another day while reminding their opponents that they would bounce back with a vengeance very shortly. The Carlton sevens tournament was the perfect setting for the Peterites to display their prowess and redeem some of their lost prestige.

The preparations were little bit different because the coaching staff comprizing Sanath Martis and Colin Denesh felt that the players need to be mentally strong to overcome the challenges in this form of game.

Along with their newly appointed trainer Ransilu Jayatilleke they got their act together for nearly one month while concentrating on the basics and finer points of sevens rugby in a more professional manner.

In fact their coaching went beyond the playing fields and a series of videos specialized on sevens rugby certainly had a huge impact on the players in building a formidable combination.

This was in addition to a couple of friendly encounters with their oldboys team who had always supported the College team in all aspects of the game. But more importantly they were able to motivate the players ahead of this vital tournament which was something lacking in the concluded season.

The manner in which they went about their task was really outstanding as they made a clean sweep to emerge worthy champions.

The excellent performance of this tournament would also mean that St. Peters College will start their next season on a more confident manner.

This was another reason for their participation in this event as they were determined to make amends for their earlier setbacks and build up confidence for the future. The other major impact is that all these players will be available for the 2010 inter-school rugby season which is a plus point.

Even then the Peterites launched their campaign for the schools title as the underdogs after they had been included in the bottom half along with Carey College and Prince of Wales College.

The reigning league champions Royal College with a load of experience behind them and Isipatana College with their natural fluency in sevens rugby were considered as the pre tournament favourites to enter the final.

However St. Peters College despite the odds against them had the final laugh while overcoming both these opponents on their way towards winning the title. The feature of their performances in this whole tournament was that they were able to snatch an early lead and pressurize the opposition to a great extent.

This was one of the tactics that this Peterite team executed to perfection and as a result many teams fell apart rather tamely.

This was quite clear both in the semifinals as well as in the final where Isipatana and Royal succumbed under pressure.

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The St. Peter's sevens rugby squad:

Dilshan Paul (captain), Shenal Dias, Lakith Perera, Banuka Nanayakkara, Irafath Meedin, Danushka Ranjan, Sandun Herath, Srinath Perera, Anisha Fernando, Shan Weerakkody, Asitha Ratnayake, Keeth Gurusinghe, Sanath Martis (coach), Colin Denish (assistant coach), Ransilu Jayatilleke (trainer), Sunil Aponso (master in charge).

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How they fared (preliminary round):

Beat Carey College 48 nil

Beat Prince of Wales College 21 nil

Quarterfinal:

Beat St. Anne's College 36-7

Semifinals:

Beat Isipatana College 17-12

Final:

Beat Royal College 17-14

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