Isipatana have the edge over Royal

Chris DHAMBARAGE

Isipatana College will be hoping to retain the Milroy Fernando Trophy for the second successive year when they take on arch rivals Royal College in their annual inter school under 19 rugby tournament fixture at the Royal Sports Complex today.

Both teams have maintained an unbeaten record so far and are also strong contenders to win the Singer ‘A’ division league championship. Even then Isipatana have looked quite impressive in their two outings while Royal have experienced some tough moments in their two games.

As a result Isipatana will start favourites to pull off this game following their back to back victories against St Anthony’s (31-7) and Dharmaraja (37-15) respectively. They have already planted eleven tries and have conceded only two tries to their opponents.

In contrast Royal have really struggled to find their rhythm and had two very close games before they scraped through by a narrow margin against Wesley (33-32) and St Joseph’s (38-31).

Royal will need to come out with an improved performance as their defence has looked quite vulnerable in both outings and they also lacked fitness. In fact they conceded more tries to their opponents in the clash against St Joseph’s.

On both occasions they were rescued by the reliable place kicker Arshad Jamaldeen who has been easily their most outstanding player in the current season.

The dynamic fly half has lived upto expectations and will be looking forward towards further underlining his reputation as one of the top place kickers in the current rugby season.

Jamaldeen has already stamped his class having contributed a total of 36 points to his team in the form of seven penalties, one drop goal and six conversions. Isipatana’s strength has been their speedy three quarters where skipper Prasad Devinda has led the way through some fantastic performances. Isipatana also won last year’s encounter by a convincing margin of 27-5.

The teams:

Royal: Aadil Jabbar, Yasin Yousuf, Iroshan de Alwis, Lahiru Pavithra, Wasim Bawar, Madusha Kularatne, Andrew Siriwardena, Shehan Pathirana (captain), Dileepa Jayatilleke and Arshad Jamaldeen, Ijaz Bohoran Damien Ratwatte, Tharaka Wijesuriya, Azman Khan, Rimzi Jamaldeen.

Isipatana: Nipuna Devinda, Thusitha Yasoda, Manaka Yadala, Gandu Weerasinghe, Arun Kumar, Kumendra Dharmadasa, Sajith Suaib, Prasad Madushanka, Kavindu Costa and Hirantha Perera, Prasad Devinda (captain), Shamal Chaturanga, Shinal Dias, Nicalanka Pramoda, Shanaka Kumara.