That Trinity- Peterite game in 1973:

When Hubert's penalty hit the cross bar and deprived Peterites of a historic win

Ravi LADDUWAHETTY

With the much awaited Trinity- St. Peters rugby encounter billed for today, connoisseurs of inter schools rugby football will undoubtedly reminisce the Trinity- Peterite encounter in 1973 and legendary Peterite, Havies and Sri Lanka fly half Frank Hubert.

St. Peters' with their last victory over Trinity in 1941 under Chandrasena was yet to beat Trinity in the post World War II era.

The date was Saturday, July 15, 1973. The venue was the St. Peter's College grounds, Bambalapitiya. With two minutes to go for Referee Bentley Barsenbach's long whistle, Trinity was ahead by a wafer- thin lead of 10 points (a goal and a try with a try at four points then) to 9 ( a goal and a penalty). The Peterites got a penalty kick on the twenty five yard line. Frank Hubert kicks in the right direction but, lacked the required height. Lo and behold! The oval ball hit the cross bar and bounced back into the playing area.

The penalty kick, which would have brought ecstasy, produced agony for St. Peters, as the soaring ball dipped and hit the cross bar to rob them of a epoch making victory over Trinity in the post war era.

The rider to this game was that Trinity was without eight of their regulars-the vital pivotal halves combination of scrum half Hanzil Samad ( later Havies and Sri Lanka and widely acknowledged as the best scrum half at the 1974 Colombo Rugby Asiad in which Sri Lanka became finalists losing to Japan 6-44), and fly half Jayantha Ratwatte, 1972 Combined Schools Prop Forward and 1973 Vice Captain S.B. Herath along with Centre Three quarter Ananda Pathiratne, Lock Forward Michael Schoorman, Prop Devaka Wickremasuriya, Wing Three quarter Wimal Bandaranayake ( one of the most outstanding schoolboy back division rugby players of all time and who sidestepped and wind sprinted like a panther) and Fullback Rohan Munaweera. Earlier, the Peterite tackling had been below standards and they let the Trinitians slip through on a number of occasions. The Peterites tackled too high and though the Trinitians held for the moment, managed to push their way through.

The game, though not of a high standard, whipped up interest, especially in the second half, with the Trinitians applying high pressure. The Peterites took a 9-0 lead at half time. Frank Hubert, put over a penalty in the 25th minute from thirty yards out and Prop Noel Vanlangenberg dived over off a three quarter move to score and Hubert converted again. Trinity with plenty of luck and without three more of their regular players, was inadequate in its attack in the first half when the Peterites gained possession.

The Peterites were riding high but it was the careless tackling that cost them the match. Probably lulled into complacency and a false sense of security, with their halftime lead, their approach became shoddy

Early in the second half, the Trinity three quarters slipped into action and winger Chris Jenkins, the replacement for regular winger WLA (Wimal) Bandaranayake, got past Peterite winger Ralston Jayasekera, whose tackle around Jenkins's collar could not stop the try.

This was not the tonic for the Trinitians, who kept up the pressure and off another good move, Jenkins scored again and Trinity skipper, No. 8 forward and the only Rugby Lion of that year- Jeffery Yu made a fine conversion. After the Peterites failed to score off a five yard scrum far left, they missed their elusive target - victory against Trinity with Hubert fluffing the all important penalty two minutes from time, which ensured that the 32- year old jinx remained.

Finally it took a further 12 years for the Peterites to break the hoodoo when under Rajith Abeygunawardena the Peterites overcame hooker and Rugby Lion Manoj Jayatissa's Trinitians by 8-0 at Longden Place helped by two fine tries by scrum half Rovern Gunasekera and winger Crofton Joseph after a powerful 35 metre run down the right flank.