DSS' rugby on the rise

Chris DHAMBARAGE

D. S. Senanayake College with a formidable line up this season are well on course towards achieving their ultimate goal of making it to the Singer inter-school Under 20 Division One League tournament from next year.

They have done all the hard work and are currently placed second in the Segment 'B' points table which will help them to obtain an automatic promotion to the higher division.

They started the season with the main intention of finishing within the first two in the Singer Division One Segment 'B' League tournament and they have performed exactly that having registered a total of eight victories this season. The manner in which they have completed their task has been really outstanding as they have outplayed their opponents with an explosive brand of rugby which they have proved it on more than a couple of occasions.

Their best moment on the field certainly came two weeks ago when they annihilated St. Anne's College, Kurunegala by a record score of 152 points to nil. They went on a rampage while planting as many as 26 tries and converting eleven of them.

Number eight Devin Ariyakumara, Pradeep Tharindu and Senajith Dilshan were the outstanding players in this match as they scored four tries reach. In addition scrum half Rumesh Hasanka and full back Kanishka Saranga scored three tries each.

Skipper Avinka Abeysekera touched down twice while Kapila de Silva, Lakshan Viswajith, Chamoda Perera and Vidura Herath scored one try each. Pradeep Tharindu was in good form while adding the extra points to nine tries while Kanishka Saranga converted two tries.

Apart from this huge victory D.S. Senanayake College also had the better of C. W. W. Kannangara MMV Borella (63-3), Zahira College (47-10) and Prince of Wales College Moratuwa (43-10) by convincing margins. Their only setback this season was when they went down to the current table leaders Vidyartha College Kandy 12-40 in their opening match of the tournament in Kandy.

This was a bitter experience for D. S. Senanayake College who also faced the humiliation of four of their key players being yellow carded following a tense battle for supremacy.

As a result two or three of their players were always missing from the line up which made things even more difficult for them. Nevertheless they took up the challenge and have bounced back in style to make amends in their next few outings. In another close game they had to survive few anxious moments before overcoming Mahanama College 12-10 and went on to beat Lumbini MV 15-7 in their next fixture.

D. S. Senanayake College continued with their excellent form this season and last week they produced another splendid performance to beat St. Sylvester's College, Kandy by 20 points to 12 points at Longden Place. They have now reached the climax of the league tournament with just three more games ahead of them before they could celebrate their elevation into the Singer Division One League tournament for the 2012 season.

This is a tremendous achievement and a historic moment considering the fact that it was way back in 1999 that they last made their presence felt in the Division One League tournament. Since then they have struggled and laboured for many years without much success and finally they have come good with a fantastic performance where they are well set to emerge runners up in the Segment 'B' tournament.

The D. S. Senanayake College First XV rugby pool for 2011 season:

Prop forwards: Vidura Herath, Senadhi Navaratne, Mohamed Irshad, A. N. Maulana, A. Arnolds

Hooker: Lakshan Viswajith, S. T. Navagamuwa

Second row forwards: Senadhi Dilshan, Devinda Suriyabandara, L. K. K. de Silva, Heshan Malinga

Flankers: Kapila Kenneth, Lahiru Rajaratne, D. E. Tennekoon, Rashmika Sashi, Pashan Shaluka (vice captain)

Number eight: Devin Ariyakumara, L. K.C. Perera

Scrum half: Rumesh Hasantha, K. D. Shanaka

Fly half: Vishwa Yahampath, R. H. de Silva

Centres: Avinka Abeysekera (captain), Praneeth Tharindu, P. P.T. Lakmal, G. M. Abeysekera

Wingers: Sachintha Abeysekera, Ishara Ranasinghe (vice captain), Rashmika Sashi, M. D. Gayan, J. N. Jayawardena

Full back: Kanishka Saranga, M. S. S. Perera

Coach: A. C. Tennekoon

Trainer: Chandana Tillekeratne

Master in Charge: Sanath Illepperuma

Principal: D. M. Dissanayake