Joe-Pete clash for Fr. Wiratunga Shield

Thushan JAYASURIYA

St.Joseph's College will meet their traditional rival St.Peter's College in their 42nd annual rugby encounter for the Rev Fr.Basil Wirathunga shield which is going to take place at 4.00PM at Bambalapitiya today.

St.Peter's College will be the host for the event this time.And they were the champions last year after beating Joes by 23-17 in a thrilling encounter played at Royal Sports Complex.

This year both sides are studded with experienced and talented players this time. St.Peter's came up with mammoth victory against Kingswood College(69-5) this season. This year the Peterites will be led by Dhanushka Ranjan, who occupys as a centre.Dilanka Perera is the other player who will be eyeing for the same position.

The dynamic fly half Dulaj Perera has been able to work as a major force in the team will be the Vice Captain of the side.Both Dhanushka and Dulaj will be supported by equally talented wingers including Bhanuka Peiris and Praveen De Silva.They will definitely support the Peterites side very often.

The Josephian's on the other hand will be captained by fourth year coloursman Yohan Keyser.Goshen Jackson will support him in the prop forwards.Reyan Fernando will occupy the hookers berth.Battle hardened Thariq Saleh and Suchintha Udumalagala will be the lock forwards of the side.Fast breaking flankers Shehan Bopearachchi and Chirath Peiris will be able to add some plenty of variety to Joes side. Shamilka Kurumbalapitiya and Rehan Thiyagarajah, the halves combination of the side, will supported by fast moving wingers Vishmitha Peiris and Kasun Sameera.The last line of defence will be manned by Janith Chanaka

This match will be good opportunity to both sides to prove their ablities and to identify their weak points.The biggest victory for Petes was in 2007 under scrumhalf Ranuka Jayasinghe who thrashed the Josephians with a record score of 101 to 05.

The history of the Joe-Pete Rugby encounter goes back to 1955. The inaugural match won by St.Peter's College.Josephians were able to taste their first victory in 1958 under the captaincy of C.I.Rajaratnam.

The biggest Josephian victory was recorded way back in 1999 under Laksitha Guneratne where the Josephians defeated the Petes by 27 points to 03. Incidentally this was the last occasion where the Josephians annexed this silverware and since then the Peterites have been dominant for the last 12 years.

The Teams :

St.Joseph's : Yohan Keyser(Captain), Goshen Jackson, Reyan Fernando, Thariq Salih, Suchintha Udumalagala, Shehan Bopearachchi, Chirath Peiris, Jason Melder(Vice Captain), Shamilka Kurumbalapitiya, Rehan Thiyagarajah, Vishmitha Peiris, Kasun Sameera, Hasuru Gunawardena, Dinesh De Silva, Janith Chanaka, Sunanda Fernando(Coach), Prashantha Ranaweera(M.I.C.)

St.Peter's : Johanne Rodrigo,Shiran Abeysekara, Hasindu Fernando,Shenal Abeysekara, Saranga Dulan, Niraj Gunasinghe, Malith Makage, Ravindu Indrakumara, Anuradha Herath, Ruchira Kumara, Dulaj Perera.Dhanushka Ranjan(Captain), Dilanka Perera, Bhanuka Peiris, Praveen De Silva, Kevin Dickson, Colin Dinesh(Coach), Sunil Aponso(M.I.C.).