Royal face tough task against Science

Defending champions Royal College, Colombo will face the tough task of overcoming Science College, Mount Lavinia in their Singer Segment One rugby match at Science College ground, Mount Lavinia today.

Science College went down fighting to Trinity College 19-25 in their first outing and then went through several anxious moments before overcoming D.S. Senanayake in a water-logged ground at Diyagama by 8-5 and should give the Royalists a run for their money today.

The strong point of the Mount Lavinia school are their three-quarters who are bound to give another fine display today.

They have an experienced halves combination of Prasad Malinda and Chathura Gomes while the seasoned duo of Richard Dharmapala and Isuru Viraj are capable of tearing apart the Royal defence while on the wings they will have the services of that powerful runner Ashan Maduranga.

Royal come out for the third time this season having beaten D.S. Senanayake (45-5) and Vidyartha (38-29) and will field an experienced side.

They too have a seasoned halves combination in Ravishan Dassanayake and Arshad Jamaldeen while newcomer Devin de Silva will play beside the experienced Damien Ratwatte, a hard runner and solid tackler who scored two fine tries against Vidyartha. On the wings that daring runner Ijaz Bohoran and young Nimshan Jayawardana will pose a threat to Science.

Royal - Iroshan de Alwis, Lahiru Pavithra, Kaveen Perera, Shuaib Muthaliph, Ashan Bandara, Andrew Siriwardena, Yasun Weerasuriya, Madusha Kularatne, Ravishan Dassanayake and Arshad Jamaldeen (Captain), Ijaz Bohoran, Damian Ratwatte, Devin de Silva, Nimshan Jayawardana, Rimzi Jamaldeen.

Science - Kavindu Lochana, Manoj Deshapriya, Chethiya Saumyakkara, Salitha Dushan, Mohamed Aslam, Thilina Thilanka, Lasindu Ishan, Kanchana Perera (Captain), Prasad Malinda and Chathura Gomes, Ashan Maduranga, Richard Dharmapala, Isuru Viraj, Thusitha Gomes, Prince Chamara.