Minnows taking the driving seat
View(s):Dharmaraja proved this week that their draw against Trinity was no lucky break. The 2012 ‘B’ division champs had the defending league champions Pathana back-peddling in the first 10 minutes, taking a commanding 10-0 lead. They piled the pressure to lead 27- 3 at the end of the first half. The Rajans were determined in defense in the second half and that kept them ahead of their opponents. Pathana failed to capitalize in the second half when they were in an advantageous position, squandering their chances with some erratic handling and incorrect decisions. The final score was a comfortable win for the Rajans by 35 points to 8.
They are making a strong challenge to finish first in the schools league. However, they have been at the receiving end of a couple of yellow cards and have been admonished a few times, occurrences that have to be avoided if they hope to stay on top. They have the ability to have a go at the title without getting on the bad side of the law.
Even the match referee Dilroy Fernando and a St. Peter’s player had to lend their helping hands to take out an injured St. Joseph’s player out of ground at Longdon Place last week. - Pic Courtesy of Dhammika Heenpella
St. Peter’s annexed the Basil Wiratunge shield and their league game after huffing and puffing in the first 30 minutes. If the match had ended in the first half it would have been the Joes who took home the shield. Playing a different style of game than in their first match against Kingwood, St. Joseph’s shook the confidence of the Peterites.
A number of handling errors and penalties paved the way for four tries by their opponents and that cost them the match. Another issue I saw was that the Joes did not have substitutes as capable as their opponents, who had players coming on to the field as good as those going off. The result was a high injury count. Having seen the junior games I could understand the lack of numbers on the bench. The Joes definitely bear the signs of making the grade but need strategic investment in talent.
The idea should be to strengthen the team through the infusion of more talent using a short-term plan for immediate action and a long-term plan for future benefit. Maybe a lesson could be taken from the other saint for whom a tower of strength was the boy from Anuradhapura who came three years ago to play soccer.
The powerhouse Anuradha Herath, will be a force to reckon with. To get him down you need to have a tackle that is perfect. The boy is so strong and if you go head first it is you who will be in a stretcher. Speaking of stretchers, the first aid brigade must have something 
suitable to carry a player. The injured player fell off due to the puny man who could not handle the load and what looked like a pediatric stretcher. What was good was that the referee then became the lead carrier with a Peter’s player joining in to carry his opponent. That is what the rugby spirit is about.
In the first half, Peter’s dwelt too much on their errors while it was a reversal in the second half. The lesson in this game was that if you forget your error and immediately recover with an attacking mindset victory may not be that far away.
A match which was expected to produce sparks ended up being a defensive affair as Trinity beat the giant killers Science by 18 points to 11. Both teams looked wary of each other and were not about to take chances. In the end Trinity held on to its unbeaten tag, joining Peter’s, Dharmaraja and Wesley to pose a legitimate threat to the title. The games in the weeks to come will leave much open at the top as well as at the bottom.
While the game is being contested hotly, there is complacency displayed in handling the case at courts. When the case was taken up this week the promised proposal for a settlement was not presented to court. It is understood that a guarantee was given previously that a negotiated settlement plan was to be presented after the Special General Meeting.
This was not done and the respondents had to plead that the Annual General Meeting will be held on the March 31 and thereafter a proposal will be forwarded. The court had directed that the case be taken up on April 2 and given time for the proposal to be submitted.
Err again and you might see judgment without the case dragging on. Another petition praying that the present running of the tournament and the appointment is unconstitutional will also be taken up on April 2. A source from the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association confirmed that the SGM was inconclusive and also that the constitution does not permit the punishment of dropping a division but it only permits dropping a group.
Another veteran of the schools section confided that all these problems are a result of not following a due process but because action is based on the wishes of a few and are individual-based. He also confided that the problems are a result of a badly-worded tournament manual which was amended without discussion. He was sorry that the hard work of many years is in the balance.
Vidyartha has accepted the offense, which in my opinion is a grave one and needs to be punished accordingly. However, if the constitution and or the rules do not make provisions for appropriate action then it is a problem. The fallback clause could have been the use of the thread of rugby governance. The schools are part of rugby in Sri Lanka as they are a constituent body of the SLRFU. The SLRFU is empowered because they are part of the IRB and are governed by the code of conduct. An interesting clause that would have been used is bringing the game into disrepute. What can you do when you sever the link?
Vimal Perera is a former Rugby Referee, coach and Accredited Referees Evaluator IRB
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