Lions revive to hunt down Eagles
At times, the Trinity Lions went through sheer hell before running out 22 points to 14 winners over a fighting Antonian outfit in their Singer Under-20 Schools Division I ‘A’ rugby match played at Pallekele yesterday. The opening half was scrappy and Trinity made numerous errors in attack. These helped the Antonians to gain both points and territory. Trinity played a more constructive game in the second half, and gave away fewer penalties. On the other hand, the losers failed to match their first half performance.
There were near misses as a Trinitian was over the line but dropped the ball in the first half. The dose was repeated in second half, but this time by an Antonian. The first thirteen minutes saw an unrelenting yet futile attack by Trinity. The Antonians were there in numbers and they defended furiously.
Fullback hemantha, who had another good game, gave the Antonians the early lead with two accurately kicked penalties. Panduka Angammana, the well-built Number.8 increased the Antonian lead by scoring his way over the line. This made it 11-0 in favour of the Antonians at lemons.
The second half had barely got underway when a Hemantha penalty made it 14-0, stung to the quick by this unexpected and unfavourable turn of events, the Trinitians began to attack the Antonian line in sweeping waves. Prop Anuradha Karunathilleke made the initial break. He was followed by Tharinda Ratwatte, who went over and converted to trail by 14-12.
Centre Dureka Alivihare got Trinity the vital lead by going over off a short tap. Ratwatte’s kicking boots seemed to have been life at home. The Antonians were a bit jaded by now and Trinity surged further ahead when winger Lakvin Gunasekara rounded off a fine three-quarter move.
A lot was at stake for Trinity in this game. A loss here would have opened up a lead for their closest challengers, Dharmaraja. These late comebacks are becoming a feature of Trinity’s play. Will their luck run out one day?
Referee D. Nimal
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