Resurgence of Thomian rugby
The Thomians from Mount Lavinia are well known for many things but their prominence in Sport has been jaded over the years!
STCML has probably hit an all time low when the Thomian Rugby Team was relegated to ‘B’ Division in 2013.
Much has been done and said and the many Old Thomians will have a million stories and excuses but when did the Thomians have any Sportsman of significance emerge? Not to take-away the gloss of the past but only a few outstanding names can be recalled and that too over 10 years ago!
Nonetheless the record speaks for itself. The Thomians are unbeaten ‘Handsomely’ in 2013 and lead the ‘B’ Division which may not account for much! But The Thomians beat Trinity by a margin of 14 points after 2008!
STCML beat Prince of Wales 62-nil, beat C.C.W. Kannangara 46 to 08, beat St Sylvester’s Kandy 45 to 09, beat Trinity 29 to 15, beat Thurstan 36nil, beat Ananda 43 to 25, and last week trounced the helpless Lumbini M V 95-nil.
The record shows that a total of 356 Points have been scored by St Thomas’ in just Seven Matches! Trinity is in the A Division and that victory proves that St Thomas’ have turned the corner and are now heading for the driving finish to the line to put the score on the board on the 22nd of June when the traditional rivals Royal College present themselves to face the bitter truth. The only enemy the Thomians have is complacency as they gave glimpses of over confidence by not playing the best ‘fifteen’ at times and when they had an unassailable lead against Ananda College they tried a few freshers and allowed Ananda to run in a few tries in the last 10 minutes.
In the last game against Lumbini at Havelock Park, even though some new and young faces were given an opportunity, the score was only one try shy of a 100 points in 80 minutes of play! The Captain and Number 10 Devin Jayasinghe led from the front with great subtlety of movement and injection of pace, excellent ball handling and passing by the stand-off including some interesting punts and some sensational conversions. The beauty of the performance was that the Thomians were always in control of the game and the pace of play. The Thomians were not going all-out but accumulated the points with ease.
The concern always is fitness and a few cramps were noticed but the team showed discipline and the new management seemed to have everything under control. The warming-down after the game and the general atmosphere in the Thomian Camp was noticeably good.The Captain was modestly confident and determination appeared written on his face regarding the 22nd of June as it is ‘Pay-back’ time after a 10 year drought for the Thomians having last beaten Royal under the Captaincy of Namal Rajapaksa in 2007 and the painful defeat at the SSC Grounds where Captain Devin’s 99 Runs couldn’t save the Thomians in the 2013 Battle of the Blues. All Thomians will be confidently hoping for the truth to sink-in on June 22nd when the Blue-Black and Blue Jerseys will grind the Royalists and prove the RESURGENCE OF THOMIAN RUGBY!
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