Fatigue or front row faux pas?
View(s):Owning costly cutlery is of no use unless you lay the silver properly. Schools rugby looks similar to the disorganised silver, which though expensive becomes useless. In the first two weeks of rugby we have seen teams do well in the first half and falter or lose the game in the second half. Commonly the excuse is that the boys are not adequately fit to last till the end. On the field it looks a pretty tense environment and many teams show an inability to finish what was started.
St. Peter’s, Kingswood and Trinity colleges have been impressive at the ongoing Singer Schools League tournament so far - File pix
The thinking is that most teams to whom this happens to are not able to last the second half. It is a bit strange to tie this inability to fitness as more and more teams keep using all ten substitutions allowed. If you look at the array of people involved in a schools team there are specialists in a way which says, “You name it, we have it.” Most of these schools have with them a physical trainer. I believe that there is more to what is happening than just fitness. An issue that has drawn my attention comes from statistics where one sees an increase in scrum collapses and wheeling as we go along in the second half.
I spoke about this to a former Sri Lankan forward now involved in coaching who lamented that there was huge problem with the forwards and especially with the front row. He also said that this happens more after changes. This could be attributed to change that is not a substitute for the man going out. Then the weaker forwards cannot hold a side that may have equally good substitutes coming into a game. Is the front row in as good as the front row going out? This leads to a weaker front row which may not keep their core stability. A wily coach exploits this with an elbow bending that brings the opposite number down and possibly earns a penalty for going down, something which happens most times.
In the game between S. Thomas’ and St. Anthony’s the number of scrum resets increased as St. Anthony’s showed to be weak in this area as the game grew older. On paper as well as comparing their performance in the last two matches, this was not a side that should be losing. However, they have a difficult task in the two weeks that follow as they have to win at least two matches. They are capable but have been unable to perform so far. Wesley is another team that gets into a good attacking position and succumbs to bad passing or is unable to hold their scrum and deny a clean ball. St. Joseph’s did well to lead against Trinity, defending well to keep the strong Trinity line at bay. They however paid the penalty in the second half with the scrum collapsing and preventing them from getting clean ball. In the first half the Trinity backs played wide and the Joes defence was solid. In the second half Trinity started to play closer and bring the ball back, which resulted in the drift not working, leaving holes to be exploited.
Isipathana pummeled DSS last week but managed to scrape through Royal the previous week. Probably Pathana did not take into account the Royal coach in their formula. This week we have other important games. One that would have been the king of battles in Group A between Trinity and Isipathana has been scheduled to be played on April 25. A win for Trinity or Pathana will decide who will 
head the group. The match that will be deciding on the number three and four spot is the game between Royal and St. Joseph’s. Both these schools have a match against DSS in the last two weeks and have a chance of winning against the schools that are struggling.
The unimaginable is for Wesley to win the next three which include Trinity and Pathana. On the other side we have S. Thomas’- heading the group with two wins- playing St. Peter’s who have a win and a draw. Kingswood is a strong contender with a win and a draw against Peter’s. Science is likely to make fourth in the group.
The championship will be decided among the first two of each group. You have to win all five in your group or at least four to be in contention at the Cup stage. There will be no schools rugby after this week and the game on April 25 will see the battle to lead between Pathana and Trinity. The challenge thereafter for Dharmaraja and Wesley is to remain at the top of the league. Last year these schools were league champs and runners up while this year it is a struggle. Wesley could have pulled off a game or two but forced themselves out due to many unforced errors.
* Vimal Perera is a former Rugby Referee, Coach and Accredited Referees Evaluator IRB