Climbing the ladder and staying there
View(s):There is a saying ‘you can’t start the next chapter in your life if you keep re-reading the last one’. Royal will have to revisit the first leg of the Bradby Shield as they approach the next but cannot afford to keep re-reading that game. A one point difference was enough for jubilant Royalists to show their happiness but you cannot forget that it is an opportunity for Trinity to bounce back.
A thrilling one-point win at Pallekele can expect a more exciting second leg of Bradby at Royal Complex next weekend – Pic by Amila Gamage
Royal have themselves to blame and a revisit can be helpful. To revisit and correct is the Task for Royal which is more possible as against the task of Trinity which is to fashion a winning team. Royal had the game on hand whereas Trinity made use of the opportunity that came their way. Royal has to re-visit the defence that was not in place that allowed a second row forward to run 75 metres off a backline move interception. Similarly the try scored by the scrum half was over 40 metres having collected a bad throw off a Royal line out.
More than the question of how he got there the issue is the defence that was not there. At most times the back division let huge gaps in defence. Was it because there was so much emphasis on forwards play that whoever with ball close on hand got involved at the break down and the next man took the vacant position of may be a back division player. The approach is used where all should be able to ruck, maul, pass and run. In reality even our specialised backs can only pass to one side while the forwards find it difficult to stay on their feet. One thing I could not understand were the changes that Trinity made taking off both opportunist try scorers.
The second round will turn out to be a keen contest not because the losing team has improved but because of the one point that makes a difference. 
Royal in Reid Avenue is a different side and they still have the weapon of a rolling maul which was sparingly used and more during the dying stages with much effect.
In the quest rugby honours is the School league be important to Royal and Trinity or winning the Bradby more prestigious. It was a full house of various, ages, and shapes and colour that the decorated Palleklle Stadium. Royal by their win last week have been placed on top of Group B in Segment I. They now have a good chance of being league champs as there are only two schools that are unbeaten in this segment. Trinity losing the match and the top slot in Group B may not bother them much as still they are within striking distance of annexing the Bradby.
The one point margin will worry the Royalist as they prepare for the second leg. What could have been a clear victory did not turn that way for Royal. Yet can Trinity be happy that they have the men and material that can turn the tide against Royal in the second round. They scored off two opportunistic tries fashioned by individual performance and not great rugby moves.
S. Thomas’ beating St. Anthony’s keeps them in the top league this year as well as next year. The hard running center made the difference between the two sides. The Mount team is capable of doing better than what they have done and I would still place my bets on this side to create an upset in round two. Science beat Dharmaraja by 50 points to 36 in what was a fourteen try fiesta. Science are thus placed third in the group behind Royal and Trinity. Watch out for Science College is my advice.
St. Peter’s scored the maiden century for 2015 beating hapless CWW Kanangara by 107 points to 5 once again emphasising that there is a big gap between the tier one top teams and those at the lower segment . This year too after the plate round one team that comes up may face a similar fate next year. Despite losing Wesley, Dharmaraja and St. Anthony’s are capable of offering some competition to the top eight while those who come up from Segment II are not equal to the task. Another factor to note that other than for Trinity and Kingswood most schools from the hills capital have dropped from the current segment they are playing. That is from Kandy where there is so much following for rugby and the rest are way down the top two.
Sri Lanka beat Philippines in the ARFU Asian5Nation Division I final and took the position of being the best outside the three in the premier league. Thus the tuskers are once again setting their foot steadily and firmly on the Asian circuit. It has however reported in the media that the President of the SLRFU has stated that Sri Lanka will not vie for a place in the top tier next year. SLRFU President is quoted as saying “We can’t go and compete with Asia’s top three teams without a proper plan, so that is why we have decided to stay another year in the same competition”. It seems to be a good decision as we have a young team that can challenge to the top teams and there is no point in playing snakes and ladders as once you get to the top division you got to stay there.
* Vimal Perera is a former player, coach, referee and an IRB Accredited Referees’ Educator