Isipathana-Royal, S. Thomas’-Science could be the deciders
View(s):In next week’s Schools top Division Rugby, Cup Championship fixtures the Isipathana-Royal and S.Thomas’-Science will be close ones expected to go down to the wire. In the same week, Trinity will meet their hometown rivals St. Anthony’s in Kandy, and Wesley will play St. Peters.
Dates and venues for the above fixtures are subject to confirmation by the respective schools and the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA). Sparkling Rugby is on the cards at the Isipathana-Royal fixture, with the Royal forwards and the Isipathana threes, being the dominant strengths of the respective teams.
This fixture is played for the Major Milroy Fernando trophy, with Royal being the present holders. The determined Isipathana outfit, brimming with confidence, will be at full strength to regain the trophy after a lapse of two years, and further, to stay unbeaten to clinch the League title. The ‘Green shirts’ go out favourites having an overall edge with a better allround outfit, than their counterparts. Their forwards and their back line compliment each other very well and are at their peak. On the other hand, the Royal forwards so far, have played brilliantly, and pulled their team to victory from the jaws of defeat.
Their games against Wesley, St. Josephs’ Trinity (1st Leg) and St. Peters in the Cup Championship Round saw a spectacular display of power overwhelming their counterparts with their trademark rolling maul. But their threes are their Achilles heel, and will be tested to their limits by Pathana’s powerful three-quarter line. Isipathana led by Kushan Indunil and ably assisted by his deputy cum co-center Sumudu Rankothge, will regularly punch holes in the Royal defence. Wingers Chamod Fernando and Ranidu Pramod have the speed to outrun their opposition. But will ultimately depend on their forwards to gain good ball.
The Pathana forwards will have their hands full. The front five and third row of Vageesha Weerasinghe, Devin Guneratne and Sashmitha Fernando will need to be first into the breakdowns to snatch the initiative. It will be interesting to see how the Isipathana ‘8’ counter the famous Royal rolling maul, which other schools so far have failed to come to terms with. Royal College, led by No. 8 Nikhila Gunadeera, will come up with many surprises on that day. Their forwards, apart from Gunadeera, in Ayesh Maduranga, Harith Lokugamage, Nabil Mohammed, Pasindu Amerasinghe, Maleesha Madhumewan and Ebrahim Barrie (new hooker who scored a hat-trick of tries against St.Peters last week) will be like like terriers in the loose, to win the all-important possession in this vital encounter.
Deputy skipper, Ashok Vijaykumar, in the pivotal position of half-back has been a source of inspiration, while Vijaykumar is a player with a good Rugby sense. In the Cup Championship Round which commenced last week, Isipathana trounced Wesley 43-8 with a powerful performance, cutting loose in the second half after leading 10-8 at the breather. Meanwhile, Royal pulled off a memorable victory against St. Peters, after trailing 0-19 to make it 33-24 at the death. The S.Thomas’-Science game is evenly poised with both sides possessing a good set of forwards and three-quarters. In last week’s Cup Champion game, the Black and Blue brigade drubbed St. Anthony’s 41-11, while Science came from behind to down Trinity 15-12 in the lion’s den at Pallekale.
S.Thomas’ College, led admirably this season by hooker Pandula de Silva, will surely have a slight edge over Science in the set pieces and line-outs. The Thomian ‘8’ is playing as a well knit unit this season. Apart from skipper De Silva, his deputy Malith Deshapriya, Sachitra Jayathilake, Shaniv Ahangama,Wayne Mack, Tehan Perera, Dhanuja Wijeratne and Christian Delile have excelled in attack and defence. The loose play of Mack, Ahangama and Delile is outstanding. Their three-quarters are equally brilliant with winger Naveen Henakankanamge the cynosure of all eyes. Centers Ashwantha Herath, Sharith Nanayakkara, winger Dion Dias, standoff Bhumindra Dissanayake and full-back Mayon Jayawardena are speedy runners and their opponents will have their hands full to keep them in check.
On the other hand, Science College are no pushovers by any yardstick. They have shown their mettle throughout the season. The Mt. Lavinia school led by center Nirosh Udayanga is a well knit outfit. Their back-line will definitely punch holes in the Thomian defence. Udayanga, along with his deputy cum co-center Thanuja Maduranga, and wingers Tharindu Maduranga, Sanjula Rohan, and full-back Supun Dilshan are a penetrative set of runners who can pierce any defence. Their forwards have the mobility and the strength to pounce wit speed on breakdown points. Players such as Daminda Lakshitha, Ravindu Sankalpa, Charith Janitha, Janith Lakshanand and Shiffan Irshad will lead the charge against the Thomian ‘8’ for possession.
In the only game to be played in Kandy for the Cup Championship, Trinity will meet a fighting Anthonian outfit, and will not have it easy, as the Eagles will have more than a point to prove in victory. Both teams lost to Science and S.Thomas’, but Trinity is a better team, when considering the overall performances this season. Though having 11-coloursmen in their ranks, Trinity have failed to click as a team in the season, which is a huge question mark. Trinity led by Rahul Karunathilake, have good set of forwards and three-quarters, but were very unfortunate to lose to Science, Royal (1st Leg) and S.Thomas’ in the 1st Round. Hope they will make a victorious comeback against the hometown arch-rivals St. Anthony’s.
Meanwhile, St. Peters will play Wesley in another game that will probably go down to the wire. The Petes have not played to their true potential so far this season. Their loss to Royal was totally unexpected, after taking a seemingly unassailable lead of 19-0. Their forwards need to maintain their momentum. They won possession and were fiery in the loose in the first 20-minutes of the game. In the second half, the Peterite ‘8’ lacked stamina and was slow to the breakdowns, thus denying their strength, the three-quarters the much needed good ball. Hope in this game, led by Sandesh Jayawickrema, they will come up with a much improved performance. On the other hand, Wesley College led by Dayan Sabar, are second to none. They have a set of mobile forwards and a speedy back division. Though they lost 8-43 to Isipathana, after trailing 8-10 at the breather, they are sure to come out with all guns blazing to unsettle and upend the Petes. - NK