Thomians master the science of winning convincingly
A Thomian scores - Pic by Ranjith Perera
Science College came up with a very flat performance in a key game to hand the Thomians an easy 34 points to nil win at Ratmalana.
For some inexplicable reason, it seemed that Science failed to show up when it mattered most. That spark of inspiration that could have led to something special was not there. Or is it that the Thomians had it all planned out and allowed them no leeway?
The ball must have been damp because there were plenty of handling errors, especially by Science. To their credit, however, they performed well in the lines out.
After the early exchanges saw Science feature prominently, the Thomians worked their line and winger Naveen Henakankanamage did a near forty metre burst along the touch line and fell over with the tackle. Ashwantha Herath, whose kicking was flawless, converted, for the Thomians to lead 7-0.
A similar effort by the Thomian winger a little earlier had ended when he was tackled on the 22 metre line.
The Thomian forwards got into the game more. They produced the rolling-maul about 30 metres short of the line. All of a sudden, flanker Joshua de Lile broke away, and seeing a gap opening up in front of him, went through to score. Herath produced another special effort to make it 14-0 at the short whistle.
The initial stages of the second half failed to produce any fizz and sparkle. Science did try to attack and came close to the line. A couple five metre scrums followed. However, handling errors scuppered their chances.
After Herath had converted a penalty to make it 17-0, the Thomians played with much more freedom. The outsides handled the ball well and a well-timed pass to the prolific Henakankanamage saw him go round the defence and touch down for his second try. Herath was spot on with his conversion and the penalty that followed.
Fly half Bumindra Dissanaike went over for the final Thomian try which was converted by Dion Dias to make it 34-0.
Utility player Dhanuja Wijeratne had a very good game. He played as full back and, at times, as flanker whenever Jayatilleke was off the field. He tackled hard and also gained long touch.
Science’s diminutive, but speedy, winger Sanjula Roshan hardly got a touch on the ball. The winners tackled well and made sure that they snuffed out even a slight chance their opponents had of going over the line.
It was a creditable performance by the Thomians but they were not stretched to the limit by Science.
Isipathana awaits next Saturday and it should be the game to watch.
Referee Roshan Fernando was generous with his yellow cards – 4 of them to the Thomians.