Regal Royal take it all
Royal's playmaker Tahrindu Maduranga is stalled by the Josephian defenders - Pic by Ranjith Perera
Set twin objectives, the Royal College players responded superbly not only to beat a fighting St. Joseph’s College team, but also to garner that precious bonus point that enabled them to win the Singer Schools’ Rugby League title for the third time in-a-row.
Pre-match, one would have thought that scoring four tries against a team as tough and as capable as the Josephians was fanciful stuff. But Royal made fools of us all, and with an equal distribution of tries, triumphed by 24 points (2 goals, 2 tries) to 17 (2 goals, a penalty) at the Royal Complex last evening. Halftime saw the winners enjoying a four-point lead of 14-10.
Royal started off with the proverbial bang. The Joes replied with some power play of their own. But the winners broke the ice, when Rajindu Jayasundere, the hooker, went over near the corner flag. Referee Priyantha Gunaratne had recourse to the TV replay before awarding the opening try which was put over by Dulan Gunawardena.
The Royal winger followed it up with another superb run along the touch line. A ruck then took place. Royal was penalised and the Joes cleared the ball out of the danger zone. The Josephians gave their opponents some scary moments when scrum half Gunawardena chipped beautifully towards the corner flag. Two Josephians followed up, but the ball eluded them and bounced out of play.
The Joes were under severe pressure and ‘how it told’. A player tried to clear from yards behind the goal-line. The kick was charged down but Royal could not lay their hands on the ball. Royal increased their tally through a Yasis Rashmika try. He showed good speed as he dashed along the line and touched down near the corner flag. Gunawardena made a difficult conversion look easy (14-0).
The Joes now took over, camping near the line for quite a few minutes before their sturdy hooker Gershone Thangiah barged over. Santush Algama had an easy conversion. He was successful with a penalty to make it 14-10 at the break. What started with a show of Royal dominance didn’t become one-sided as the Joes did their fair share of attacking in the last 10 minutes of this half.
The Josephians were a man short in defence when the Royal back division used a long pass to the winger who was held up at the line. Then came the showpiece try. A Josephian indulged in a delightful kick, high and across. Scrum half Reshan Gunawardena go to the ball and dived over. Algama had the easiest of conversions. Importantly the Joes had got ahead for the first time in the game.
Royal must have felt the game slipping away from their grasp. But they responded in typical fashion with some running rugby. The overlap was formed and Achitha Radeeshan fell over near the left corner flag. Gunawardena was astray with the conversion, but Royal had their noses in front once more at 19-17. A nice, long kick to touch took play close to the goal-line. Royal’s forwards, who were very impressive, took over from there and Achitha Radeeshan crashed over for another unconverted try (24-17).
Royal’s monopoly of the line-outs was nearly total. However, when the Joes won a rare line out and a player was speeding for the line, winger Yasis Rashmika nabbed the offender with a solid tackle to save Royal’s bacon.
Royal’s line out work became just a tad loose at this point and the Joes capitalised. A breathtaking run by centre Tharindu Maduranga, who slipped three tackles on his way, ended when he was brought down 15 yards from the line. A certain try had been saved.
Royal’s forwards did well to hold the rampaging Joes, who were deep inside their 22, and then drive them back with a long clearance. Royal’s win enabled Dushanth Lewke’s team to win the Singer Schools League title yet another year. However, it almost went down to the wire. The Peterites finished second and had the consolation of being the only team that caused the lads from Reid Avenue to stumble.
Referee – Priyantha Gunaratne