Peterites bounce back to stall Rajans
St. Peter's were dumbfounded, but made a brilliant recovery - Pic by M.A. Pushpakumara
St. Peter’s College managed to overcome a threatening burst by Dharmaraja College to secure a 27-12 win in their season opener of the Dialog Schools Rugby League Championship 2022 match played at Bambalapitiya yesterday.
Both teams were locked at 12-all at halftime, yet the Peterites turned the table after the turnaround to complete a deserving win with a tally of five tries and a conversion. The Rajans, who scored all their points in the first half, scored from a couple of tries and a conversion.
The Peterites were the first to draw blood as winger Dineth Ranasinghe touched down and with Windhya de Mel’s conversion they took an early lead 7-0. But the game fluctuated between both sides as Dharmaraja too played on par. The Peterites added another try from scrumhalf Rajith Ekanayake, which went unconverted.
Then it was the Rajans’ share to equalise with two tries from scrumhalf Wanuja Thanthrige and No.8 Chandeepa Bandara. The second try was converted by flyhalf Saumya Wijesiri as both teams took lemons at 12-12.
But it was all the Rajans could do, as they were not spared by the home team, who took a major share of the honours in the second half. They prevented Dharmaraja from dominating and added three more tries to the tally to earn bonus points. Winger Vishenka Silva, centre Umith Ishara and flanker Ashain Madugasge scored those three tries, which went unconverted.
The game was refereed by Akhil Jamaldeen.