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Wesley juggernaut on the rampage
Wesley 18 Isipathana 13
By M. Shamil Amit
Wesley showed that they are a side to be reckoned with this season when they outsmarted the kings of schools rugby Isipathana by 18 points (three tries, one penalty) to 13 (one goal, two penalties) in their Singer inter school Division 1A League rugby tournament match played at the Royal College grounds in Reid Avenue yesterday.

The Wesleyites will remember this win for years to come as they are defeating their opponents after a lapse of over four decades. It was way back in 1963 that they last won against Isipathana. The Wesleyites rattled their opponents in the first 25 minutes and took a pyscological advantage by scoring the 18 points. They attacked and kept the ball in their opponents territory and rattled them with some sizzling moves which the Isipathanians were made to stand and watch them accumulating the score.

They were more superior in the loose where they indulged in some superb rucking and mauling that had their opponents guessing all the time. The Double Blue boys drew first blood as early as in the ninth minute of play following a penalty converted by skipper and scrum half Rukshan Omar. They never looked back from there onwards and with in a space of another three minutes they planted their first try with a peach of a try by winger Niranjan Wickramaratne but there was no luck for Naushki Fareez as his kick at goal struck the bar.

Six minutes later Wesley increased their lead when full back Anura Priyantha following a kick to touch ball sprinted well over 30 metres to score down the left corner flag with Naushki Fareez failing with the conversion again. In the 22nd minute Isipathana replied with a penalty put over by scrum half Manjula Silva but the Wesleyites came back to the attack and succeeded three minutes later through a try scored by NO 8 Tyronne Harrison who crept through from a five yard scrumage, but the kick at goal was fluffed by skipper Rukshan Omar. The Pathanas making sporadic moves reduced the deficit with an under the post try by full back Ashan Costa with Manjula Silva adding the extra points with which referee Aruna Jayasekera blew the short whistle. Wesley 18 Isipathana 10.

Resuming in the second half the Isipathanians made a come back with a couple of good threatening moves and they were rewarded with a penalty in the third minute which Manjula Prasad failed to boot over. They went on the attack but were denied of scoring as the Wesley defence was hard to beat.

The green shirts reduced their deficit with a 25 meter penalty put over by Manjula Silva. putting over a 30 metre penalty in the 22nd minute of the game. The Isipathanians played a much better game in the second half but were unlucky to turn them into points. The Wesleyites making a do or die in the last stages of the game almost succeeded in increasing their tally but the Isipathanians managed thwart them. With time running out and no scoring done, the Wesleyites held on to gain a historic win which is their second successive one of the ongoing tournament having last week defeated the Thomians 7-3.

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