The supporters of Dharmaraja College Kandy were overjoyed as they created history when they won the All Island Schools Sevens for the first time at the Royal College Sports Complex last week end.

Used to not seeing victory and demoted they were more at home mourning and or blaming. Hanging on taking technical issues as a saviour while blaming all else for a low performance. This time around they proved what they are capable of follows through the performance of the under eighteen side that has come of age. A resounding win comes at a time where DCK have lost their slot among the top rugby schools and are in the B group in Division 1. This would be the morale booster for them to power themselves to the top of the “B” group.

The final was against Kingswood College was as close as the quarters and semi and won by nineteen points to seventeen. Coming to the final the ‘Rajans’ fought to the end and were always relieved with a win that they sweated for. The determination for victory was such that they attacked and scored even when they were reduced with a player getting a yellow. Despite the handicap they held on to a nineteen to twelve lead which was reduced y the Kings scoring a last minute unconverted try that was not enough to deny an ‘historic Rajan win’.

The jubilant winners – Dharmarajah rugby outfit celebrating

In the cup quarters there were four teams from the hills: Dharmaraja , Kingswood , Trinity and Vidyartha. In the quarter final; the ‘Rajans kept the pressure on to the opponents who they took up front. They nearly paid the price dropping the ball in some fancy moves which denied then the pressure in attack but allowed the Vidyartha team to make inroads which ended in scoring. Vidyartha on the other hand could not keep the day with a win as they failed to move from the areas of congestion and exposed themselves to some bone jarring tackles. DCK converted the penalty that came their way in extra time moved to the final. With a sort of rag bag performance garnished with a lot of gall but looking unorganized and bunched I wondered how they would fare in the final with Peters.

They seemed much organized with positional discipline in attack as well as defense. Peters paid the price for being dependent on one man, Dhanushka Ranjan, most of the time. Rajans for their part had Dhanushka marked very closely as two players tagged along like leaches. This disorganized the Peters team as they were tackled with bitterness The Western Province champions went down in another close fought match as the Kandy boys pulled off the last minute penalty goal. While Dhanushka Ranjan played a important part for the Colombo team to come to the semi final it was Captain Miyuru Hewawasam with some great skill and lively runs that created options and fixed the defense for DCK. The plate was won by Science College beating Vidyartha proving that they still have the steam. A junior Royal team won the plate. There were other teams who joined Royal in playing with junior teams. On one end there is a move to reduce the playing time for fewer than twenty league games with injury cited as one cause. The controlling body wants the game played for the time as per the IRB rules of the game.

With two parties showing concern for the game in different ways I wonder how they allow the IRB guidelines of not allowing those below eighteen to play along against twenty year olds to be disregarded. IRB does this considering the different bone structures that will expose the lower aged to injury. If you do implement that decision many teams will find difficulty in getting a team together.
Looking into the playing area I have seen a lack of sevens style rugby by almost all teams that played. There was no plan to keep the ball and retain it when in possession.

The idea was to run forward and hit the wall committing while at times loosing the ball. There was little movement to control the tempo of the game, when under pressure, by running back or sideways if the necessity arose. Maintaining depth in attack and getting the passer to get around and support was not the preferred game mode. There was however a tendency to run away to isolation away from support and get jailed. One positive I saw was that most schools had understood the need and potential of a sweeper. Getting away from congestion was another sevens trend that was ignored.

There were players that had the unique skills of being able to able to side step, jinx as well as swerve. The hand of by the Royal winger was another skill that was seen. The skills are there and what is needed is to have a sevens specific approach and may be a separate sevens squad. That depends on what the objective is. What are we hoping to achieve in Asia.

Vimal Perera is a former Rugby Referee, coach and Accredited Referees Evaluator IRB