Perfect ending to an eventful Schools League
The 2023 season of the Dialog Schools Rugby League is a year to remember. The season favourites and last year’s champs, Isipathana College, the Green Machine, had to taste the humble pie in the last two games of the season after a superlative performance up to that point.
For those who missed the whole season of the Dialog Schools Rugby League 2023, but had the luck to watch the last two games — Royal vs Isipathana and league decider, St. Peter’s vs Isipathana — have saved the best for last as no other games apart from the first leg of the Bradby Shield and the season opener, Royal vs St. Peter’s games had speactors at the edge of their seats with the big guns of Sri Lanka school’s rugby going all out to win the championship.
The Peterite’s, under the watchful eye of Sanath Martis, crossed their hurdles with a solid game plan which optimised solid defense with purposeful attack. Isipathana have themselves to blame for not countering the defense tactics by Royal College and St. Peter’s College.
The Isipathana tight five were jostled by their counterparts in the last two games, which costed the Green Machine the 2023 league title.Without a doubt Isipathana, with the ranks of skipper and fly half, Navin Kanishka, Shaahid Zumri who occupies the position of outside centre and the league’s highest points scorer and winger, Rinesh Silva has the best back division in the Dialog School Rugby Leage 2023.
The Isipathana line has the key skills needed to become a great from simply being good. The equalizer to this collunarium for teams opposing the Greens came from skills of coach Martis and his former understudy at Reid Avenue, Dushanth Lewke, who also read’s the game well.
Both coaches, blessed with a strong set of forwards, strategised on disrupting the Pathanians on working the line. The Royalist, who had the slower three quarters compared to the Bamba Brigade, utilised drift defense ploy which allows the defending side to use the touch line as an extra defender with the attacking team in full sight. Drift defense can be breached via an inside pass, which is exactly what Pathana did when they scored their first try via playmaker Rinesh Silva in the penultimate game for the Green Machines.
Why the Greens experienced coach, Saliya Kumara did not use more of this tactic to counter the Royalists is anyone’s guess. In the league deciding game of the season, much was expected from both sides as the St. Peter’s rugby grounds hosted a record-breaking audience, who were in attendance to watch probably the game of the season.
As expected, the game got off to a terrific pace with both sides exchanging attacks and counter attacks in a space of a few minutes. From the 15th minute onwards the Peterite’s commenced taking control of the game utilisng their heavier forwards and strategic kicking by the fly half who gained valuable territory for his team with the boot.
Isipathana, as expected, went all out with the running game which was countered by the Paterite’s, who took leaf out of Royal’s play with a key difference of plotting the defence with a blitz defense ploy. This unlike drift defence boxed in expansive play forces the centres to run back into the hands of the Peterite third row and being eventually counter rucked by the tight five, taking away valuable possession from the Isipathanians.
Without the ball in hand, they had very little options to keep the scoreboard ticking. This ploy kept the Isipathana line humble with no room to expand their play and out of reach for the deadly combination of playmakers, Zumri and Silva from threatening the opposing team. The Greens who could have disrupted the Peterite’s defence ploy with a grubber or chip kick by skipper Kanishka or by one of the centres which was not to be seen and probably costed the game and title for the Greens.
On a separate note, it is commendable to see the performances of newcomers to the major league Zahira College and D.S. Senananayake College . The Zahirians and the Donz played exciting rugby and gave a hard time for even the season campaigners, who were surprised at the speed, power and technical prowess of the two new teams.
Congratulations are in order for the players, the coaching staff and the respective old boys of the two teams. This Sunday the Dialog Schools Rugby Knockout Tournament gets underway with Trinity College taking on St. Peter’s at Havelock Park. This would be an exciting game as the Trinitians have played better rugby as the season progressed. However, its saddening that Royal and S. Thomas’ XVs would be hanging up their boots and will not partake in the Knockouts for unknown reasons.