Thomians run riot in Mount Lavinia Derby
S. Thomas’ College ran riot in the ‘Mount Lavinia Derby’ as they thrashed hometown rivals Science College 59-35 in a thrilling pre-quarter-final clash of the Dialog President’s Trophy Schools Rugby Knockout Tournament played at CR&FC ground yesterday.
The Thomians, firing on all cylinders, dominated the contest from the word go, taking a commanding 33-14 lead at half-time.
They crossed the try line nine times, converting seven of them, while Science managed five converted tries in return.
The Thomians crossed the line nine times to thump Science - Pic by Eshan Fernando
It was Thomian No.8 Mckayle Karunaratne who opened the floodgates in the third minute with a converted try, setting the tone early.
Winger Mayanka Dias, who had a blinder, followed it up with a blistering run down the left wing to touch down and then coolly converted with his golden left boot to push the score to 21-7 by the 17th minute.
Science showed some fight, with Methuka Edirisinghe barging over from a maul, and Dilruwan Perera adding the extras to reduce the gap to 14-21. But the Thomians weren’t done. Tries by lock Aiden Amaraweera and young flyhalf Udan Bulathsinghalage sent Thora into the break with a strong 33-14 cushion at the break.
After lemons, Science tried to claw their way back with a quick try, but the Thomians had more fuel in their tank. They kept the scoreboard ticking with three more tries, two of them converted, stretching the lead to a whopping 52-21.
Science refused to go quietly. A converted try brought them some hope at 28-52. But any chance of a comeback was put to rest when Gayan Hameed powered through for another try, with Dewin Seneviratne converting to make it 59-28. The final word came from Science’s Methuka Edirisinghe, who pulled a rabbit out of the hat with a clever dummy to complete his hat-trick under the posts, though the conversion was missed.
When the dust settled, S. Thomas’ stood tall with a crushing 59-35 win, sending a strong warning to future opponents in the tournament. They truly brought out the heavy artillery and left one-time champions Science College knocked out.