Trinity rout hometown rivals St. Anthony’s far away from home
It was Bilal Nazeer who drew first blood for Trinity as early as the sixth minute, collecting a well-timed pass from fullback Shan Althaf to dive over in the mid-left corner. The conversion went astray but Trinity led 5-0. The lead stretched to 8-0 when Trinity capitalised on an Antonian infringement, with Althaf confidently firing over a penalty in the 13th minute.
What expected to be an exciting clash became a one-sided thrashing as Trinity ran riot at Longden Place under lights - Pic by Eshan Fernando
Despite being reduced to 14 men after Achinthana Jayasena was shown yellow in the 19th minute, the Trinitians never took their foot off the pedal. Prop Manusha Silva foxed the entire Antonian defence with a bulldozing run to touch down, with Althaf’s conversion making it 15-0.
Scrumhalf Udan Wijekoon then hurdled through heavy traffic for another try before Althaf added the extras, taking the score to 22-0 in the 33rd minute. Moments before halftime, lock Evin Jayasena barged over from close range, with Althaf slotting a peach of a conversion to give Trinity a commanding 29-0 lead at lemons.
After the break, winger Minula Yaddehige turned on the afterburners, racing around the right flank to score. Althaf was spot on with the conversion once again, making it 36-0. Soon after, Hamza Abdeen barged over following a strong maul by the Trinity forwards, and Althaf made no mistake with the kick, extending the lead to 43-0.
Yaddehige then grabbed his second, touching down near the posts for another converted try, as Trinity moved to 50-0 by the 59th minute. The Antonians finally got a foot in the door when replacement forward Senaratne scored a determined try in the 62nd minute, breaking their deadlock at 5-50.
But Trinity had the last laugh. Scrumhalf Avishka Jayasekara took a cheeky quick tap and weaved past six defenders for a sensational score, before Yaddehige completed his hat-trick to seal a thundering 62-5 victory at the final whistle. Althaf, acting as co-captain in place of Usmaan Shafras, marshalled his troop brilliantly on a night when the Lions made it clear — they meant business.