ISIPATHANA, ROYAL REMAIN UNBEATEN WITH EIGHT WINS
Singer U20 Inter-Schools Rugby Points Table
The completion of the third match in the second round of the Singer U20 Schools Rugby League Championship 2015 saw defending champions Isipathana and Royal maintain their unbeaten records when the two teams won eight matches on the trot.
The two matches played last weekend saw Isipathana coasting to a convincing 37-22 win over Trinity while Royal had to undergo some anxious moments before staving off the challenge put in by the gritty St. Joseph’s side to record a close 25-22 victory. In the other two matches S. Thomas’ pulled off a shocking 25-17 win over fancied St. Peter’s and Science defeated Kingswood 37-22.
Looking back on the four matches that were played during the weekend, the match at Pallekele and the Royal Sports Complex caught the eye. Isipathana came back in the second half after conceding an 8-15 lead to beat Trinity.
Trinity were expected to continue their form in the second half but it was not to be as the Pathanas who are known for their die-hard approach rattled the Trinity defence considerably.
They came into the second half well prepared with a well set plan which worked the way they expected it to. They tormented the Trinitians posting back-to- back unconverted tries to take the lead at 18-15. The ravaging Pathanas were in a class of their own as they followed it up with two more tries and one converted try, stretched the lead to 30-15 before Trinity reduced the deficit through a try which was converted.
But a few minutes before the long whistle the Isipathanians almost sealed the game with a converted try and with Trinity unable to make any headway the Pathanas walked away with a 37-22 victory. In contrast, Royal, the other unbeaten side in the championship huffed and puffed to overcome the gritty Josephians who almost turned tables onthe hot favourites to gain a slender three point win. According to how Royal performed from the start of the tournament they were expected to come out winners with ease, but they almost tarnished their unbeaten record as they had a narrow escape. Credit, however cannot be taken away from the Josephians.
At one stage the Josephians sent shock waves and had the Royal supporters on their toes as they were leading 17-3 with the game just about under 15 minutes old.
But Royal clawed their way back to score two tries within a space of five minutes of which one was converted to reduce the Josephians lead. Just before the short whistle the two teams who were offered penalties saw Royal succeeding to end up with a one point lead 18-17 at lemons.. The second session turned out to be a drab affair with neither of the sides’ being able to score for a considerable period of time before Royal surged ahead through a try that was converted while the Josephians counter attacked with an unconverted try.
From there on the Josephians made sporadic moves but lacked the crucial finish which ensured a close three points win for Royal who escaped narrowly.
Science coasted to their fifth win with a comfortable 37-22 win over Kingswood who slid to their sixth defeat. The outcome of this match was known well in advance due to the the way the Science team performed during the early part of the season. However the Science side, though taking a 20-3 lead in the first 20 minutes, struggled as the Kingswoodians fought their way back enabling Science to hang on to a one point (23-22) lead at the lemons.
The game between St. Peter’s and S. Thomas’ was expected to be a one way ticket for the home side St. Peter’s but the ‘Thoras’ hit the daylights out of them with a well deserving 25-17 victory.
The Thomians in their previous game played with maturity, they gave the Josephians a run for their money before going down by two points (25-27). So the Peterites should have expected the same but most probably they had too much confidence as the Thomians in the early stages of the league tournament, were soundly beaten. Thoras played their hearts out to and gave the Peterites some torrid moments and they succeeded to restrict the home team to just two point lead (108) at the breather. The turn-around saw the Peterites increasing the lead through a try which was converted and that was all they were able to achieve. From there onwards the Thomians took over as they first decreased the home team lead with a try.
This weekend will see the deciding match for the Singer U20 Schools Rugby title with the crucial clash between the two unbeaten teams defending champions Isipathana and Science set to be kicked off on June 20 at the Royal Sports Complex from 4.30 p.m. onwards.
The other schedule matches on the card are: St Joseph’s vs Trinity at Longdon Place. St Peter’s vs Science at Bambalapitiya. S. Thomas’ vs Kingswood at Havelock Park.
This weekend will see the deciding match for the Singer U20 Schools Rugby title with the crucial clash between the two unbeaten teams defending champions Isipathana and Science set to be kicked off on June 20 at the Royal Sports Complex from 4.30 p.m. onwards.