St. Peter’s edge past Isipathana to win rugby U 20 Sevens title
In a closely contested battle St. Peter’s College bounced back to edge last year’s champions Isipathana College 7-5 to bag the All-Island Schools Under-20 7s Rugby Championship at Royal College Sports Complex last Sunday. This was the fifth occasion that the Peterites, led by winger Kevin Dickson, won the Schools 7s title after having won it initially in 2004 and then in 2010, 2011 and 2013.
The Peterites, despite being brought down to six players in the latter stage of the game, came up with a gallant display to claim the win by scoring a thrilling try with a conversion after trailing 0-5 at halftime. Isipathana dominated the first half and opened scoring in the fifth minutes off winger Dilan Gallage, who scored a try that went unconverted.
The crucial and match-winning try for the winners came in the third minute of the second half from winger Harshana Peiris and skipper Dickson added extra points to give them the lead 7-5.
In the semi-finals St. Peter’s beat tournament favourites Trinity College 19-5 while Isipathana had a close call against the much- improved S. Thomas’ College by 17-12 to reach the Cup final. Earlier in the Cup quarter finals St. Peter’s overcame D. S. Senanayake College by 14-12 in a narrow shave while Isipathana too had to undergo the similar experience against St. Joseph’s College before claiming a 17-12 win. Tournament favourites Trinity College recorded a one-sided 24-0 win against Science College while S. Thomas’ College defeated Dharmaraja College by 29-14 without much hassle. The victotious St. Peter’s College team led by Kevin Dickson also comprised Nishon Perera, Harshana Peiris, Kamesh Fernando, Ramesh Fernando, Shehan Mark, Romal Fernando, Sandesh Jayawickrema and Udara Anjana.
St. Joseph’s won the Plate title recording an easy 26-5 win against D.S. Senanayake College. The Josephians scored from four tries and three conversions while conceding an unconverted try. After their loss in the Cup quarter finals, St. Joseph’s drafted into the Plate semi-final where they easily dominated over Dharmaraja by 26-5. Plate finalist D.S. Senanayake were given a stiff challenge by the Science lads but eventually reigned supreme with a 19-14 win.
Kingswood College recorded a thrilling 19-17 win against hometown rivals St. Anthony’s College to clinch the Bowl championship. The winners scored from three tries and two conversions while the losers scored from three tries and a conversion. The boys from Randle Hills were dominant after they were slotted to the Bowl segment from the first round. Despite being challenged by the dark horses of the competition, Piliyandala Central, Kingswood recorded a close 17-12 win in the semi-final stage while finalist St. Anthony’s overcame Wesley College by the same scoreline. In the Bowl quarter finals Kingswood ran amok against Thurstan College with a comfortable 35-0 win while St. Anthony’s defeated Prince of Wales’ easily by 22- 0. Piliyandala Central defeated Nalanda College by 24-7 while Wesley beat the new kids on the block, Lalith Athulathmudali MV by 17-12 in the other quarter-final clash.
Mahanama College bagged the Shield title beating St. Sylvester’s College by 15-7 after scoring from three unconverted tries while the losers scored from a solitary converted try. Mahanama overcame Zahira College by 10-0 while St. Sylvester’s defeated Ananda College by 28-17 in the semi-final clashes. In the quarter finals eventual winners Mahanama had a close call against Vidyartha College before recording a narrow 10-5 win while St. Sylvester’s defeated Royal College Panadura by 19-12 after a tough battle. In the other two quarterfinal games Ananda thrashed Moratu Vidyalaya by 31-0 while Zahira beat St. Benedict’s College by 17-5.
The teams that missed out opportunities to play in the second round were minnows Bandaranayake MV Gampaha, Dharmapala Vidyalaya Pannipitiya, Lumbini College and St. Thomas’ College Matale. The two-day tournament was organised and conducted by Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association with the support of Singer Sri Lanka, who came in as sponsors. A total of 29 teams competing in the Division I segment participated in the tournament which had a large gathering of spectators on both days.