School rugby back on track from May 30
After a lapse of nearly three weeks the school rugby fever gets back into action from May 30 where they will vie for the Singer U20 Rugby Title with eight schools of which four will definitely be in contention to be crowned as the school rugby kings of 2015.
Isipathana the defending champions and was one of the two teams to remain unbeaten after the first round of matches. They came out on top in Division 1A segment while Royal the other team to end with an unbeaten record topped the Division 1B segment. No doubt, both Isipathana and Royal will be the two main contenders for the title.
The other six teams are Trinity, St. Joseph’s, St. Peter’s, Science, Kingswood and S. Thomas’. Apart from Trinity the remaining five teams have a daunting task to be in contention.
Looking back at the performances of the teams in the concluded Singer U20 league stage which began on March 22 and ending on May 10. In no doubt the spectators saw some scintillating rugby played during the past three months. Of course the tournament was delayed for nearly two weeks during the April holidays, being one of the reasons for it to be prolonged.
However as mentioned there were some one- sided games and also blockbusters with the best being the last league encounter between traditional rivals Royal and Trinity which was also the first leg of their prestigious Bradby Shield which has taken place for just over seven decades.
The match between St. Joseph’s and traditional rivals St. Peter’s was another game that went to the wire which ended in St. Joseph’s coming out victorious after a lapse of 15 years to regain the Rev. Basil Wiratunge memorial shield. Defending champions Isipathana started off the season with a bang when they recorded a 71- 5 win over newcomers to the top division CWW Kannangara MMV. They followed it up with a 34-0 win against Wesley.
In the next two matches against St. Joseph’s and St. Peter’s the Pathanians were tested to the hilt as against the Darley Road boys they managed to scrape through with a 23- 17 win. But they were really given a fright by the Bambalapitiya boys who were the only team to give a fight to the Pathanians who escaped with 20-18 win.
Isipathana’s last league encounter against Kingswood was expected to be a close game but it turned to be a one side affair with the Pathanians walking away with a 32-22 win to take the top slot in the Division 1A segment.
Royal who took the top slot in the Division 1B segment got off the season in style with a 38- 10 win against St. Anthony’s Katugastota. They followed it up with a 37-22 win against Science but was given some anxious moments by Dharmaraja which they won by 17-5.
The next game against traditional ri- vals S. Thomas’ turned out to be a one way traffic as they humbled the Thomians with a 52-0 win. The last league encounter against Trinity turned out to be a blockbuster, the two teams were on par and a keen tussle was on the card. The game swung either way before Royal prevailed in a cliffhanger one point win 23-22 to end the first round with an unbeaten record and to take the top spot in the Division 1B segment.
The most improved side this season was no doubt St. Joseph’s, they won four of the five matches against St. Peter’s, CWW Kannangara, Kingswood and Wesley with their sole defeat being against Isipathana.
Trinity too apart from the loss against traditional rivals Royal won four matches against Dharmaraja, St. Anthony’s, S. Thomas’ and Science. St. Peter’s had the honour being the only team to post over 100 points which they achieved against CWW Kannangara (107-5).
In the try scorers list Isipathana skipper and No. 8 Omalka Gunaratne leads with 11, followed by Royal’s Supun Warnakulasuriya (8), Wesley’s Chamika Kusal ( 8), Trinity’s Saranga Gunatilleke ( 7) and Kingswood’s Reeza Rafaideen (6).
Meanwhile four teams -- Wesley, CWW Kannangara, St. Anthony’s and Dharmaraja will vie for the Plate title. However the second round is going to be crucial for teams like Isipathana, Royal, Trinity and St. Joseph’s but Science could pull off some surprises.
Second Round Schedule:
May 30: Isipathana vs S. Thomas’ at Mt Lavinia. Science vs St Joseph’s at Mt Lavinia. St Peter’s vs Trinity at Bambalapitiya. Royal vs Kingswood at Royal Complex. June 6: Science vs Isipathana at Mt Lavinia. S. Thomas’ vs St Joseph’s at Longdon Place. St Peter’s vs Royal at Bambalapitiya. Trinity vs Kingswood at Pallekele. June 13: Trinity vs Isipathana at Pallekele. Royal vs St Joseph’s at Royal Complex. St Peter’s vs S. Thomas’ at Bambalapitiya. Science vs Kingswood at Mt Lavinia. June 20: Royal vs Isipathana at Royal Complex. Trinity vs St Joseph’s at Longdon Place. St Peter’s vs Science at Bambalapitiya. S. Thomas’ vs Kingswood at Havelock Park.