A re-energized Peterite outfit (following a rest week) look to emulate their previous week’s big win as they take on old foes, St. Joseph’s College for the 58th Fr. Basil Weeratunge Shield at St. Peter’s College grounds on the 1st of April.

These two prestigious catholic schools, one from Maradana and the other from Bambalapitiya first played this encounter in 1955.

In 1963 distinguished Fr. Basil Weeratunga shield was introduced by a  Mr. Carlo Martin a master at St.Peter’s College.  Ever since, this has been a much anticipated clash by both sets of players and respective faithful.

There have been many heated encounters in the past but it has been the Peterites who have emerged on the winning side on 39 occasions out of 59 times the big match has been played.

The Josephians have a sorry tale of just 13 wins. There have been 5 draws and the big match has not taken place on two occasions.

Highlight of the encounter:

Undoubtedly the highlight of this encounter was the thumping 101-5 win to the Peterites lead by Ranuka Jayasinghe in the game played at CR & FC.

Blast from the past:

The first match between St. Peter’s and St. Joseph’s was played in 1955 and the Peterites ran out as winners 3-nil. The team from Bambalapitiya won the first three games beating the Josephians in closely contested encounters.

The team from Maradana registered their first win in 1958, winning 13-nil under the captaincy of C.I Rajarathnam.

Most recent scores from the past 7 years read as follows:

2010 – St. Peter’s under Keith Gurusinghe (55-0)
2011 – St. Peter’s under Bhanuka Nanayakkara (23-17)
2012 – St. Peter’s under Dhanushka Ranjan (36-24)
2013 – St. Peter’s under Shan Weerakkody (43-15)
2014 – St. Peter’s under Shenal Aponso (16-11)
2015 – St. Joseph’s under Taariq Salih (17-10)
2016 – No match

Last Meeting:

The big match was not held last year due to administrative reasons as the record still stands from the year 2015. When these two teams met last, it was Taariq Salih’s rampaging Josephians who came up trumps, breaking a 15 year long streak winning 17-10 in a thrilling game played at CR & FC.

Re-energized St. Peter’s:

The Peterites come into this game after a rest week, and an unexpected, brilliant win, putting an end to the Isipathana unbeaten run.

The Peterites started this season with a narrow 27-25 win over St. Anthony’s College at home. They were made to work hard for their win as the Peterites looked to be in different wavelength.

Week two saw Sanath Martis’ Royal lads exploit the Peterites weaknesses as they defeated Peters on their home strip in a scrappy game that ended 10-17.

The boys from Bambalapitiya bounced back with a massive win, beating D.S Senanayake College 36-05.

The purple patch the Peterites struck went from good to great within a week’s time as they brought down high-flying Isipathana to put an abrupt end to their winning streak.

Stephan Sivaraj played a pivotal role in the win against Isipathana and will undoubtedly aim to repeat his match winning performance in the all important big match.

Probable Starting XV

Diyath Fernanado, Jason Karunarathne, Thikshana Dassanayake, Sandesh De Mel, Mark Assauw, Stephan Sivaraj, Ravin Fernando, Sajith Seram, Sunera Fernando, Javid Zarook, Umar Mohideen, Ashen Mendis, Faiz Abdulla, Isuru Fernando, Nikil Yapa.

Josephian chemistry at long last:

The team from Maradana came ever so close to a perfect start to the season but seemed to be finding their feet in week one and two. Week three and four saw them gel, better late than never stringing two wins on the trot.

Week one and two say the Josephians going down fighting to Royal (28-22) and Isipathana the week after 39-32.

A rest in week three was vital as the coaching staff went back to the drawing board and made the players put in the hard work before some significantly important fixtures in the weeks to follow.

The week after saw Joes bounce back to beat bitter rivals Dharmaraja College 44-10 at CR & FC to kick start their season. The most recent week of rugby that concluded, St. Joseph’s took on the Eagles in their home den. The game was exhilarating from the word go and ended in favour of Joes as they recorded a bonus point, 24-11 win in Kandy to set up an entralling big match in store.

Probable Starting XV

Gemunu Chethiya, Sachith Silva, Naveen De Silva, Sameesha Viranga, Vinul Fernando, Chathura Senevirathne, Channa Ashoka, Gihan Perera, Tharindu De Alwis, Shehan Eranda, Nimesh Kavinda, Tehan Senevirathne, Shevon Gregory, Sven Muller, Theraka Santhush

Predictions:

On past records and form, Peter’s hold a slight edge on arch rivals SJC. Both teams come into the big match with wins under their belt and we are undoubtedly in for an intriguing game of rugby on Saturday (1st April) at Bambalapitiya St. Peters grounds.

ThePapare will be bringing you live action from the 58th Fr. Basil Weeratunge shield on Dialog Tv Channel 1,  and MyTv.

Stats credits – Quadrangle Magazine and Neil Wijeratne

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