A clinical performance at Mount Lavinia ensured that S. Thomas’ College retained the Archibald Perera trophy for the second consecutive year as they beat St. Peter’s College by 36 (5T,4C, 1P) to 13 (1T, 1C, 2P) in their Singer Schools Rugby League – Cup Segment game on Saturday.
As the strong wind blew across the ground, Sandesh Jayawickrama kicked off the game from left to right. St. Peter’s started off brilliantly by striking out a few excellent phases but a few handling errors cost them the possession as the Thomians hit back strongly through some patient build up which led to their first try in the 12th minute scored by outside center Praveen Ferdinando. Ashwantha Herath converted. (STC 07 – SPC 00)
Few minutes later, S. Thomas’ once again used the width of the pitch superbly to penetrate the Peterite defence as full-back Mayon Jayawardene dummied his way through a couple of Peterite defenders to score a fascinating try. Ashwantha failed to convert. (STC 12 – SPC 00)
In the 23rd minute of the match, the Thomian back line was penalized for not staying behind five meters from the base of the scrum as Stephan Sivaraj opened the scoring for St. Peter’s through an accurate 30-meter penalty. (STC 12 – SPC 03)
Against the run of play in the 27th minute, St. Peter’s scrum-half, Avishka Heenpalla intercepted a Shenal De Silva pass from the lineout and sprinted 30 meters to the try line to score the first Peterite try as the visitors gained excellent momentum. Sivaraj neatly converted to reduce the deficit. (STC 12 – SPC 10)
As the rain eased out and the sun came out, the Peterite full back Diyath Fernando’s dazzling footwork and speed almost took St. Peter’s College into the lead but the Thomian cover defence prevailed to greater extent to stop the visitors.
The Thomian No.8 Sachitha Jayathilake missed out on scoring as he was held up on the try line but he was unstoppable in the next minute as he barged over the try line in the far corner to break the spirited Peterite defence. Ashwantha Herath converted superbly as the referee blew the half-time whistle.
HT: S. Thomas’ College 19 – St. Peter’s College 10
After lemons, Ashwantha Herath restarted the game. Minutes into the second half, St. Peter’s were dealt with a big blow when Theekshana Dassanayake and Stephan Sivaraj collided while going for a loose ball as both the players had to be replaced even though the former came back after 10 minutes.
Photo Album – Archibald Perera Trophy
As the game clock read 50 minutes, the visitors opened scoring in the second half as Sandesh Jayawickrama bisected the posts with a 15-meter penalty when the Thomians were penalized for not releasing the tackled player. (STC 19 – SPC 13)
In the 65th minute of the game, the visiting front-row were penalised for standing up in a scrum and Ashwantha Herath extended the lead for the hosts’ with a 25-meter penalty. (STC 22 – SPC 13)
The Thomian management recycled the bench fittingly in the last quarter of the match and a few minutes later, the replacement scrum-half, Dion Diaz sneaked through couple of Peterite defenders and scored the bonus-point securing 4th try for the hosts’ to put the game beyond the reach of the visitors. Ashwantha Herath continued his good form with the boot as he added the extra points. (STC 29 – SPC 13)
The big Peterite center Theekshana Dassanayake was sin-binned for the rest of the match due to a shoulder charge from the side of a ruck as the Peterites were down to only 14 players in the dying stages of the game.
In the 78th minute of the match, Ashwantha Herath who had a near perfect game collected the loose ball and scored under the posts after Bumindra Dissanayake charged down Sandesh Jayawickrama’s kick to put the final nail in the Peterite coffin. Herath easily converted his own try. (STC 36 – SPC 13)
The Thomians continued their dominant and unbeaten run for yet another week as Dion Diaz kicked the ball out of play under fading light to cap off another comprehensive victory.
FT: S. Thomas’ College 36 (5T,4C, 1P) – St. Peter’s College 13 (1T, 1C, 2P)
Referee – Irshad Cader
ThePapare Man of the Match – Dhanuja Wijerathne (STC)
Points Scorers:
S. Thomas’ – Sachitha Jayathilake 5 points (1 try), Ashwantha Herath 16 points (1 try, 4 conversions, 1 penalty) Mayon Jayawardene 5 points (1 try), Praveen Ferdinando 5 points (1 try), Dion Diaz 5 points (1 try)
St. Peter’s – Stephan Sivaraj 5 points (1 penalty, 1 conversion), Sandesh Jayawickrama 3 points (1 penalty), Avishka Heenpalla 5 points (1 try)
