Dharmaraja came to the party a little too late for their liking getting their best game of the season in the last game of the first round.
It was St. Peters who suffered the loss at their hands at the Nittawela Rugby stadium earlier today. St.Peters however went onto the second round of the Cup segment despite this loss because St.Anthony’s failed to beat Royal College Colombo down in Colombo. St. Anthony’s and Dharmaraja therefore will bow out of the Cup to the Plate championships.
Gihan Ishara drew first blood for the Rajans in the early minutes of the game through a penalty. Referee Irshad Cader blew the whistle for a Peterite player holding on. (Dharmaraja 03-00 St.Peter’s)
Dharmaraja minutes later extended their margin by a try through their captain and second center Chamika Perera, which was created and handed over by Bawantha Udangamuwa. Perera dived over the line in the left corner after running a good 30 meters himself. Gihan Ishara missed the conversion slightly missing the left upright. (Dharmaraja 08-00 St.Peter’s)
Stephan Sivaraj then pinched the score back by three points neatly bisecting the uprights. The penalty was awarded for the line being off side. The kick had both the accuracy and power as it sailed over 30m at an angle. (Dharmaraja 08-03 St. Peter’s)
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Sivaraj then got another opportunity to kick at goal which he grabbed with open arms. This time Peters received the penalty for not rolling away. This kick too like the previous one had plenty of power and it was also at an angle which meant he had to cover more than 35m. (Dharmaraja 08-06 St. Peter’s)
A.S.Mendis then made a dangerous tackle on Gihan Ishara which was a little too high for referee Cader’s liking. He, after consulting with the linesman gave Mendis time in the sin bin. Making use of the extra man advantage it was Sandeepa Shiva of Dharmaraja who ran past the covering defence to go over the left corner of the field. Gihan Ishara made a good conversion from the left flank. (Dharmaraja 15-06 St. Peter’s)
Sivaraj who had his kicking on target put through another penalty with a distance around 30m to pull back the deficit to 6 points. The Dharmaraja forwards were the culprits this time around. The infringement for this penalty was that the front row stood up while scrummaging. (Dharmaraja 15-09 St. Peter’s)
Then it was all Dharmaraja in the first half of the game. Sandeepa Shiva went in for his second try of the game at the half hour mark. He made almost 80m on his own sprinting past the covering defenders and fending off the last defender Diyath Fernando before diving under the posts to score. The try was created by Bawantha Udangamuwa who handed off a good quick pass to send Sandeepa through. Gihan Ishara had no problems in converting. (Dharmaraja 22-09 St.Peters)
Binura Bandara went over for the Rajans on the brink of half time to give them an 18 point lead. It was yet again Bawantha Udangamuwa who spotted the slightest of gaps went through and handed off a good pass to Binura who had just one defender to beat before diving in for his try. Gihan Ishara failed this time around missing slightly wide of the left uprights. (Dharmaraja 27-09 St.Peters)
Half Time; Dharmaraja 27 (4T 2C 1P) – 09 (3P) St.Peters
Soon after the half time break, the Peterites were given another kickable penalty which was put through with ease by their in-form kicker Stephan Sivaraj. The Rajans player was found guilty of not rolling away. The 25m kicked on target as Peters made it a 15 point game. (Dharmaraja 27-12 St.Peters)
Yemin Basuru went in for a classic wing-three quarter try as he dived into the left corner flag touching down while his feet were still in the air. Bawantha Udangamuwa yet again the man who sent Basuru free for his short dash at the line. Gihan Ishara failed with his kick which had the accuracy but not the distance to get it over the posts. (Dharmaraja 32-12 St.Peters)
St.Peters then pulled back a try of their own putting penalty in for a line out throw which they cleanly collected and handed it over to Mohommed Mohideen the number 4 who made his way over the line bursting through two defenders who failed to hold him in. Stephan Sivaraj made a peach of a kick from the left corner flag. (Dharmaraja 32-19 St.Peters)
Gihan Ishara extended the Rajans lead by another 3 points with around 12 minutes remaining on the clock. The penalty was awarded for holding on the deck by the referee. (Dharmaraja 35-19 St.Peters)
With the game turning out to be a stunner Bawantha Udangamuwa was awarded a yellow card for a very rash tackle on Diyath Fernando which was pretty high.
This meant that Peters had the upper hand with an extra man on their side to make one last dash at the Rajans line. They eventually got over the line but it was a little too late for the Peterites. The try scorer yet again was Mohommed Mohideen. The conversion was a quick drop goal taken by Sivaraj which did not go over. (Dharmaraja 35-24 St.Peters)
The referee then brought the game to an end giving Dharmaraja a well-deserved win. The little scrum half Tharuka Galapitigedara was brilliant with his distribution and his box kicks as well as the second Center Bawantha Udangamuwa who almost created all the tries for Dharmaraja this evening. For the Rajans it was a little too late as they came into the match, already having been demoted to the plate championship. They failed to convert good start in all three matches this season which if they had might have been a very different ending for the season for them.
Full time – Dharmaraja 35 (5T 2C 2P) – 24 (2T 1C 4P) St.Peters
ThePapare.com’s Player of the Match: Tharuka Galapitigedara (Dharmaraja)
Score Breakdown
Dharmaraja College
Sandeepa Shiva (2T), Chamika Perera (1T), Yemin Basuru (1T), Binura Bandara (1T), Gihan Ishara (2C 2P)St.Peter’s College
Mohommed Mohideen (2T), Stephan Sivaraj (4P 1C)
