Isipathana College emerged jubilant in the All Island Under 18 Milo Schools Championships when they defeated S. Thomas’ College 17-5 to take home their first silverware for the season having trailed 3-5 at lemons.
It was the second half of play that fired up the Isipathana attacks after they ended up with an irrational display of rugby in the first essay. Isipathana’s wing three Hettiarachchi was the key highlight of the game where he slotted all of their kicks through the posts and ended up scoring the winning try.
S. Thomas College Mount Lavinia, who had reached a final of this sort for the first time were a team overflowing with adrenaline after their exceptional performances in the semifinals and the quarterfinals defeating the big names in the game. Unfortunately the Thomian grit was not enough to counter the valor of the Green shirts.
Isipathana College drew first blood within the first five minutes of play skipper Rankothge opted for the posts when Thomians were found guilty of an infringement. Hettiarachchi opened the scores for the Greens with an easy straightforward kick to take his team three points up. (3-0)
Replying to the opening statement, STC got themselves in try scoring position with an attacking scrum at the five-meter mark. Rather than opting to go for the #8 break, S. Thomas’ took the risk of going to their three quarters as Chanuka crossed over the farther right corner for the try. With five points up, S. Thomas’ missed on the opportunity of getting themselves up by another additional two points as Dias’ 44m kick did not carry.
The second half started with S. Thomas’ getting the best of it in the opening phases but the energy that they had when they marched onto the field seemed to be fading gradually. It took five minutes for Isipathana to find this loophole in the Thomians makeover as they started to take over the game.
Working from their forwards, Isipathana’s quick hands in the ruck gave them the upper hand in the game going phase by phase forward and finally scoring just left of the posts for their first try. It was Premadasa who kept the try and Hettiarachchi’s kick gave the Greens a 5 point lead. (10-5)
With no clear winner in place, it was a scenario where the team that scores next will walk away with the win. S. Thomas’ who were eagerly waiting to get their hands on some silverware did not seem to grab the opportunity as they their ball handling failed them at that crucial times. This proved advantageous for Isipathana when S. Thomas’ were late in support, allowing opposing speedster Hettiarachchi to pick up the ball that was on the loose to score the winning try for the team.
It was a moment of joy for the Isipathana fraternity who had come in numbers to fill the humungous Sugathadasa Complex to witness their team get their hands on some silverware after a long wait. With Hettiarachchi kicking it through in the final try, Isipathana were crowned as the new Under 18 champions.
Speaking to ThePapare.com, the victorious skipper of Isipathana Sumudu Rankothge had this to share,
“We have been working as a team for more than a month and we are happy about what we achieved. We did not give up after the sevens, the league and the knock outs but worked hard and finally we are very happy that we achieved this.”
S. Thomas’ missed out on opportunity of securing the trophy after an impressive run, as Isipathana College was the best out of the two teams this evening.
ThePapare’s Man of the Match: D.S. Hettiarachchi of Isipathana
Full Time score: 17-5
Wesley College defeated Science College 17-0 to win the Plate Championship while Trinity College defeated Kingswood College 17-5 to secure the Bowl title. Vidyartha College Kandy won the Shield defeating Thurstan 22-0.
