Havelock Park witnessed the birth of a new giant-killer today (24th) as the Dialog Schools Rugby League kicked off its much-anticipated season. Defying all pre-match predictions, the dark horses from the hill capital, Wariyapola Sri Sumangala College, stunned traditional contenders D. S. Senanayake College with a heart-stopping 2-point victory in a match that will be talked about for weeks to come.
Sumangala started the proceedings with a deep kickoff where D. S. Senanayake’s forwards misjudged the ball, resulting in a straight lineout. Then, the Dons received a penalty at the center mark for a side entry in a tackled situation. Buddhitha Rusiru delivered an excellent touch finder, resulting in a lineout on the 22-metre line with their throwing. After a solid lineout, the D. S. forwards flexed their muscles and pushed the Sumangala lads over 20 metres with an excellent rolling maul as the first try came courtesy of Praveen Lakmal. Chamith Samarasinghe made a peach of a conversion from the most difficult angle. (DSS 07 – 00 Sumangala)
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Later, the scrum-half Shashika Bandara made a brilliant turnover at a ruck in the middle, and Sumangala opted for a quick tap without wasting any time. Since then, excellent handling work of the Sumangala has materialised with multiple successful offloads. Suddenly, Shashika spotted a gap and ran through for an under-the-post try by adding the finishing touch to his initial good play. Pasindu Samarakoon successfully converted the try, bringing the score back to a tie. (DSS 07 – 07 Sumangala)
Later, Sumangala ambushed the D. S. territory by pressurising the host. After receiving a goal line drop-out, Senanayakiyans made a crucial mistake with a wrong kick. It resulted in a scrum in favour of visitors. Since then heavy forwards took the business into their hands and executed a pick-and-drive passage. After advancing inch by inch, Resandu Sahas crossed the tryline by touching the cushion of the left goal post. Samarakoon made no mistake with the conversion attempt to extend the lead. (DSS 07 – 14 Sumangala)
After a few moments, the host replied with a fine passage of play and kept the Sumangala defence line under tremendous pressure inside their own 22. Hence, the visitors made several penalty mistakes, but the Dons skipper opted to take a five-metre scrum at the left corner. As expected, Praveen Lakmal went for a No. 08 break and made it almost to the whitewash through a brilliant leg drive. Second rower Inod Thamel did the rest by pushing back three opponents to score the second try. Full back Chamith Samarasinghe executed another impressive conversion, bringing the game back to a tie. (DSS 14 – 14 Sumangala)
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After an action-packed 10 minutes which went without scoring, Sumangala received a kick and launched another fine attack from inside their own 22-metre mark. The winger had a blistering run into the opposition half and made a fabulous pass to the fullback Pasindu. He ran with an angle to avoid the tacklers to plant the third try during the final seconds of the first half. The try scorer did an excellent boot work to extend the lead with a successful conversion just before the short whistle. (Sumangala 21 – 14 DSS)
Half Time: Wariyapola Sri Sumangala College – 21 (3 T, 3 C) – D. S. Senanayake College 14 (2 T, 2 C)
After the lemons, the host made the kickoff with the determination of an early score in the second half. They executed the plan well and earned a penalty inside the half of the visitors. After going for a lineout inside the opposition’s 22-metre mark, Dons attacked with a fine driving maul where Sumangala had no choice, other than collapsing it illegally. Under a penalty advantage, D. S. forwards rallied together and kept asking questions of the visitors with a brilliant pick-and-drive passage of play. Finally, the massive prop forward Binul Gimnath scored their third try, adding another twist to the game. However, Chamith Samarasinghe missed a crucial conversion kick by keeping the lead of the visitors. (Sumangala 21 – 19 DSS)
When the game was in the balance, the Dons gave away another penalty for failure to roll away, and Samarakoon delivered a wonderful touch finder to earn a five-metre lineout in Sumangala’s favour. Then Sumangala almost reached the whitewash through a fine bit of play by the forwards. While the pick and drive was working for Sumangala, their nippy scrum-half saw an opportunity and went through a gap with a show-and-go run to score the bonus point try. By shuffling the kicking duties Malisha Karunathilake came and nailed a crucial conversion in the context of the game as Don required a couple of scores to attain the lead back. (Sumangala 28 – 19 DSS)
As the final minute approached, the Dons received a scrum with their throwing but at their own 22-metre mark. After fine handling work, the open-side winger overlapped and went through towards the try line. After penetrating into the opposition half, he made a fine pass to Chamith Samarasinghe, who went through to score an under-the-post try after a couple of side-steppings. After securing the try bonus, without wasting a second, Thatheera Perera nailed the conversion through a drop kick. (Sumangala 28 – 26 DSS)
Sumangala opted for a short restart kick, but D. S. Senanayake’s lads were a bit lazy to react as they thought the ball didn’t travel past the 10-metre mark. However, the ball did see, and Sumangala was able to recover a crucial possession. After a single break, Sumangala made a knock-on, and it was followed by the long whistle, staging an early upset to the Dialog Schools Rugby League 2026.
This remarkable victory does more than just give Wariyapola Sri Sumangala College early momentum in the Dialog Schools Rugby League – it completely reshapes the narrative of the tournament. By shattering the pre-season predictions, the Hill Capital lads have announced themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
Full Time: Wariyapola Sri Sumangala College – 28 (4 T, 4 C) – D.S. Senanayake College 26 (4 T, 3 C)
- Swisstek Perfect Player of the Match: Shashika Bandara (Wariyapola Sri Sumangala College)
Points Breakdown
Wariyapola Sri Sumangala College, Kandy – 28
Shashika Bandara 2T, Resandu Sahas 1T, Pasindu Samarakoon 1T, 2 C, Malisha Karunathilake 1C
D. S. Senanayake College, Colombo – 26
Praveen Lakmal 1 T, Inod Thamel 1 T, Binul Gimnath 1 T, Chamith Samarasinghe 1T, 2 C, Thatheera Perera 1C
- Match Referee – Suranga Arunashantha
 as the Dialog Schools Rugby League kicked off its much-anticipated season.){kind=link}