The Sugathadasa Stadium was electrified with the thrilling encounter in the Dialog School’s Rugby League 2026, as Royal College, Colombo showcased a championship-winning pedigree to overcome a first-half scare and defeat Thurstan College, Colombo. In a game that witnessed a dramatic swing in momentum early, Royal College dominated the second half to secure a dominant 40 – 15 victory along with the bonus point.
The Royalist started the proceedings with the kickoff but not in a convincing manner, as the kicker miscalculated and the kick went out in full, resulting in a center scrummage. Since that point onwards, some exciting Rugby actions were unveiled, and after a scoreless 10 minutes of play, Thurstan received a penalty within kicking range. However, the place kicker missed the regulation chance.
After 20 minutes of play, the Royalists were determined to break the deadlock and launched a fierce attack inside the 22-metre mark of the Thurstan territory. There, Thurstan conceded a couple of penalties, and the Referee, Raveen Alexander, went for the pocket and sin-binned the blindside flanker, Sanul Soysa, for foul play. To capitalise on the extra man’s advantage, Royalist called for a scrum after receiving the penalty. After a pick-and-go passage, Senuja Ranasinghe drew the first blood of the game. He kept a wonderful body position and executed a brilliant leg drive and barged his way over the try line. Kavindu Hewage made no mistake with the easy conversion chance. (Royal 07 – 00 Thurstan)
Later, Royal received a lineout with their throwing, and Thurstan managed to apply tremendous pressure on the Royal attacking line. Hence, Royal had to backpedal, and to get out of jail, they went for a box kick from inside their 22-metre mark. However, Thurstan did well to block the kick and to claim possession. After a pick-and-drive passage, the ball travelled to the right corner through their three-quarters. After a ruck formed near the right corner flag, the ball was given to the center Asad Sally, who arrived with a lovely angle to deceive the defense line and score a much-needed try by bringing his side right back to the contest. (Royal 07 – 05 Thurstan)
Later, Royal was caught for an accidental off-side resulting in a scrummage in favour of the hosts. There, the Thurstan center three-quarter Amindu Rajapaksha executed a brilliant running angle by taking three opponents on him and made a short pass to Ahad Sally, who ran through the gap to score an under-the-post try. Then, Amindu Rajapaksha put the cherry on top of his initial work by nailing the conversion. (Royal 07 – 12 Thurstan)
Later, the fullback Rajapaksha made another sparkling break through the defense line. Though he was well supported by Sally again, he failed to grab the pass, but in the meantime, he was tackled before the ball reached him. After receiving the penalty, Thurstan opted for points, and Rajapaksha made no mistake with the penalty kick. This purple patch saw Thurstan surge ahead, establishing a commanding eight-point lead. (Royal 07 – 15 Thurstan)
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As the Half Time whistle approached, Thurstan appeared to be in the driver’s seat, but Royal College had one final say in the half. After crossing the 10-metre mark in Thurstan territory, the strong second rower Methuka Wickramarathne spotted a loose hole in the defence and exploited it with a blistering run. Further, he delivered a fancy side step to deceive the final tackler and ran all the way to score the second try. Then Hewage kept his fine rhythm with the boot and nailed the conversion. (Royal 14 – 15 Thurstan)
This late score proved to be the turning point, shifting the psychological momentum entirely in favour of the Royalists as the teams headed for the lemons.
Half Time: Royal College – 14 (2T, 2C) – Thurstan College 15 (2T, 1C, 1P)
After the restart, the Royalists, who were determined to regain the lead, executed a fabulous attack on Thurstanites. Due to the immense pressure, hosts tend to make some mistakes, resulting in penalties by swinging back the game in favour of Royal. After receiving an offside penalty on the five-metre mark, the Royal opted for a scrum, and as expected, their heavy forward Dasis Pathirana went for a No. 08 break, and he cut back inside and went over the try line without much disturbance from the defenders. There was an anticlimax as Dasis Pathirana was sin-binned for a punch after scoring the try. Hewage nailed the conversion, and the restart came with a penalty in favour of Thurstan. (Royal 21 – 15 Thurstan)
Though Royal were down by a man, they never made any changes in the attacking mindset and continued the game plan by launching another dazzling attack deep into Thurstan territory. Their forward and three-quarters seamlessly committed to the operation, while some good handling skills were displayed. After sending the ball wide, the openside winger, S. B. Perera, managed to spear from the right corner to score the bonus point try, and then the floodgates were opened for Royal. (Royal 26 – 15 Thurstan)
Without wasting any time, Royal invaded Thurstan territory and kept asking some serious questions from the defense with their heavy hits. After working the ball sideways, Royal managed to cross the five-metre mark. Then, the ball switched to the powerful Pathirana who dragged some opponents towards the tryline. Suddenly he made a fantastic backhand offload as the fly-half, Hewage, did the rest by easily crossing the whitewash. Then, Hewage polished his try with a magnificent conversion. (Royal 33 – 15 Thurstan)
Later, the Royalists were reduced to 14 men again as Perera was sin-binned due to a high tackle. However, the Royalists were unstoppable and continued the attack by crossing to the opposition’s 22-metre mark. After receiving a penalty for a high tackle, Royal went for a quick tap, and after a couple of passes, Aman Althaf went from the middle to score another try. Hewage made no mistake with the conversion which was followed by the long whistle. (Royal 40 – 15 Thurstan)
The 40 – 15 scoreline was a fair reflection of Royal’s superiority in the second half. They emerged from the tunnel a transformed side, executing a brand of Rugby that was both relentless and ruthless. The Royal forwards provided a solid platform, winning the collisions and providing quick ball, while the three-quarters exploited the space with seamless attacking moves.
Full Time: Royal College – 40 (6T, 5C) – Thurstan College 15 (2T, 1C, 1P)
Swisstek Perfect Player of the Match: Senuja Ranasinghe (Royal College)
Points Breakdown
Royal College, Colombo – 40
Senuja Ranasinghe 1T, Methuka Wickramarathne 1T, Dasis Pathirana 1T, S.B. Perera 1T, Aman Althaf 1T, Kavindu Hewage 1T, 5C,
Thurstan College, Colombo – 15
Ahad Sally 2T, Amindu Rajapaksha 1C, 1P
Match Referee – Raveen Alexander
