The final Week 2 encounter in the Dialog Schools Rugby League 2026 was staged at the Trinity College Rugby Stadium, Pallekele, as S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia, secured a commanding 33 – 12 victory over hosts Kingswood College, Kandy. While the match began as a tightly contested affair, a collapse in discipline from the Kingswood side and a brilliant second-half performance from the Thomians dictated the final outcome.
Kingswood College began the action with a deep kickoff, and S. Thomas’ replied with an immediate clearance kick, resulting in a lineout in between the 10-meter and 22-meter marks with Kingswood throwing. After securing possession, the host attacked fiercely in the visitors’ territory. After working the ball from the left corner, the center three-quarter took on a couple of players and created a gap by giving a pop pass to the winger Chanindu Adhikari. He made a blistering run along the touch line to draw the first blood from the right corner in the second minute by stunning the visitors with a blistering try that ignited the home crowd. (KCK 05 – 00 STC)
However, the setback only served to awaken the Thomian spirit. Demonstrating resilience and tactical composure, the S. Thomas’ lads regrouped and replied with an exciting play. Suddenly, the openside winger Rehan Warnasuriya made a vital break to bring the play into Kingswood’s territory. After a couple of passes the ball was passed to Mayanka Dias, who found a gap and exploited it with a brilliant running angle. Then he got away from another tackle with a goose step and ran with an angle towards the right corner flag to avoid tacklers. Mayanka managed to beat all the chases with his pure power and scored the first try for the visitors. Mayanka scored the try with a dive, and later Kingswood flanker Temash Thilakarathne made an unnecessary charge on to the ball carrier who was on the ground and was sin-binned. Mayanka added the extras with a curved conversion kick to gain the lead. (KCK 05 – 07 STC)
Kingswood put themselves in deep trouble when they put the ball inside of the 22-meter mark and kicked it out in full, resulting in a lineout in their red zone with the throwing of visitors. S. Thomas’ lived up to their skill and replied with a well-constructed maul and almost reached the whitewash. Just before crossing the line, they broke from behind, but the hosts did well to prevent him from scoring. S. Thomas’ never put their heads down and attacked with a fine pick-and-go drive by bulldozing the defense to score their second. The try came courtesy of Vishwa Ariyawansha, and Mayanka once again nailed a difficult conversion by adjusting the wind factor brilliantly. (KCK 05 – 14 STC)
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Just as the Thomians began to assert control, Kingswood showed glimpses of their early danger, particularly through their quick counter-attacks and strategic plays that kept the Thomians on their toes. As Half Time approached, the hosts fought their way back into the contest with a fine pick-and-drive passage which earned them an off-side penalty. Under the advantage, the ball switched to the three-quarters, and after a fascinating line movement, Kingswood made a lovely inside pass to Ashik Asmi, who pierced through a gap to score a try under the posts. Shamith Shafraz made no mistake with the easy conversion to narrow the deficit. (KCK 12 – 14 STC)
Another action-packed 10 minutes of play was followed by the short whistle, and Kingwood went for the lemons with the game momentum, though they were trailing by two points.
Half Time: S. Thomas’ College 14 (2T, 2C) – 12 (2T, 1C) Kingswood College
During the second half, the spirited Thomian outfit attacked with a clear intent of extending the lead. Meanwhile, Kingswood key player Ashik failed to wrap his arm around the ball carrier and was sin-binned for a stiff-arm tackle. Then, things went from bad to worse for the hosts as the winger Dulaj Fernando used his leg to tackle a Thomian after taking a quick tap. The Referee gave a yellow card by creating a thirteen-against-fifteen contest.
As such, the Kingswood Skipper, Sachintha Naveesha, went for a poor option by kicking the ball straight into the hands of Thomian full-back Roja Karawita. He got away from three chases with a fine side step to deliver a dazzling breakthrough through the defense. Then he took the final defender and made a brilliant off-load to Mayanka who was running along in an excellent supporting line. Then Mayanka ran all the way to score their third try by extending the lead. (KCK 12 – 19 STC)
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The Kingswood Skipper made another mess later, as he made a knock-on near the goalpost to hand a good attacking position on a silver platter. As expected, Mickael Karunaratne went for a No. 08 break and made a brilliant leg drive, but he was short by a few inches. After recycling the ball, Thomians attacked with a pick-and-go phase, and Hashen Fernando finally crossed the whitewash with a latching attack. Mayanka continued his good form with the boot to extend the lead. (KCK 12 – 26 STC)
After receiving the restart kick, S. Thomas’ never gave breathing space for the host and counter-attacked immediately. A. Dhammage made a blazing run along the touchline and gained vital territory from his own 22-meter mark to the opposite 22-meter. Then the Thomians applied tremendous pressure on the Kingswood defensive line with a seamless attack. Suddenly S. Thomas’ replacement scrum-half Hashen Fernando exploited a gap with a show-and-go technique and made a superb off-load to Tieshya Aluwihare. The flanker had the final say by dragging his tackler into the in-goal area to score the fifth try for the visitors. Mayanka bisected the posts with the conversion kick by putting the cherry on top of their dominating victory. (KCK 12 – 33 STC)
During the game, Kingswood’s discipline crumbled under pressure, resulting in the Referee brandishing three yellow cards. Playing with a numerical disadvantage for significant periods proved disastrous for the hosts. The card count forced Kingswood to defend with depleted numbers, a clear disadvantage that the clinical Thomians exploited ruthlessly to post a dominating victory, recovering impressively from their initial early hiccup. The three yellow cards served as a crucial turning point, transforming a potential thriller into a one-sided traffic at Pallekele.
Full Time: S. Thomas’ College – 33 (5T, 4C) – 12 (2T, 1C) Kingswood College
Swisstek Perfect Player of the Match: Mayanka Dias (S. Thomas’ College)
Points Breakdown
S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia – 33
Mayanka Dias 2T 4C, Vishwa Ariyawansha 1T, Hashen Fernando 1T, Tieshya Aluwihare 1T
Kingswood College, Kandy – 12
Chanindu Adhikari 1T, Ashik Asmi 1T, Shamith Shafraz 1C
Match Referee – Gihan Yatawara
