An all important clash in the bowl segment between two teams struggling to find a win, clashed in an absolute blockbuster at Police park in the week 7 of the Dialog Schools’ Rugby League 2026. A misfiring Mahanama College came up against a formidable Lumbini college, only for Lumbini College to come out victorious amidst a late comeback from the hosts.
It wasn’t the cleanest of starts for either team as it was fumbles and mis-judgements galore at Police park very early in the set piece. Within 7 minutes on the clock, Nadun Aloka was sent out with a yellow card for a daunting tackle on the Mahanama attack. That proved pivotal for the hosts as they capitalized on a weakened Lumbini outfit to score in the first 10 minutes of the match; with Sethika Fonseka donning the no.2 jersey able to touch down on the back of a rolling maul for the hosts’ first try of the match. Vihanga Saneth made the conversion to put the hosts ahead early.(MC 07 – 00 LC)
With the visitors trailing, on the 19th minute, RK Yohan found an opening in the Mahanama defense and was able to sneak past their valiant defensive efforts. After many attempts in the Mahanama red zone, the Lumbini college finally capitalized on the good ground they had made. Sachintha Induwara did the rest for the visitors as he converted to make it a 7 all game. (MC 07 – 07 LC)
Not long had passed when the crowd witnessed absolute brilliance from Lumbini. Sachintha Induwara picked up the ball from their own half with a quick steal and run as he darted through and across a taken-aback opposition defense to touch down for his first try of the match. Sachintha was spot on with his kicks as he managed to convert his own try to bring the lead in favour of the visitors.( MC 07 – 14 LC)
With the half time looming, after brilliant passages of play in favour of the visitors, Lumbini college took advantage of a penalty and decided to lay Sachintha Induwara with kicking duties. Spot on was the decision as the no.14 took sent a crucial kick in between the posts to make it a 10 point game and heavily in favour of the visitors.(MC 07 – 17 LC)
With the match clock on 35:00 and the referee opting to continue with play, Mahanama college was met with some Rugby brilliance as play was heavily suiting the liking of the visitors. The no. 8, Thisura Perera managed to bulldoze his way over the whitewash in Mahanamian territory to shock the home team and set them aback. Sachintha Induwara did not disappoint as he converted to make it a daunting 17 point game for the hosts.(MC 07 – 24 LC)
On the brink of the half time whistle Iruka Bandara was sent off with a yellow card but that was it for the first half in terms of action with the game heavily on the visitors’ lap.
Halftime – Mahanama College 07( 1T, 1C) – 24( 3T, 3C, 1P) Lumbini College
The second half begun with Lumbini carrying all the momentum with them. They carried on the good play in the earlier half and attacked the Mahanama outfit blazingly, testing their ability to handle pressure. And within minutes Lumbini were able to penetrate the defense of the hosts and shatter them once again with Nadun Aloka, on this occasion crossing over the whitewash to touchdown once more. Induwara who was vested with usual kicking duties was ever-consistent as he made no mistake once more as his conversion further strengthened their position.(MC 07 – 31 LC)
After majority of the match was controlled by the visitors, the hosts were waiting for an opportunity to latch on to and build some momentum towards the business end of the game. They managed to make way into the opposition’s territory and seriously test the visitors’ defense. Viduna Adipaththu was the man to do it for Mahanama as he edged his way through a tight defense to touch down and bring something in favour of them. Sithum Rathnayake who had just come into the middle was provided with the kicking duties, as he too succeeded for the hosts in bringing their deficit down to 17 points.(MC 14 – 31 LC)
With something going their way, Mahanama had to hold on to the groove they got themselves into. But cometh the hour, cometh the man for Lumbini as Sachintha Induwara was in the spotlight once more as he made merry of an already threatened Mahanama defense to carry that ball over the whitewash once more, for his second Amana Bank try of the match. He kicked off his own try, as he kicked a brilliant ball with angles coming into the fore this time around as it bisected through the posts.(MC 14 – 38 LC)
With the hosts desperate to pick up points, they were bound to put in their all and show how tough they are to beat. With close to 10 minutes to the close of play, Sethika Fonseka managed to creep through a tight Lumbini defense to cross over to the try line and give themselves a fighting chance of chasing down this huge trail. Vihanga Saneth provided a successful conversion for them and that helped narrow down that lead the visitors had.(MC 21 – 38 LC)
With the clock ticking and time running out for them, the hosts needed something magical out of the fore. And provide that he did, did Mandilu Nemsara. With a brilliant run in with the ball evading the Lumbini defense and cutting through a tough pack, the no. 11 jersey made it through to the other end and secured a remarkable try for the hosts. They were unable to convert, but that sensational bit of play brought some hope for the Mahanama fans.(MC 26 – 38 LC)
On the brink of the final whistle being blown, Mahanama had more to showcase as they managed to get another try in, surprising everyone including the opposition. All of a sudden, the visitors were found in a tricky situation after having played on a featherbed. Sethika Fonseka touched down for a hat trick of tries as he starred in the Mahanama fight set out to the visitors.(MC 31 – 38 LC)
With the final passage of play being allowed, the scoreboard was moved no more as the Mahanama fightback timed out and Lumbini finally could breathe a little easy. With constant fight shown by both the sides throughout the match, the game went in favour of Lumbini by the barest of margins as they notched up their first win of the Dialog Schools’ Rugby League 2026 and that, a bonus point win to cap things off.
Fulltime : Mahanama College 31( 5T, 3C) – 38 (5T, 5C, 1P) Lumbini College
- Swisstek Perfect Player of the Match – Sachintha Induwara ( Lumbini College)
Points breakdown:
Mahanama College 31
Sethika Fonseka (3T), Vihanga Saneth (2C), Sithum Rathnayake (1C), Mandilu Nemsara (1T), Viduna Adipaththu (1T)
Lumbini College 38
Sachintha Induwara (2T, 5C, 1P), Thisura Perera (1T), RK Yohan (1T), Nadun Aloka (1T)
Match Referee – Thilina Ratnayake
