A ‘Royal’ comeback against the spirited Joes

After trailing 24 points to 10 at the half-time break, Royal College made a scintillating comeback in the second half to score three tries in order to draw level with the boys from Darley Road at the end of a terrific game.

The Josephians lost all their three games prior to this match while the Royalists lost the Michael Gunarathne Trophy to their arch-rivals by the sea two weeks ago.

The Joes first five-eighth Chathura Senevirathne commenced the game with a long kick. Both teams used their kicking boots in the early stages of the match which signaled a keenness to play the territorial game.

Just five minutes into the game, blind-side flanker for St. Joseph’s College, Tharindu De Alwis got his team a point-scoring opportunity inside the Royal 22’ when his opposite number was penalized for holding onto the ball in a ruck situation. Chathura Senevirathne made no mistakes with the kick which was right in front of the posts.(St. Joseph’s 03 – Royal 00)

Photos – St. Joseph’s College vs Royal College – Schools Rugby 2016

The dangerous ‘Royal’ maul was defied in the first instance by the gritty St. Joseph’s pack but they were unable to stop the marauding Royal forward pack the second time as prop forward Ayesh Maduranga barged through to score their first try at the end of the first quarter of the match even though the maul was collapsed by the hosts. Full-back Ashok Wijekumar converted. (St. Joseph’s 03 – Royal 07)

The Saints had a clear plan of using their backs as much as possible while the Royalists were playing around the fringes using their bulky forwards. When the game entered the 30-minute mark, a set-move by the Josephian back line tested the Royal defensive line inside their own 22’ but after several phases, the Josephian vice-captain and No.8 Devon Fernando got his hands to the ball and dived over for their first try. Chathura Senavirathne neatly added the extra points. (St. Joseph’s 10 – Royal 07)

A few minutes later, one of the Royal centers made a terrible handling error in their own territory while the Josephian captain Romesh Priyankara pounced on the loose ball and sprinted towards the try-line to score an excellent try. Chathura Senevirathne converted with ease. (St. Joseph’s 17 – Royal 07)

The Royalists were sensing a try-scoring opportunity inside the Joes 22’ just minutes before the half-time but due to an infringement by Josephian center Gemunu Chethiya on a breakdown, Royal College were awarded with a 15-meter penalty kick which Ashok Wijekumar happily converted into three points. (St. Joseph’s 17 – Royal 10)

In the final move of the first-half, the Josephians used the short side to great effect when they executed a perfect 8,9,14 move off a 20-meter scrum to let winger Malinda Pinthu run freely and score the 3^rd Josephian try for the evening. Chathura Senevirathne converted as the referee blew the half-time whistle.

Half-Time: St. Joseph’s 24 (3T,3C, 1P) – Royal 10 (1T, 1C, 1P)

After the break, the senior man and full-back Ashok Wijekumar restarted the game. The boys from Reid Avenue needed to comeback strongly into the game and they made use of their biggest weapon, ‘The Rolling Maul’ perfectly in the 47^th minute when their hooker Azmir Fajudeen scored the first points of the second half courtesy a well-deserving try after camping for several minutes inside the Joes 22’. Ashok Wijekumar’s conversion went astray. (St. Joseph’s 24 – Royal 15)

In the 52^nd minute of the match, the Josephian playmaker Chathura Senevirathne reacted quickly to extend the lead as he bisected the posts with tremendous ease to slot in the second drop goal of the season. (St. Joseph’s 27 – Royal 15)

Moments after his individual brilliance, Chathura was sent to the ‘Naughty Chair’ for 10 minutes by the referee for a dangerous tackle while after a minute, even the visitors were down to 14 players as their second-row forward, Harith Lokugamage was yellow-carded for foul play in a maul.

The boys in Blue and Gold injected some fresh legs into the park and initiated a clear plan of keeping the ball tight among the forwards. Tight head prop, Ayesh Maduranga busted through the resolute Josephian defense in the 67^th minute for his second try as they were once again unstoppable just meters out from the try line. Ashok once again failed to convert the try but the momentum shifted swiftly across to Royal College. (St. Joseph’s 27 – Royal 20)

The Josephians gave away several penalties by not contesting the Royal maul and defending the maul from an off-side position. The Royalists were determined and had most of the possession and territory in the second half which enabled loose head prop, Mohommad Nabeel to score under the posts in the 73^rd minute which Ashok Wijekumar converted to tie the scores. (St. Joseph’s 27 – Royal 27)

The home team were awarded two penalties in the dying stages of the game, from 25-meters and 45-meters but their star place-kicker Chathura Senavirathne dragged it left of the uprights on both occasions to the disappointment of the Josephian fans but at the end, the Royalists were relieved to draw the game.

The underdogs, St. Joseph’s College had the upper hand of the game most of the time but were unable to pull of their first win of the season while the ‘Never Say Never’  by Royal College prevailed in the end as the first drawn game of the season was witnessed by a passionate crowd present at CR & FC grounds.

Full-Time: Royal College 27 (4T,2C,1P) – St. Joseph’s College 27 (3P,3C, 1P, 1DG)