St. Peter’s College clinched a comfortable 24–8 victory over St. Anthony’s College in their second-week fixture of the Dialog Schools Rugby League 2025, played at the Nittawela Grounds. The encounter also doubled as the Rector’s Trophy clash, which the Peterites successfully retained with a dominant all-round performance.
The hill-country encounter began with the Antonians kicking off and showing early promise. Their efforts were rewarded in the 13th minute when skipper Omitha Dissanayake took a quick tap off a penalty, catching the Peterites off guard. He swung the ball wide, and Deshan Liyanage delivered a superb offload to centre Randeer Perera, who crossed over for the opening try.
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The Peterites, however, responded in style. Their forwards took control with a series of patient pick-and-drive phases. No. 8 Shenuka Perera broke through the line but fumbled during grounding. In the rush to restart from the goal line drop out the Antonians kicked straight into the hands of Peterite skipper Vishenka Silva, who powered his way through the defense to score their first try.
With momentum on their side, the Peterite forwards continued to apply pressure. A series of close carries led to a try from tight head prop Ashaz Farook, assisted by Shenuka Perera, crashing over the line. Rajith Geon added the conversion to give the visitors Seven points lead heading into halftime.
Half Time: St. Anthony’s College 05 (1T) – St. Peter’s College 12 (2T,1C)
St. Anthony’s came out firing in the second half and dominated early territory. Although the Peterite defense held firm, the Antonians managed to reduce the deficit through a well-struck penalty by Kalpa Lakmina, making it a four-point game.
Unshaken, the “Bamba Brigade” returned to their structure and began to regain control. Revon Perera broke through the defense to bring play into the 5-meter area. From the resulting phase, scrum-half Jamal Wahab shifted the ball quickly to Emith Jayaweera, who floated a slick pass to skipper Vishenka Silva, allowing him to dive over in the corner for his second try of the game.
With the game nearing its end, the Peterites pushed for the bonus-point try. Skipper Vishenka Silva broke through the defensive line and brought play deep into the Antonian red zone. The forwards kept up the momentum with a few patient phases before earning a penalty. Scrum-half Jamal Wahab took a quick tap and sent the ball to the versatile hooker Sithila Nimsara, who fended off a defender and powered over the whitewash to score the fourth try. Rajith Geon added the extras, sealing the win and securing the Rector’s Trophy for St. Peter’s College.
Full Time: St. Anthony’s College 08 (1T,1P) – St. Peter’s College 24 (4T,2C)
Swisstek Perfect Player of the Match: Vishenka Silva (St. Peter’s College)
Points Breakdown
St. Anthony’s College 08
Randeer Perera 1T, Kalpa Lakmina 1P
St. Peter’s College 24
Vishenka Silva 2T, Ashaz Farook 1T, Sithila Nimsara1T, Rajith Geon 2C.
