There was an exhilarating clash of the bowl segment as the 2nd and 5th ranked teams in the bowl segment clashed in search of a crucial win at Nittawela Rugby Fortress. In the early phase of the game it looked like a high-scoring game, though the game momentum was swinging between the sides. But once the game progressed, the points dried up, and it was converted to a low-scoring game where the visitors managed to edge out the host, Vidyartha College, with a 5-point margin.
Vidyartha tigers who failed to post any victory during both rounds of the league were determined to post a consolation win in front of their passionate fans and to try out their luck to be retained in the same segment in the next year. On the other hand, the Mahanama outfit was determined to post a bonus point win to uplift their hopes of a Bowl title after having a win and a couple of strange tied games under their belt.
The game started with the kickoff by the visitors under the usually gloomy sky of Kandy. During the early phase, Mahanama enjoyed most of the possession inside the Vidyartha territory. Then the visitors kept the hosts under tremendous pressure when they won the ball from a Vidyartha scrum inside their 22-meter area and kicked it out for a 5-meter lineout throw. Then the visitors tightened the pressure, and the Tigers had no choice other than making it an own try. Then Mahanama attacked towards the try line with their forwards, and the ball was transferred to the line. Mahanama fly half Sithum Rathnayake did an exceptional job to mark a couple of defenders to open up the gap, and he offloaded the ball to centre Nihidu Damsika, who went through the defence like a hot knife through butter to score the first try of the game. The player who created the opportunity, Sithum, nailed the conversion to extend the lead (MC 07 – 00 VC).
A few minutes later, the Vidyartha kicker failed to find the touch as he directly kicked the ball into the hands of the visiting fullback. Then Mahanama initiated another attack from inside their own half. All of a sudden, Mahanama outside the centre made a dazzling grubber kick at an unexpected moment, and he did well to chase and grab the ball to score his second try by completing an exceptional solo work. Again Sithum came up with a brilliant conversion kick to add the extras and gave a comfortable lead to Mahanama inside the 10 minutes of play. (MC 14 – 00 VC)
Then Mahanama had a divine chance to make it three tries as their forwards advanced into the 22-meter area, and they were short by a meter or two from the whitewash. But unluckily Mahanama was penalised for not releasing the ball after being tackled, as Vidyartha defenders did brilliant defensive work.
At the brink of halftime, Mahanama forwards were penalised for a deliberate wheeling when a scrum took place in the centre of the field. With the help of the penalty, Vidyartha managed to cross their opposition’s 22-meter line, and they had their first real opportunity in the game. All of a sudden the Tigers looked like they had been woken up and applied tremendous pressure on the Mahanama defensive line. After the ball worked from left to right and right to left by making good yardage towards the tryline, the forwards took the business into their own hands to score their first. After numerous pick-and-go phases Vidyartha went over the tryline at the left corner, but the referee failed to spot a clear grounding of the ball. But the assistant referee clearly spotted the grounding, and finally Vidyartha was rewarded for their good passage of play. Kenula Wijethunga was the try scorer, and the conversion kick from a difficult angle went astray. (MC 14-05 VC)
Subsequently, the short whistle was blown by the referee. At last the hosts, Vidyartha, had some momentum in the game after being strangled in their own half.
Half time: Mahanama College 14 (2 T, 2 C) – Vidyartha College 05 (1 T)
In the second half Vidyartha started things well and kept the visitors under pressure. Then Vidyartha got a penalty at the midway mark, and after a fine touch finding kick, they advanced to the 5-meter mark with a lineout throw in their favour. As visitors were guilty of collapsing the scrum and offside plays numerous times, Mahanama was reduced to 14 men under the repeated infringement law. Subsequently, Vidyartha forwards launched a pick-and-go passage, and they progressed inch by inch. Finally, powerhouse Kanishka Gimhan barged his way across the tryline to score their second by opening up the game. Kavindu Hewage added the extras from a difficult angle to cut the deficit to just two points. (MC 14 – 12 VC)
When the Vidyartha Tigers were roaring with back-to-back tries, the brigade from the Mahanama thought that was enough and launched a fierce attack with the three quarters. After marching into the 22-meter area, the referee penalised the Vidyartha defence for an offside. Interestingly, Mahanama went for the points, and the trusted boot of Sithum Rathnayake gave them another three crucial points to extend their lead.
Later the Vidyartha side was reduced to 14 men due to a high tackle offence, and it surely hindered the progress of the Tigers. With the numerical advantage, Mahanama came closer to the try line and earned a couple of five-meter scrums in favour of them, but the try opportunities went begging as they had a few handling errors.
Later Vidyartha had three chances to score and at least to square the game. In the meantime, the Mahanama side was reduced to 13 men by jeopardising the victory of Mahanama. And while they were in danger, their opponents, Vidyartha, were not able to post a single score, as they tended to make some mistakes that cost them the match. Most importantly, for the last 30 minutes, both of the teams were not able to score, and Mahanama earned a hard-fought, thrilling win after a nail-biting finish. With this magnificent victory, Mahanama is still in the hunt for Bowl Glory despite St. Anthony’s managing to keep their unbeaten run.
Full time: Mahanama College 17 (2 T, 2 C, 1 P) – Vidyartha College 12 (2 T, 1 C)
- Swisstek Perfect Player of the Match: ( Navith Kannangara – Mahanama College)
Points Breakdown
- Mahanama College, Colombo – 17
- Nihindu Damsuka 2 T, Sithum Rathnayake 2 C, 1 P
- Vidyartha College, Kandy – 12
- Kenula Wijethunga 1 T, Kanishka Gimhan 1 T, Kavindu Hewage 1 C
- The Match Referee – Nalin Lasantha
