It’s been seven weeks now in the schools rugby tournament and things are looking a little more settled. The wheat has been separated from the chaff, and Isipathana is sitting pretty at the top of the table.
The only others who are in with a realistic chance of winning the title are Kingswood and Trinity, who are scheduled to meet each other this weekend. After that clash, Isipatana will have only one contender to deal with, unless of course that match is a draw as well.
Let’s have a look at last week’s action.
Joe v Pete
This was the best chance since 2011 that Josephs had in trying to break the fifteen year old stranglehold that Peters had on the Fr. Basil Wiratunga Trophy. At half time they would have thought that they had done most of the job, but the second half proved to be a different story. An 8 – 5 lead was hardly going to be enough, but psychologically the Joes would have been the happier team.
Nevertheless, the game plan that was working so well for them suddenly took a turn for the worse when Stephan Gregory and Hasuru Gunawardena, both experienced men, were substituted. Dulith Fernando was controlling the game nicely, but the injection of Raveen Antonio seemed to upset the rhythm of the backline and they could get not get the yardage that captain Wishmitha was providing in the first half. The close range tight game they played was abandoned, and St. Peters’ took full advantage of the unstructured play.
TRR Fernando who scoerd the first half try, and Dixon who scored the second, both exploited the pace out wide, and Joseph’s looked vulnerable with the back three’s positional play being woeful. The usually excellent Kurumbalapitiya at the back for the Joes had an uncharacteristically bad game, and his wingers didn’t help with the hit and hope kicks coming from St. Peters.
The much faster Peterite backline chased well and created pressure, which meant the Josephian pack was going backwards, where they had been going forward in the first half. Direckze, the flyer, had a decent game, and the sevens style rugby of the second half suited them. This pressure told, and only the Dixon try separated the teams in a match that both were equally mediocre in.
Trinity v STC
The Thomians would have been worried at half time when the scores stood at 31 – 3 for the home side who were looking for revenge after last years’ reversal at Havelock Park. Barely recovering from their 61- 0 thrashing at the hands of Isipatana, the Thomians didnt have the stomach for another half century.
The weather, and the Trinity bench combined to spare them blushes with the game finishing 38-10 as Trinity failed to find the fluency of the first half. The Thomians got a consolation try through Kasun their winger in the dying moments, but it will not paper over the cracks that have appeared yawningly in the midfield defence. The absence of captain Senanayake through injury may be a double edged sword for the Thomians going into the Royal game.
Trinity scored some nice tries, especially through their outside backs and pacy no.8 Rangala. However, they will need to try and tighten up the front five’s attacking contributions against tougher opponents who they will face in the upcoming weeks. Their fringe game needs to be a little more patient, and if that happens they will steam roll opponents.
Isipathana v Science
The Patana side were classy once again, demolishing a gutsy Science team 55 – 07. The quality of the tries that this Isipatana team score cannot be questioned. However, despite the talent of the backline, especially Rankothge who has been a revelation since he moved in from the wing, The hard working Isuru Dilshan has also been a standout player for Isipatana and Kongahawatte has been excellent in support play.
The pace at which the entire team attacks is a joy to watch. Science thought scored the try of the match for me, which was a beautifully executed 8,9,14 move which I am yet to see other, more fancied teams execute with such simplicity. It’s an uncomplicated move, and even at Club level very few get it right. Ishan Viraj was very good with the ball in hand, but Science line outs and scrums were too poor for them to pose a credible threat. A two man line out cannot consistently win you ball in a XV a side format. Furthermore, they conceded off a tight head, which was unforgivable.
Isipatana continue to be excellent. They have been tested only a few times this season, and how they respond to Peters and Kingswood will be interesting to watch. The good thing for the Green Machine though is that they have a complete team, in that the forwards are also pretty good at the close game.
Kingswood v Royal
After the victory of SPC, Royal travelled to Bogambara with renewed hope. Saldy for Royal, they have been improving after the Bradby. Nevertheless after conceding a hefty lead at half time they chipped away at it and came back to within a point of the winners.
Kingswood outscored Royal by three tries to two but the concerted forward pressure that Royal exerted led to the Kingswoodians coughing up points by way of penalties.
Trinity will no doubt have watched that match and take a few leaves out of Royal’s book. Nevertheless, Kingswood remain unbeaten and if they can beat Trinity next week, will take the title race to the wire.
