The Royal Sports Complex was a cauldron of noise and emotion yesterday as Royal College hosted their arch-rivals, S. Thomas’ College, in a high-stakes encounter of the Dialog Schools Rugby League 2026. In a match that lived up to its billing as a classic, the hosts displayed immense character to secure a nail-biting 29-24 victory, a win that proved crucial in securing their spot in the coveted Cup segment for the second round of the tournament.
From the opening whistle, it was evident that Royal College meant business. Playing with an intensity that rattled the visitors, the Royalists dominated the early exchanges. Their forward pack laid a solid platform, allowing the backs to exploit the gaps out wide. Later, Royal attacked with the iconic rolling maul of the Royalists. After gaining nearly 20 metres of territory, the Thomians somehow managed to stop the maul, and then the fly-half aimed at the winger Kavan Ekanayake and made a cross kick. Kavan collected it well, but he was short by a few inches from the whitewash. At the ruck, Kavindu Hewage noticed that no one was securing the blindside and scored the first goal of the game from the left corner. Mohammed Simak had an excellent conversation, which curved in at the last moment to extend the lead. (RC 07 – 00 STC)
Then, S. Thomas’ made a silly handling mistake at the midway, and Royalists capitalized on it by grabbing the loose ball. Suddenly the scrum-half Savitha Fernando delivered the punt, and an awkward bounce deceived the S. Thomas’ fullback. It created an opportunity to chase winger from Royal, Kavan Ekanayake, who picked and turned to plant their second try again from the left corner. (RC 12 – 00 STC)
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A crucial juncture of the game came as Praveen Nimsara was given a straight red card for a late charge without any mitigation. The Thomians, known for their never-say-die attitude, were under immense pressure but managed to regroup with the above incident. S. Thomas’ invaded the Royal red zone through that penalty. After a solid lineout, the Thomians attacked fiercely toward the Whitewash. By breaking the resistance from Royal, the gigantic prop forward Vishwa Ariyawansha suddenly attacked with a fine running angle by keeping a good body position. With the support of his latcher, Ariyansha managed to barge over the try line to break the duck for the visitors. Mayanka Dias made a splendid conversion to cut the deficit. (RC 12 – 07 STC)
However, just as the visitors seemed to be gaining a foothold, Royal College responded with a clinical display of rugby. While they were fiercely attacking in the opposite half, Nasir Haniffa made a vital break and almost reached the try line. Then again Fernando spotted a gap from the left corner and again made an excellent cross-kick to the winger Kavan Ekanayake, who successfully collected the ball and crossed the whitewash with ease. Simak Mohammed made a brilliant conversion to cut the deficit. As the referee blew the whistle for halftime, Royal College headed into the sheds with a commanding 19-07 lead, looking comfortable in control of the narrative. (RC 19 – 07 STC)
Half time: Royal College 19 (3T, 2C) – S. Thomas’ College 07 (1T, 1C)
The second half began with a renewed sense of urgency from the Thomians. Realising that the league standings hung in the balance, S. Thomas’ College came out firing. Their persistence paid off early in the half as they breached the Royal defense a few times. When Royal had possession from inside of their own half, they opted to attack without opting for a clearance kick. The decision backfired as Royal made a forward pass inside their own 22 mark by gifting a scoring opportunity on a silver platter. After a solid scrum S. Thomas’ attacked with a couple of phases. Suddenly the strong skipper of Mt. Lavinia outfit, Michael Karunaratne, dragged three tacklers to score under the crossbar. Mayanka Dias nailed the easy conversion by opening up the game. (RC 19 – 12 STC)
Unstoppable powerhouse Royal never kept silent and triggered a counter-attack with immediate effect. Their skipper Disas Pathirana made a vital breakthrough after receiving a penalty. In the meantime, S. Thomas’ College was caught for not retreating 10 metres at a penalty. It was followed by a 5-metre line out where Royal are at best. As expected, it was followed by Royal maul and hooker Akira Yatawara planting the bonus point try after a statement drive forward. (RC 24 – 12 STC)
The mighty Thomians also led after a few minutes. Royal fullback Hewage was penalized for a high tackle at the midway mark, resulting in a lineout to S. Thomas’ about 10 meters away from the whitewash. Then the ball was sent across the three-quarters line, and Rehan Warnasooriya found some space through the right corner to keep his side in the hunt. (RC 24 – 17 STC)
During the late minutes of the game, Royal received a penalty for a dangerous tackle, but surprisingly, Mohammed Simak missed it by a big margin. But Thomians gave another opportunity to the hosts for another high tackle from inside their own 22 meter mark. After a lineout took place in the red zone of S. Thomas’, all expected an iconic Royals’ driving maul except the Royal forwards. They deceived the defence with the dummy of a maul but made a couple of short and quick passes as the hooker Akira Yatawara crossed for his second try from a gap in the right corner. (RC 29 – 17 STC)
After putting the final nail in the coffin of S. Thomas’, there was about a minute to play, and the restart kick earned S. Thomas’ penalty as Royal caught for an offside play after knocking on the ball. After a clean lineout, Thomians fought for a consolation try with a fierce attack. Finally, the flanker Rometh Wijesinghe spotted a gap in the defence and barged over the whitewash to cut the deficit. Mayanka Dias made no mistake with the conversion. (RC 29 – 24 STC)
In a thrilling finale, the match turned into an arm-wrestle. Both teams traded blows in a frantic final ten minutes. While the Thomians fought valiantly to close the gap, the Royal defence held firm when it mattered most. When the final whistle blew, the scoreboard read 29-24 in favour of the hosts. It was a victory carved out of resilience and tactical discipline. While S. Thomas’ College can be proud of their spirited fightback in the second half, it was Royal College who had the last laugh, as it effectively secured Royal College’s qualification for the Cup segment of the second round.
Full time: Royal College 29 (5T, 2C) – S. Thomas’ College 24 (4T, 2C)
- Swisstek Perfect Player of the Match – Kavan Ekanayake (Royal College)
Points Breakdown
Royal College, Bambalapitiya – 29
Kavindu Hewage 1T, Akira Yatawara 2T, Kavan Ekanayake 2T, Mohammed Simak 2C,
S. Thomas’ College – 24
Vishwa Ariyawansha 1T, Michael Karunaratne 1T, Rehan Warnasooriya 1T, Rometh Wijesinghe 1T, Mayanka Dias 2C,
Match Referee – Raveen Alexander
