Zahira College, Colombo, who came as the dark horses to the Under 14 All Island Elite Schools Rugby Tournament 2025, showcased a clinical performance to beat the fancied Wesley U14 outfit and clinched the championship by tagging themselves as giant killers. With this remarkable victory, Wesley missed a rare chance of being triple champions in age group tournaments by adding to their tally of under 16 and under 18 championships.
The 10-a-side tournament was organised by the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association, which spanned over two days during the last weekend. The games took place in Central Province Sports Complex – Digana and Trinity College Rugby Stadium, Pallekele.
The tournament featured 32 elite rugby-playing schools (listed below), and the raw talents, which can be considered the future of Sri Lankan rugby, competed and performed beyond expectations, especially under adverse weather and unfavourable ground conditions.
- Group A – S. Thomas’ College, Kingswood College, Lalith Athulathmudali College, Mt. Lavinia, St. Benedict’s College
- Group B – Isipathana College, Dharmaraja College, Kandy, St Aloysius College Galle, Padukka Siri Piyarathana College
- Group C – Zahira College, Colombo, Thurstan College, Colombo, Sri Sumangala College, Panadura, St. Sylvester’s College, Kandy
- Group D – St Peter’s College, Bambalapitiya, Mahanama College, Ananda College, Colombo, Sri Rahula College, Katugastota
- Group E – Wesley College, Colombo, Vidyartha College, Dharmapala College, Pannipitiya, Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala
- Group F – Royal College Colombo, Sri Sumangala College, Kandy, Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa, Richmond College, Galle
- Group G – DS Senanayake College, St Anthony’s College Katugastota, Lumbini College Colombo, Devapathiraja College, Rathgama
- Group H – Science College Mount Lavinia, St. Joseph’s College, Piliyandala Central College, Nugawela Central College
During the group stage, Kingswood College, Isipathana College, Zahira College, Ananda College, Wesley College, Royal College Colombo, Science College, Mount Lavinia, and DS Senanayake College displayed a dominant performance, and they cruised into the cup quarterfinals as the group tops of the respective groups.
During the cup quarterfinals, Kingswood College, Zahira College, Wesley College, and Science College posted dominant victories to advance towards the coveted cup title. During the first cup semifinal, Zahira College managed to edge out the hometown favourites, Kingswood College, to reach the cup final. In the other cup semifinal, Wesley College, Colombo, stamped their class with a 10-00 victory over Science College by continuing the college’s dream run in rugby throughout the rugby calendar of the year.
The much-awaited final lived up to every bit of its billing and provided the finest flavour of school rugby tasters on the island. Wesley started well after receiving the kick, and they managed to keep possession of the ball over a couple of minutes of play. Zahirians applied immediate pressure on the double blues once they secured the possession. Suddenly Jaffar Muwaaz executed a clinical dummy pass with a “show and go” and speared the defence and reached almost to the whitewash. But a brilliant covering tackle came by Wesleyites to stop his movement. Then Zahira worked the ball wide without wasting any time, and Parami Kevin went over for the first score of the final battle.
During the second half, there were ample chances for Wesley to hit back, but the Zahirians were rock solid in their defence, though they conceded few penalties. At the end of the day, Zahira did well enough to hold their nerve and to post a victory on their early score.
For his pure talent and valuable contribution to winning the cup title, Mohammed Jaffar of Zahira College was adjudged as the player of the tournament.
In the Plate segment, Ananda College executed a territorial game under slippery conditions to clinch the Plate Championship by edging out Royal College Colombo 07 – 05 in the tense plate final.
The Bowl segment ended by giving some thrill to the home fans as St Anthony’s College, Katugastota, clinched the Bowl Championship by edging out the defending champions, S Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia.
Another rising talent in school rugby, Mahanama College emerged as the shield champions with a 14 – 00 dominating win over Prince of Wales College.
Cup Quarterfinals
- Kingswood College 17 – 00 Isipathana College
- Zahira College, Colombo 24 – 00 Ananda College, Colombo
- Wesley College, Colombo 19 – 07 Royal College Colombo
- Science College, Mount Lavinia 10 – 00 DS Senanayake College
Bowl Quarterfinals
- S. Thomas’ College 05 – 05 Dharmaraja College, Kandy (STC won by the sudden death at extra time try)
- Thurstan College Colombo 12 – 12 St Peter’s College, Bambalapitiya (TC won by the sudden death at extra time try)
- Sri Sumangala College 15 – 00 Kandy Vidyartha College
- St Anthony’s College Katugastota 17 – 00 Piliyandala Central College
Shield Quarterfinals
- St Aloysius College, Galle 19 – 00 Lalith Athulath Mudali College, Mt. Lavinia
- Mahanama College 12 – 05 St. Sylvester’s College, Kandy
- Prince of Wales College Moratuwa 41 – 00 Dharmapala College, Pannipitiya
- Lumbini College Colombo 12 – 10 St. Joseph’s College
Cup semi-finals
- Zahira College, Colombo 10 – 05 Kingswood College
- Wesley College, Colombo 10 – 00 Science College Mount Lavinia
Plate semi-finals,
- Ananda College, Colombo 19 – 00 Isipathana College
- Royal College Colombo 07 – 05 DS Senanayake College
Bowl semi-finals,
- S. Thomas’ College 12 – 07 Thurstan College Colombo
- St Anthony’s College Katugastota 10 – 00 Sri Sumangala College Kandy
Shield semi-finals,
- Mahanama College 33 – 00 St Aloysius College Galle
- Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa 12 – 00 Lumbini College Colombo
Shield Final
Mahanama College 14 – 00 Prince of Wales College
Bowl Final
St. Anthony’s College 05 – 00 St. Thomas’ College
Plate Final
Ananda College 07 – 05 Royal College
Cup Final
Zahira College 05 – 00 Wesley College
The victorious Zahira outfit and the player of the tournament, Mohammed Jaffar with his trophy
