Lankesh Uduwana was instrumental in his final 1st round game as the Peterites finish on top
St. Peter’s College continued their unbeaten run by comprehensively defeating D S Senanayake College 43 points to 07 in the final game of the first round played earlier this evening at Havelock Park.
Shehan Liyanapathirana kick started the game under hot and humid conditions with DS dominating the early exchanges, as their bulky forwards played their own brand of rugby, slowly inching close to the try line with their trade mark ‘pick and go’. DS lock forward Chamuka Seshan, took the ball near the white wash and the scrum half, Kaveesha Venuranga went over to open the scoring for the Dons. Dinusha Hemasiri added the extras to increase their lead. (SPC 00 – 07 DSSC)
St. Peter’s managed to reply to the early DS try through their nippy scrum half Jason Karunarathne as he took a quick tap for an offside penalty given to the Petes and scored under the post as DS forwards were caught napping. Liyanapathirana bisected the uprights with ease. (SPC 07 – 07 DSSC)
The game was played at a slow pace before the Petes managed to score 3 quick tries within a span of 8 minutes before half time, with Jason starting the onslaught with another quick tap under the post, going over in similar fashion to his first try. Liyanapathirana added another 2 points to his tally with an easy conversion. (SPC 14 – 07 DSSC)
St. Peter’s went on to extend their lead as Rukshan Madushanka collected the ball and broke through the DS line and Shehan Liyanapathirana finished the move with a 40-meter dash with quick side steps and with his pace, he was able to beat the last DS defender to score in the left corner. He missed converting his own try. (SPC 19 – 07 DSSC)
A few minutes later, the Peterites scored again when hooker Julian Charles made an offload by drawing two defenders to Rukshan Madushanka and his pace and stepping skills were unmatchable for the Dons defence as he went over under the post. (SPC 26 – 07 DSSC)
Half Time: St. Peter’s College 26 (4T, 3C) – 07 (1T,1C) D S Senanayake College
The Petes continued their dominant performance from the first half as Lakshan Uduwana broke through DS defence by gaining more yards and then offloaded the ball to Rukshan Madushanka to score his second try. Liyanapathirana conversion was successful. (SPC 33 – 07 DSSC)
The game then went on to a phase where both teams were unable to score any points while the Petes made use of their bench and gave a much needed break for the seniors. They had a set-back when Dayan Fernando tackled a DS player without going 10 meters back for a penalty and was sent to the sin bin. A few minutes later, Rukshan Madushanka joined his team mate in the sin-bin for a punching infringement spotted by the assistant referee.
DS no 08 Dinusha Hemasiri too was sin-binned for an argument with the referee while St. Peter’s scored two quick tries using the numerical advantage. A quick chip kick from Liyanapathirana was collected by Chandima Sandaruwan and he made a timely pass to Dilshan Madushanka to score in the far corner.
Soon after the try, St Peter’s scored again through Dilshan Madushanka when they sent the ball wide to the corner to score the 7th try of the match. Liyanapathirana couldn’t convert both tries from difficult angles as the game ended giving the Bamba brigade their 5th consecutive win for the season. They stay unbeaten while DS will play in the plate segment.
Full Time: St. Peter’s College 43 (7T, 4C) – 07 (1T,1C) D S Senanayake College
- ThePapare.com’s Player of the match – Jason Karunarathne (St. Peter’s College)
Breakdown
St. Peter’s College: Tries from Rukshan Madushanka (2), Dilshan Madushanka (2), Jason Karunarathne (2) Shehan Liyanapathirana & Conversions by Shehan Liyanapathirana (4)
Send offs: (Yellow) Rukshan Madushanka & Dayan Fernando
D S Senanayake College: Try from Kaveesha Venuranga & Conversion by Dinusha Hemasiri
Send offs: (Yellow) Dinusha Hemasiri
