Another exciting edition of the Rev. Angelo Rosati Trophy unfolded at the CR & FC, London Place, under the light by providing a novel experience to the school’s rugby fans. With an action-packed play of seventy minutes, the game turned into a thriller with a nail-biting finish. Finally the St Thomas’ lads managed to edge out their traditional rivals with a slender margin of one point to secure the trophy.
St Thomas made a deep kickoff, and St Anthony’s got out of jail as their winger managed to break the defence line. There onwards the Upcountry Eagles applied tremendous pressure on the hosts and the Eagles received a penalty as a St Thomas’ player was guilty of not releasing the ball carrier during a tackle. Then St Anthony’s went for a touch kick and they had a clear line out on 5 metres, followed by a well-executed maul, and went for the first try. (SAC 05 – 00 STC)
Later, St Thomas attacked into the opposition half and kept threatening the visitors. Then the strong pack of the hosts gave them a solid scrum, and their nippy scrum half straightaway made a breakthrough and advanced near to the tryline. After a few phases of play by their forwards, the Thomians made a bold reply by scoring their first try. The left footed place kicker, Mayanka Dias, made the conversion from a friendly angle. (SAC 05 – 07 STC)
Then, the Antonian Eagles managed to get into the opposition red zone after receiving a clearance kick at the midway mark. After the initial break by the backs, forwards got into the action and attacked with a pick and drive phase. Though the hosts tried to resist, the visitors struck back with a try right in front of the CR & FC clubhouse to regain the lead. The powerful lock forward Dinuka Jayasundara gave them the much-needed try, and the full back, Kalpa Lakmina, nailed an easy conversion. (SAC 12 – 07 STC)
At the crucial juncture of the game, the visitors were reduced to 14 men as an Antonian player was penalised for lifting and tackling a player in a dangerous manner. Even after losing a player, the visitors never went on the back foot, and kept their attacking mindset. Then the hosts made a few mistakes and gave away a penalty for putting hands in a ruck. Then the visitors opted to go for some points, and Kalpa made another successful kick to add three points to their tally. (SAC 15 – 07 STC).
In the dying minutes of the first half, the Eagles came up strong and applied immense pressure on the visitors to score a morale-boosting try to extend their lead. The reliable place kicker, Kalpa Lakmina, nailed the conversion kick to extend the lead. It followed by the short whistle, and the visitors managed to walk into the dressing room with the game momentum and a handy 15-point lead. (SAC 22 – 07 STC)
Half Time: St Anthony’s College 22 (3 T, 2 C, 1 P) – St Thomas’ College 07 (1 T, 1 C)
During the second half, St. Anthony’s were reduced to 14 men for not retreating 10 meters at a penalty. Later, St Thomas’ had a scrum and managed to find some space in the middle and went through it. Then the inside centre switched the ball in time to Seneshka Liyanagunawardhane, who ran towards the left corner to avoid the tacklers to score their second. This time Mayanka Dias made an exceptional kick to add the extras from a difficult angle, and it was decisive at the end of the day’s play. (SAC 22 – 14 STC)
The counterattack came immediately as St Anthony’s managed to collect their own restart kick. Then the ball was worked along the line, and the outside centre ran around towards the corner to break the defence. He was brought down near the whitewash but managed to give a pop pass to Deshan Liyanage, who scored a simple try. A regulation conversion kick went astray, and it eventually affected the visitors badly. (SAC 27 – 14 STC)
After a brief period, St Thomas’ received a penalty near to the 10-metre mark of their opposite half. The nippy scrum-half was vigilant to focus on the fact that the visitors were expecting a kick at touch. Suddenly he got a quick tap, and the Antonian Eagles were astonished by that movement. Though the visitors made a few missed tackles on Venuka Wickramasooriya, he went all the way by himself to score by showing his individual brilliance. The trusted boot of Mayanja Dias kept points flowing for the hosts as he made another successful conversion kick. (SAC 27 – 21 STC)
Afterwards, St Anthony’s came near to the 22-metre line of the opposition and smelt for another try. During the course their blind-side winger made a fumble with the ball, and it landed in the hands of the opposition winger. He had nothing to do other than sprinting all the way to the try line, as there wasn’t any chaser near him. A glorious try was scored in front of the jubilant home fans, and Mayanka Dias put the conversion over to regain the lead after the initial pace of the game. (SAC 27 – 28 STC)
While the hosts were leading and only six minutes were left in the game, the visitors put their maximum effort into scoring again. They looked dangerous in attack and finally managed to cross the whitewash but unluckily failed to ground the ball. But Eagles were under a penalty advantage for an offside play, and the visitors decided to go for a penalty kick to regain the lead, as there were only a couple of minutes to play. There Kalpa Lakmina made a mess of the penalty kick to give the victory on a platter to the hosts.
During the final minute there was an anticlimax as Antonians managed to bring the play towards the opposition’s 22-metre area. But the score remained until the long whistle, and the host managed to retain the coveted Rev. Angelo Rosati trophy for yet another year.
Definitely, the St Thomas’ camp was the happier side, not only for retaining the trophy but also for their excellent second-half rally to come from far behind to bag the victory. On the other hand, the second half wrapped up the fate of St Anthony’s in the league as they let another victory slip out of their hands after a superb performance in the first half.
Full Time: St Anthony’s College, Katugastota 27 (3 T, 2 C, 1 P) – St Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia 28 (4 T, 4 C)
Swisstek Perfect Player of the Match: Venuka Wickramasooriya (St Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia)
