13-Man Trinity hold on to their fort with a massive shift in defense to overcome the efforts of a gritty Thomian outfit as they cruise their way into the Semi Finals of the Dialog Schools Knock Out Championship.
Much was expected of this game, as two powerhouses in SL Schools Rugby locked horns in the Quarter Finals of the Dialog Schools Knock Out Championship.
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The Thomians kicked off and got an opportunity to add the first points of the game early on. Trinity Prop Forward Achintha Jayasena’s effort to roll away from the ruck was deemed too slow by Referee Gihan Yatawara, as Mayanka Dias attempted to get 3-points from the penalty. Unfortunately, he missed his mark.
However, just a matter of minutes later, Thomian Hooker Eyan Pereira touched down for the first try of the game. A very well-placed kick from Udan Bulathsinghalage and a mistake from the Trinity Winger paved the way for the score.
Mayanka Dias made no mistake with the extras. (Trinity 00 – 07 S. Thomas’)
A few phases of kick tennis led to the advancing Thomian player catching himself offside. Shan Althaf attempted the penalty, but it went astray.
Nonetheless, Trinity struck in the next five minutes of play. They kept knocking on the door of the STC defense, until Shan Althaf broke his way through before putting in the Offload for No. 8 Shrayan Satheeshkumar to go over for Trinity’s first try.
Althaf added the 2 points from the corner flag to level the game. (Trinity 07 – 07 S. Thomas’)
Trinity’s rolling maul made a statement with a huge shove of almost 20m in the next passage of play. The Thomians caught themselves coming through the sides and gifting Trinity a penalty. Shan Althaf knocked the kick over to get Trinity the lead for the first time in the game. (Trinity 10 – 07 S. Thomas’)
The Thomians won the first scrum penalty of the game. Trinity Prop Manusha Silva was penalised for an illegal bind. Mayanka Dias got the 3 points to equal the scores once again. (Trinity 10 – 10 S. Thomas’)
The arm wrestling continued. Although it was an error-ridden half from Trinity with ball in hand, they found themselves a man up, as Thomian Wing Three Quarter Akira Perera was sent to the bin for a tackle in the air.
This opened the door for Trinity to set up another rolling maul. After a rumble of almost 20m, Trinity Co-Vice Captain Nisith Kumarasinghe broke off the maul at the right time to dive over for a try.
Althaf’s kick was successful as Trinity went into the sheds with a 7-point lead.
Half Time
Trinity 17 (2T, 2C, 1P) lead S. Thomas’ 10 (1T, 1C, 1P)
After the turn around, it was Trinity who drew first blood with what was arguably the Try of the tournament so far. Scrum half Udan Wijekoon picked the ball with pace from a ruck and ran across the face of the STC defense before throwing in a magnificent no-look pass to Shan Althaf, who ran a picture-perfect line. Althaf’s pace was no match for the oncoming Thomian defenders.
Althaf converted his own try to extend Trinity’s lead. (Trinity – 24 – 10 S. Thomas’)
It was insult to injury for the Thomians – they lost their playmaker Udan Bulathsinghlage to the bin for a high shot whilst attempting to stop Althaf from scoring. S. Thomas’ was reduced to 13 men.
From here onwards for 25 minutes or so, it was defense par excellence from Trinity – a defensive effort for the ages, forcing penalties and shooting up with tremendous line speed to startle the Thomian back line. Evin Jayasena and Shrayan Satheeshkumar were clinical at the breakdown.
Although they kept the STC attack at bay, they lost Achintha Jayasena and Tevin Udakumbura to the bin. The assignment just got tougher for the Trinitians with just 13 men on the park.
No.8 Merckyle Karunaratne finally broke the Trinity wall to score and start the Thomian catch up.
Dias missed a crucial conversion, as the Thomians were still two scores behind.(Trinity 24 – 15 S. Thomas’)
The Thomians went over the line to score a try a few minutes after the restart, only to be called back by Referee Gihan Yatawara as he deemed the ball to have been knocked on in the goal line by the replacement lock forward Jeison Gnanadas. This was the moment of the game that could have changed the fate around for STC.
From there onwards, Trinity just needed a hearty defensive effort to get them through to the Semis. The Thomians needed their grit to prevail.
Finally, the Trinity Heart overcame the Thomian grit to book their spot in the Semi Finals of the Dialog Schools Knockout Championship 2025. Trinity will face Zahira next weekend with a spot in the grand finals up for grabs.
It was not a game that boasted of excellent Rugby, but a game that was played with a mighty amount of passion and determination.
Full Time
Trinity 24 (3T, 3C, 1P) beat S. Thomas’ 15 (2T, 1C, 1P)
Swisstek Player of the Match – Shrayan Satheeshkumar
Points Breakdown
Trinity 24
Shan Althaf 14 Points (1T, 3C, 1P), Shrayan Satheeshkumar 5 Points (1T), Nisith Kumarasinghe 5 Points (1T)
S. Thomas’ 15
Mayanka Dias 5 Points (1C, 1P), Merckyle Karunaratne 5 Points (1T), Eyan Pereira 5 Points (1T)
Yellow Cards
Trinity – Achintha Jayasena, Tevin Udukumbura
S. Thomas’ – Akira Perera, Udan Bulathsinghlage
