Another thrilling Bowl Segment encounter took place in the hill country as the two schools that failed to post any victory, Dharmaraja and Vidyartha, came in search of a victory to end the season on a high. After a see-saw battle, the Vidyartha Tigers managed to tame the lions from Dharmaraja with a slender margin of victory.
Dharmaraja made the kickoff, and Vidyartha made a knock-on straight away, symbolising their miserable run during the league. On the other hand, Dharmaraja too wasn’t able to capitalise on the early opportunity. Later, Dharmaraja made a superb break from the inside of their own half by working the line, and after a few fascinating passes, Sanuka Rathnayake scored one of the greatest tries of the season. Skipper Damsith Rathnayake made the easy conversion to add the extras. (VC 00-07 DC)
Then, Dharmaraja made a similar knock-on from the restart kick and gave a penalty for a side entry at the ruck. Vidyartha capitalised on the opportunity and got a 5-metre lineout throw in their favour. It was followed by a well-executed maul, and the Skipper Praveen de Mel went over the whitewash to break the shackles for the Tigers. (VC 05 – 07 DC)
>>Mahanama sends Vidyartha into relegation zone<<
Later, Vidyartha had a scrum throw inside the Dharmaraja territory, and after brilliant work by their line, they came nearer to the whitewash. It was followed by a pick and drive phase, and at last the Vice Captain Pasindu Rajapaksha placed the ball on the whitewash to score their second. This time, Kavindu Hewage was successful with the conversion. (VC 12-07 DC)
After a couple of minutes, Dharmaraja counterattacked into Vidyartha territory by working the ball. After having some brutal hits, the ball was passed again from left to right, and the winger Bihanga Yapa Bandara was overlapped by the time. However, before scoring, he juggled the ball and managed to regain possession just in time to score the equaliser in front of the Kandy SC clubhouse. (VC 12 – 12 DC)
Then Vidyartha launched a fierce attack at the opposition territory, and the Rajans were guilty of a side entry at a ruck. Vidyartha took a 5-metre lineout, and with a well-executed maul, Skipper Praveen de Mel went for his second try. Kavindu Hewage made a brilliant conversion from the far corner to uplift the morale of the team. (VC 19 – 12 DC)
At the brink of Half Time, a few opportunities were offered to both teams but they went begging, and the Vidyartha Tigers went away with a Half Time lead.
Half Time: Vidyartha College 19 (3 T, 2 C) – Dharmaraja College 12 (2 T, 1 C)
After lemons, players tried to put the pedal to the metal and to achieve some glory before bowing out from the competition. Then Dharmaraja got into the opposition territory by breaking in the middle and kept threatening the Vidyartha defence. After moving the ball in sideways, the blistering Winger Bihanga Yapa Bandara made a break and cut back inside to score his second. Skipper Damsith made a dazzling conversion to square the game again. (VC 19 – 19 DC)
Vidyartha invaded the red zone of Dharmaraja straightaway after having a penalty midway for a side entry. Then Dharmaraja was found guilty of collapsing the maul, and they once again opted for a five-metre lineout. This time the Vidyartha forwards bulldozed the Rajans, and Skipper Praveen de Mel yet again scored from the back of the maul to regain the lead. (VC 24 – 19 DC)
After a few minutes, the Tigers ventured Rajans’ territory again, and the Rajans were penalised inside of their own 22-metre area due to an offside play. Vidyartha already knew that the Rajans were weak at stopping the rolling maul, and they went for the touch to have a 5-metre lineout. Vidyartha executed their plan without any deviation. Pasindu Rajapaksha scored the crucial try through the rolling maul in front of the clubhouse to extend the lead. (VC 29 – 19 DC)
With a fancy lead of 10 points with just 10 to 12 minutes on the clock, Vidyartha never changed their attacking mindset, and they came into Dharamaraja half with a box kick. Then, the Dharmaraja fullback made an excellent break in the midway and reached the 5-meter mark with an exceptional sprint coupled with some fancy side-stepping. After a couple of passes, Sasindu Dissanayake scored a try to keep his side in the quest for a victory. The Rajans’ Captain, Damsith Rathnayake, nailed the conversion to make it a 3-point difference. (VC 29 – 26 DC)
By that time, it was anybody’s game, and Vidyartha’s line-out jumper Kenula Wijethunga was given a yellow card for a dangerous play, uplifting the hopes of Rajans. The trusted boot of Damsith managed to gain nearly 70 metres through the kick by giving them a golden opportunity with a lineout throw near to the 5-metre mark. When the game momentum was with the Rajans, they made a mess of that lineout by displaying Rajan’s story of the league in a nutshell.
>>Thurstan survive Dharmaraja scare to grab a crucial victory<<
At the brink of the Full Time whistle, Tigers launched a fierce attack, but they also failed to finish as they were found guilty of not releasing the ball. The mistakes mounted as the bodies got tired during the final minutes, and Vidyartha held on well to the Rajans’ pressure to bag a victory in the last game of the season.
Though it was an entertaining game with a nail-biting finish from the spectators’ angle, the weaknesses of both sides were exposed heavily on the ground. As both sides are in the relegation zone, a serious reform should be done to reinstate the past glory of the hill country schools’ Rugby.
Full Time: Vidyartha College 29 (5 T, 2 C) – Dharmaraja College 26 (4 T, 3 C)
Swisstek Perfect Player of the Match: Praveen de Mel (Vidyartha College)
Points Breakdown
Vidyartha College, Kandy – 29
Praveen de Mel 3 T, Pasindu Rajapaksha 2 T, Kavindu Hewage 2 C
Dharmaraja College, Kandy – 26
Sanuka Rathnayake 1 T, Bihanga Yapa Bandara 2 T, Sasindu Dissanayake 1 T, Damsith Rathnayake 3
