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Friday Nov 08, 2024
Wednesday, 21 June 2023 00:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Gourmet Kitchens; their tightly shut doors; Grand Chefs at work; faint aromas seeping through the cracks, but most hadn’t the slightest clue as to what was cooking behind those closed doors. The inaugural week of the Dialog Schools Rugby League ’23, revealed the much-awaited grand buffet spread that was prepared to indulge us this season!
In this review, we shall have a look at where each team stands, by evaluating the pluses and minuses based on their last performances.
SACK hosting Joes – 14 Jun:
The curtain raiser of the Schools Rugby League opened on a sunny evening, in picturesque Kandy, on a slightly soft turf, owing to sporadic precipitation that occurred hours prior to the opening ceremony. It was not quite apparent as to whether it was due to the Antonians hosting a home game, or the fresh vigour infused by their new Coach Srinath Sooriyabandara, or it being the opening game, the Antonian Team looked highly spirited and enthusiastic, pre-match. They entered the centre field brimming with confidence (something rarely observed last season), which etched the prologue to what unfolded at the Bogambara Stadium that evening, to the delightful astonishment of Antonians young, and Antonians old!
SACK showed signs that they were not pushovers this year, by fighting back after Joes drew first blood, by mauling the hefty Joes to score their first Try, thereby giving Antonian supporters hope throughout the first half, and then by trailing by a narrow margin of 10-12 at the breather. When the crowd (including the Antonian supporters) expected the Joes to be unstoppable, when they come lashing back in the second half, employing their big “Nitro Cylinders”, the young Antonians stuck to their tasks in accurately marking (and at times, over-marking when needed), and sweeping off almost every pair of Feet that carried the Ball.
The Antonians were able to continuously gain territory by some splendid touch kicking that assisted them in their onslaught. Joes’ defenders were swiftly swallowed by the whirlpool created by the Antho Forwards attacks, and the quicker Antonians exploited a few slow defenders in the small gaps that emerged during the offensive, aided by some confident and precise long passes, to score two Tries in the second half. The Antonian cause was furthered by some accurate place kicking from tight angles that helped them accumulate a total of 7 points off the boot.
The unsuspecting Josephians, expecting an easy pushover game, shrugged off all the penalties that were offered within kickable range in the first half, thereby forfeiting at least 3 potential points. They also missed a straightforward conversion, right in front of the tall bars, by attempting the kick too close to them that was averted by the charging Antonian Captain Sahan Keerthisiri pretty easily, bringing the total missed points to at least 5.
Unusually, the Antonians’ spirit, energy, confidence and gritty performance overshadowed their inability to consistently follow the rules of the game! They were caught offending on over 15 occasions, which is usually not an attribute of an effective team. One of the converted Tries was scored against them, purely due to infringements when defending their goal line. In one instance, it was quite amusing to discover an Antonian lounging on a ruck, trying to retrieve the ball! If the Antonians expect to head all the way to the top in this League, they ought to make the corrections required to at least halve the number of infringements.
This phenomenon makes one wonder, if Joes should be more upset with themselves, for not capitalising on all those penalty opportunities, especially during the two periods in which SACK played with only 13. Although Joes didn’t give away as many penalties as their opponents, they were complemented by a handful of handling errors that jeopardised their onslaught proceedings, preventing them from scoring in the second half!
Vidyartha hosting Vidya – 16 Jun:
Rugby took a short breather at the Bogambara Stadium, before the three consecutive fixtures scheduled to be played at the same venue. Two of the featherweights (in terms of actual body mass) in the upper league, appeared to be very keen and confident to make the best of the day. Within 10 minutes of play, it was evident that this game was poised to swing like a pendulum, as both teams seemed to have a lot of energy and enthusiasm that had been stored up, way too long to be unleashed.
Science College suffered only a few knock-ons, in contrast to its opponent who had almost double the number. Unfortunately for Science, one of them befell (in a literal sense as well), close to their goal line, when trying to clear the ball. This blunder immediately led to a converted Try scored by Vidyartha.
Despite the pendulum effect, Vidyartha managed to stay ahead of Vidya during most of the first half, and beyond, while the score was mostly locked at 14-12. It was not before the final 15 minutes, the Maroons managed to score a converted Try to bring them to the lead of 19-14
As the clock ticked away, the Maroons held strong, and when it almost became apparent that it was Science’s game to lose from this point, a cloak that was concealing the Vidyarthians was unveiled, and the crowd witnessed a transformed outfit, taking full control of the game with utmost confidence!
It was not merely a matter of urgency, but a very tactful and assured onslaught, executed with calmness and precision. In the first act, Vidyartha opted to go with a scrum for a penalty offered inside Science’s 22 and almost in front of the posts, whereas one would usually expect a kick to touch, followed by a lineout from five meters, or a kick to goal. However, the patrons assembled at the Bogambara hadn’t realised at this point, that it is not Vidyartha playing any more, but it was the Tigers, who more or less skilfully leaked through the Science defence to score a Try and bring them back in the lead of 21-19.
With only a few minutes left, when all who were present expected Science to bounce back and score, by at least a penalty, Science decided to gamble by kicking the ball away, and gave away possession at a very critical time, while attacking in Vidyartha territory. The ball was gleefully accepted by the Tigers, which they used flawlessly to score another Try and shatter all hopes of Vidya!
Peter’s hosting Royal – 17 Jun:
It is not unusual to expect 23 players and a few hundred supporters from each side, at a Rugby encounter on the first week of a season; but it appeared as if Royal College had brought an Army to invade St. Peter’s College grounds! Outside, inside, topside, downside, and at every side, one could notice only the Blue/Gold attires. Spotting a SPC Jersey seemed exactly like spotting a needle in a stack of hay. Not sure if the Peterites were able to stomach this, but the heavens surely couldn’t, as at approximately five past four, the skies opened up and the rain poured in, lasting a good ten minutes. Luckily for the game, and the safety of the players, it never resumed once it stopped, and the turf was reasonably dry before the kick-off was taken.
It was a typical clash of the heavyweight Juggernauts that you would normally witness at a final! Most remarkably, it was pleasant to note that Royal had taken Peter’s very seriously, despite the latter suffering an untasteful season last year. It seemed more like the same team was playing on both sides wearing different Jerseys, displaying comparable attacking and defending techniques, with some minor differences in tactics. Similar number of handling errors from both sides prevented them from grounding the ball on the opponent’s territory, more than tackles. The final Try scored by SPC was off an advantage play owing to a knock-on in the Royal 22, which the Peter’s used with delight. Both teams were able to contest well in the rucks, and were able to successfully turnover on a few occasions.
However, Royal was guilty of exceeding the number of infringements by 50% more than its opponent! That many penalties against another strong team can only mean trouble, and besides, more of these came in succession, when panic settled in the Royal Camp, the same way it did at the crunch matches last season. Royal needs to relearn the mastery of handling pressure that they were acclaimed for, since more than 5 years ago.
On the contrary, St. Peter’s should learn when to use the short punt, and when not to. They gambled off at least a solitary chance of breaching a thin defence, at the dying moments of the game. It is quite silly to give away possession, especially when you are in your opponent’s 22, and in a strong position to attack, with only a few defenders to stop you.
Taking these deficits from both sides into consideration, the result could have easily shifted either way, but the Peterites held their nerves better at the end. This being the first week, hopefully we will see only improvements from both teams in their next encounters.
Thora hosting Wesley – 17 Jun:
The young and fresh Wesley team performed considerably better than expected by showing strong defending skills, and reasonably good attacking skills. They made the Thoras work very hard to stay ahead, and for their win. Their touch kicking and place kicking were not bad either, and therefore one may see further improvements from the double blues in their next match, especially in their assault.
The Thomians, despite playing in familiar conditions at home, missed a few relatively easy kicks to goal that prevented them from getting close to 25 points. However, their touch kicking was top notch, and their backs were able to showcase some spectacular skill plays, but often not completed to perfection. If they could work towards finishing these special moves in their next matches, it would be a feast for the spectators to watch.
The highlighting downside of the Thomian outfit was the high number of infringements, mostly of the “holding-on” nature. The players should understand that it is much healthier to give away possession to the opposition where they lie, instead of granting them territorial advancement, in addition.
Rajans vs Trinity – 17th Jun:
While the generic Rugby patrons were focused and absorbed in the virtual quarter/semi-final between SPC and RC in Colombo on Saturday, history was made in the Rugby crazy hill capital of Sri Lanka! The Rajans were misjudged for the Boy who cried wolf, while Trinity paid the price for not taking the Rajans seriously on their quest to seize the League Title this season.
It could have been the effect of a heavy lunch the Trinitians were treated to earlier during the day, they were seen to be sluggish in the first half, neither able to neutralise the attacks by the Rajans, nor successfully complete their own. Dharmaraja was able to show their strength with a strong Forwards play, supported by their Backs, that led them lead 10 to none at lemons.
Trinity suffered in the line-outs, losing out on almost half a dozen of them, depriving their Backs of any action. Losing their regular Hooker due to injury, is not an excuse when playing at this level. However, their Backs got activated on a few occasions, where they were able to work the line beautifully to score in quick successions. One other Try was scored off an accurate and timely cross kick to the wide left.
When the match seemed to have been finally secured by Trinity, Rajans never gave up and attacked even harder, making the Ball spill off a tackle, which they grabbed with all their Heart, and ran for their dear life to plant the historic, match winning Try under the cross-bar!
Kingswood hosting Pathana – 18 Jun:
The last match of week 1 was kicked-off at a wet and soggy Bogambara Stadium, following a day full of showers. The Green Patrons who had travelled from Colombo, were rather disappointed to see the Ground conditions, but fortunately only until the first drop kick.
Isipathana College stamped their supremacy in their first game itself, and sent out a red alert to all who dream of the Title(s) this year! They showed composure and multitude of skills, distributed across all aspects of the game. They demonstrated that they could attack and advance with the Forwards, they exhibited that they can get the rolling maul moving, and they finally displayed that they could still run the ball fast on slippery turfs.
Isipathana made Kingwood look like they were from another League, and rarely gave the latter the chance to attack. Certainly, this game was undecorated with a multitude of handling errors from both sides, but the green lads from Colombo handled the wet conditions far better than their opponents, making only 50% of the errors.
However, Isipathana would have to work on minimising the violations of the game rules. Although they started off pretty conservatively, the number of infringements accelerated as the game progressed, to end up with at least a dozen. These never mattered in this match, but they definitely will, against another strong opponent.
Unfortunately, Kingswood wasn’t allowed to display its skills by the pacifying defending Champions, and therefore we would have to wait for their next game to see what the ‘boys from the hill’ can actually do. In fact, they did seem to have a lot of enthusiasm and some skills waiting to be displayed, that should be coming to a stadium near you, shortly.
Conclusion:
Remember that, this is merely the first week, hence most teams would only improve from here. Going by recent history (excluding last year), the majority of the teams require two games to get their acts together, while the rest require at least three. Only the Champion teams shine from game one, and one could figure out who they are!
