Donz dazzle, Wesley wrestle and Thora throttle flexing maul muscles

Despite the highly diluted Rugby that was left for our entertainment last weekend, a few encounters contained an interesting and amusing turn of events that kept the spectators glued to the action in the middle; thus, a selected few are reviewed.

DS Senanayake hosting St. Anthony’s – 28 June:

Crouch… bind… shove… was the name of the game for the Donz, who whipped out a trump card from their back pocket to bamboozle a gullible Antho outfit, by dominating them with their Forwards game that was unveiled for the first time this season. In the previous few encounters, DS was extremely careful to conceal the prowess of its Forwards by passing the Ball to the Backs, every single time they won a lineout, no matter how close they were to the opposition’s goal line. However, it was foretold in last week’s column, that they wouldn’t have much of a choice with the defence of the agile and effective Antho Backs, but to parade their Maul assaults in this occasion, which they did. With this revelation, DS pronounces its foresight and intention to go beyond qualifying for the Super Round, and be well prepared and equipped to take on the two Titans of the top Division in the opposite Group.

An assault it was indeed, and they didn’t wait too long or hesitate at the first presented opportunity within attacking range from the ultimate white line. Their Maul binds were so low and so perfectly intertwined swiftly, that once it started to move, there was absolutely no chance of stopping it. May the readers be reminded that this was accomplished against the very team who made the Thomian Forwards look quite ordinary, just a week ago. On one occasion, the Donz Maul drove their counterparts nearly 30 meters and into their 22, applying immense pressure on the visitors.

As for St. Anthony’s, their lineout issues weren’t corrected even after 2 weeks into the season, and they threw three of them crooked, just as in their previous game. In addition, their old habits returned after a fortnight, where they committed over 15 fouls in this encounter with a yellow card to show for it. This gave the opposition the opportunity to maximise the presentation of their Mauls and launch consecutive onslaughts. It seems like the coaching staff would have no other chores but to keep reminding these kids every week, by conducting special training sessions to ensure that they follow the rules of Rugby, which is going to be counterproductive. So, unless these kids put their minds into it, to consciously follow the rules every single time they train, we may never witness Antho’s full potential this season. 

Result: DSS beat SACK 30-17 

St. Peter’s hosting Wesley – 29 June:

Three of the predictions cited in the peek preview about this encounter became reality.

1. Wesley College pulled off some unexpected surprises

2. The double blues amused the spectators by overpowering SPC in Mauls

3. Wesley exposed some of the vulnerabilities of the defending champions

Wesley College returned to playing ‘Segment A’ Schools Rugby on the 3rd week to produce a semi-fantastic performance and shock the hosts and their fanbase, by dominating the Mauls. The Brigade never suffered such a setback last season, as their Maul defence was quite effective, even against stronger and much bulkier Packs. It seems like Wesley’s potential capability in this area was overlooked by the Peterite coaching camp, and no counter measures had been prepped prior to the game. This allowed the visitors to score, every other time SPC gave away a penalty in the first half. However, the hosts regrouped and managed to diffuse 2 Maul attacks in the second.

With the hosts’ three quarters not clicking and therefore messing up most of their chances with the Ball, Wesley lost this game due to one solitary reason; not honouring a core value of Rugby: discipline. Having no respect for the laws of Rugby, the visitors exceeded 20 infringements including one for punching. It was quite saddening and depressing to witness this unfold even after the Wesley College Principal had sent out a circular to the players and spectators requesting them to uphold the values, honour and traditions of the school, which has obviously fallen on blind Eyes and deaf Ears. Back in the days, elite schools never hesitated to drop even key players, for the simple reason of not turning up for practices on time. Unfortunately, winning games has become more important than disciplining students in the present era.

SPC gave away a few more penalties than they should have, which cost them the 10 points against them. They failed to maintain possession of the Ball, which allowed Wesley to attack with their Forwards. Although the hosts had a fairly tough defence for pick ‘n drive attacks, Wesley still penetrated it, and demonstrated that it could be done by other hefty Packs as well. Although SPC’s Maul defence has been fairly effective last season, it was made to be a mockery by the double blues Pack in the first half. To top it off, the Brigade also had a bad day with the kicking Boots, as they faltered on two reasonably easy kicks to goal, and undercooked 2 touch finders off penalties.

Result: St. Peter’s beat Wesley 25-10 

Science hosting S. Thomas’ – 30 June:

The school by the sea hit back with a stellar performance in the first half to rattle a demotivated Science unit. The reason for the demotivation and lack of enthusiasm was due to 3 of their key players being rested due to injuries, and sadly it showed clearly in their body language from the outset. The Thomians, realising this vulnerability, primarily attacked with their Forwards, and were able to maul and drive their counterparts quite effortlessly. ‘Pick ‘n drive’ advances were a bit challenging, but the visitors still succeeded with some extra effort and time. The highlight of the Thomian game was that their support play has been improved astonishingly, as none of the Ball carriers were ever left isolated at any given time. Thus, the visitors never gave away a single penalty of the holding-on offense. Feeling the punch, the Science Lads woke up and returned back to reality to launch their attacks with the Backs, to which STC didn’t seem to have an effective plan or response.

It must be noted that the Thomians chose an easy tactic of going for 3 points at every given opportunity. The truth of the matter was that they were never going to win this game by slotting penalties, because it was a matter of time before the hosts launched offensives using their Backs, that would be too hot for the Thomian defence to handle, as demonstrated when the hosts scored their first Try, unchallenged and untouched by the Thora Backs. Of course, if something was presented right in front of the Posts where the place kicker could slot it blindfolded, then it should be taken. Any place kick that requires adequate concentration should have been a touch kick into the opposition’s 22, because the strength of STC was their Pack, hence STC should have played to their strengths without settling for petty points, especially when they are in a clear and commanding position to be able to overrun the opposition with their Mauls. However, due to this oversight the Thomians found Science breathing down their Neck throughout the game, even until the last long whistle. Although STC’s Ball handling was immaculate, the few errors they committed either cost them converted Tries, or deprived them of a few scoring opportunities, almost on the goal line.

Science spoiled their own game in the first half by infringing 10 times, giving up a good number of chances to attack with the Ball, whilst allowing the visitors to attack and score with their unstoppable Mauls instead. It is noteworthy that the visitors gave away only 2 penalties in the first half. Despite the fact that Science was able to skilfully turnover thrice at the set pieces in the former half, their inability to follow the laws of the game, held them back and had them chasing Thora’s Tail. Science further fuelled the visitors’ intensity to score in the second half by committing plenty of passing errors, and a few crooked throws, although they managed to bring down their infringements count to 6.

S. Thomas’ seem to have either caught the negative vibes from their neighbours, or registered themselves into a competition for the highest fouls tally, as they rapidly amassed 13 fouls, just in the latter half, that gave the hosts endless occasions of attacking and scoring against the visitors, that not only pushed this game to the wire, but ultimately to a nerve-wrecking finish.

Result: S. Thomas’ beat Science 30-26

Auxiliary Review : Zahira hosting Royal – 29 June:

Zahira College perplexed Royal College when they began the game by serving the same Platter, the visitors were accustomed to dishing out to their opponents. Neither voluntarily giving away nor kicking away possession, Zahira held the Ball close to their Hearts and employed mainly ‘pick and drive’ moves from the word go, no matter where they were in the field. This turned tables, as Royal was forced to defend pick ‘n drives instead of initiating them, most of the time. Whenever Royal got possession and attacked with the Forwards, the hosts continuously defended beautifully, and as predicted in the preview last week, stated that Zahira’s ‘pick ‘n drive’ defences would be beefed up considerably. As a result of the overall defensive tactic and giving the visitors a piece of their own medicine, Coach Shamlie Nawaz brought down the points from 44 to 34 since last year, with a solitary Try as an additional consolation.

Result: Royal beat Zahira 34-7

Footnote:

As the purpose of this column is to constructively contribute towards levelling up the quality of Rugby from a reasonably high to an ultra-high altitude, reviewing encounters played at the pre-season quality doesn’t serve its purpose. In addition, the 2024 league has been infused with at least 4 schools that are too weak for the upper division, which will result in landslide wins of the stronger teams. There shall be no benefit for either school by reviewing these encounters either, and thus shall be skipped this week and throughout the league.

(The writer can be reached at: [email protected])