Early winners aim to consolidate; losers hungry for comebacks

 A St. Anthony’s player in action

A Science College player in action

A Thomian in action

An Isipathana player in action

Dialog Schools Rugby League 2023 – Week 2 Preview 

The completely packed Grandstands at all six fixtures last week verified the passion for Schools Rugby in Sri Lanka. Most of the seats in these Stands were taken by at least 3:30 p.m. The assembled did not go home disappointed, except for in the last game of the week. Week two is expected to get further intense, attracting more fans into expanded venues.

Now let’s have a glimpse of the upcoming matches in week 2, and see how each one is poised based on the teams’ previous performances.

SACK vs DSS at Pallekele on 24 June:

A pumped up Antonian outfit will be treading into uncharted waters, when they take on the unknown D.S. Senanayake College at home. Most Rugby enthusiasts wonder if the Boys sporting Black would actually become the dark Horse of the season?

Unfortunately, with more than half of the team absent from last year, a team with mixed experience is expected to take the field this year. However, if someone was capable of moulding a well-balanced, high-octane team last year, and that through the Pandemic, then one can expect the same to be repeated this year as well. One thing you can bet on is that their game will be based on the Forwards attack. Therefore, any team that intends to beat them should be able to defend pick and drive offensives, and the rolling mauls.

The Antonians have proven in their last match, that they are capable of handling heavyweights, as they were able to maul the heavy and strong Joes’ Pack, and cross their goal line. They were also able to successfully defeat the activation of rolling mauls, by tactically bringing down the jumper with the Ball in the lineouts, before the maul was formed. As the Joes attack didn’t consist of many pick and drives, we are yet to find out if the lighter Antonians can survive an hour of constant pounding, which is usually a feature of the DS game.

STC vs Pathana at STC Big Club Grounds on 24 June:

With the superiority, conviction and dominance demonstrated last week on slippery conditions, it is expected that the Greens will take a cool, breezy walk (or sprint) down a lush green park at Mt. Lavinia on Saturday. All that the Thoras could do is work hard on their defences during the week, to try and minimise the deficit as much as possible. This would certainly help them in their future encounters in the first round. 

The Thomians should strengthen their goal line defence which was seen as a weak point at times, in their match against Wesley and before, during the pre-season. Isipathana has got its rolling maul going pretty strongly, hence the Thoras would have to find ways to either avoid, disintegrate or defend it, like how St. Anthony’s repeatedly foiled Joes’ rolling mauls. The Mount Lads would also have to halve their infringements, if they wish to stop an already super-advancing Green Machine. The Pathana Forwards and Backs are already quite penetrative on their own, supported by some distant and accurate touch kicking. Gifting them additional territory and handing them the Ball will be synonymous to digging one’s own Grave.

Wesley vs Joes at Royal Complex on 24 June:

Joes will face stiff resistance by the double blues to register their first win this season. Joes’ gameplay has become mostly predictable, hence almost all Coaches are prepared with counter-tactics to take them on, and bring them down. Therefore, Nilfer would have to pull out some old tricks from his Bag to surprise his opponents, in case his usual tactics don’t work out as planned.

Wesley College is expected to improve on what they have already been working on, especially their attacks. They will look forward to utilising their fine touch kicking and tackling skills to keep play in Joes’ territory, expecting their opponents to make some form of mistake that they could capitalize on. If the Wesleyites manage to adequately uplift their game, then this could turn out to be another close encounter.

Rajans vs Zahira at Bogambara on 24 June:

Zahira College Maradana will be playing its first game of the season at the Kandy Bogambara Stadium. The Zahirians are heavily invested in Rugby now, which can be observed from the Boys’ commitment and gameplay shown from their U14 team and upwards. Although the Zahira Team did well in the lower Segment to lose only to DSS last year, they had some weak areas that required work. One can only hope that they have managed to fix those shortcomings to be strong in every aspect of the game.

Every aspect of the game should be strong to take on a team with the calibre of Dharmaraja, as they shook the world of SL Schools Rugby last weekend causing the biggest upset in history. They will be looking forward to working on some trial runs and experiments, but also secure the bonus point that could be useful later on.

Science vs Royal at Science Grounds on 24 June:

The mighty Royal College will be hoping to make use of this as a practice match to fix all the deficiencies in their last game, and further elevate their game. They will be also expecting to have ago with their onslaught, to claim the bonus point and amass a substantial total.

Science College will be walking into this game as meek underdogs, but will be looking to play around Royal’s strengths, and exploit their weaknesses exposed during the last weekend. In order to avoid Royal’s powerful and deadly rolling mauls, they will be keen on keeping the play in Royal’s territory, by using their touch kicking skills. While in the opposition territory, they will put constant pressure to persuade Royal to make mistakes, similar to what they did in the match against Peter’s. As per RC’s last match statistics, an infringement should be committed every 5-6 minutes, and Science would take every 3 points within kicking range, else go for touch. If the touch is close enough to the goal line, they could employ their fast runners and three quarters, to try their luck at penetrating the concrete Royal defence. Since this sounds like a long shot, Science shall be better off practicing hard, to get the most difficult place kicks between the tall Bars.

When play moves into the Science territory, they could kick high and deep into Royal’s territory as the latter lacked the ability to use the Ball and advance much, whenever they received the high Ball in their last game. This will further assist their cause in restricting play in RC territory. Science would have to come up with a counter tactic, out of the many available, if the Ball is kicked back to them.

If the home team manages to accumulate enough points to stay ahead of RC beyond 50 minutes, they can be assured that the Royalists will depress the panic button as usual, and start making blunders that can be capitalized by the Maroons to score further using their quick and penetrative Backs. At this point, penetrating the Royal defence will not be a long shot.

So, anyone who was contemplating on skipping this one-sided affair can think again! Unless Lewke has managed to fix all their shortcomings within a week, the Royal Tuskers are still quite vulnerable; and for Science… maybe it’s about time they slayed a Giant?!

Trinity vs Vidyartha at Bogambara on 25 June

Trinity will be hoping to have a light Sunday lunch in contrast to the previous week, and display the same prowess they showed in the second half of their last match, but this time, throughout the whole 70 minutes. If they succeed in doing so, the Rugby fans would be destined for a great Sunday Feast!

Having secured the bonus point in their last win, group topper, Vidyartha College will be at the peak in spirit, to take this one home as well. This will be a battle between the Backs, and expected to be an eye candy for those who cherish fast, open rugby.

*Kingswood and St. Peter’s will take a break in the second week