Pete’s triple Crown hopes heisted by Kings of Rugby

St. Peter’s vs Isipathana – 15 Sep:

The Kings of Schools Rugby hoisted themselves back at the Throne where they belong, by shattering the dreams of the Bamba Brigade of clinching their first triple Crown in many years. After surviving the nerve-wrecking traumas of near-death experience by Peter’s, and sudden-death experience by Pathana at the Semis, both sides had to ascertain that their second lease of life was meaningful, by competing extremely and tactically for the covered Knockout Title. The following analysis intends to pry deeper to discover what made this big upset possible, or was it even an upset in the first place?

 Both sides showed desperate intent to attack and score from the first long whistle with the Peterites mostly having possession. However, their Ball Carriers were struck down by what seemed like petite, green, sniper Bullets every time they received a pass; even the Brigade three quarters succumbed in the same fashion by hitting the ground, dispersing puffs of dust during the first 10 minutes of the game. How does one even train to take down Roadrunners, unless you have a few of them with you at your training camp? Saliya Kumara and the Isipathana coaching crew had done wonderful work in not only empowering the Greens to catch up to the otherwise unapproachable Roadrunners, but also effecting their tackles to sting like Bumble Bees, as the aftereffects visibly slowed down the Peterite defences thereafter, for the rest of the game. This was the initial, momentum changing win for the Greens in obtaining the edge over their mighty opponents at the outset of the game.

In addition, the Green Machine seemed more committed and focused on winning back the Title, as they consistently showed class in everything that was executed by them during the entire game, something that was lacking at most of their outings this season. In contrast, the Brigade looked more like a happy 15 after sitting at a wholesome and rich Sunday Buffet spread, who visibly appeared a tad lethargic and dispassionate in competing, in comparison to their usual stance. This caused the defending Champions to keep trailing the Kings during most part of the game.

 While playing a sustained, dominating and attacking game like true Champions, Pathana excelled in discipline and precision Ball handling that their opponents could not measure up to. The 5 additional penalties conceded by SPC supplied the Pathans added leverage and territory to attack and score points, while their passing errors, including a forward pass, self-destructed a few crucial Try scoring probabilities. Although SPC’s errors did not directly lead to a Try, other than on one occasion, most of the Tries scored by Isipathana were owing to sheer master skills and forward-thinking tactical play, that was totally lacking in the last season. Thus, anyone who had doubted the Title-winning capabilities of Head Coach Saliya Kumara would have their answer now, while the remarkable knowledge and instincts of the Isipathana Rugby Committee to decide to retain him as Head Coach in 2024, following their setback in 2023 has to be highlighted at this point.

This leaves us with one last question; what would have been the outcome if the League Final was played on dry conditions, that was suited for fast paced Rugby earlier this year? As we all know, both teams could not run the Ball fast enough to creep through spaces due to the extremely muddy and sticky surface conditions that prevented Tries from being scored in this outing. The outcome of this trying encounter was determined by the most disciplined team, and by the skills of the better Place Kicker under the stated conditions. SPC conceded 4 penalties within their grid, while Pathana gave away 7 that may have made the difference, in combination with the abilities of the respective Place Kickers. However, if the above game had been played on dry surface, it could have turned out to be an evenly contested game unlike the Knockout Final, where the Greens led all the way. The 12 penalties that Pathana conceded in this game could have substantially offset their dominating skills and tactical capabilities, against the 6 that SPC gave away, to make a pendulum swing out of this League Final.

Result: Pathana beat Peter’s 34-29

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