Blockbuster weekend explodes with upsets galore

The much-awaited blockbuster weekend had its fair share of spills (flooded grounds) and thrills (upsets), but failed to take away the passion and drive residing inside the players, as each team played their Hearts out in severe and undesirable playing conditions to entertain all who were present.

 Wesley hosting Royal – 12 July:

What was deemed to be an epic battle between two colossal Forwards, echoing sounds of slams and thumps around Havelock Park to kick open week 5, turned out to be a meek pillow passing contest to the complete dismay of the assembled. The enthusiasts present would have certainly got their money’s worth, had they been there to watch a match of ping-pong. In this instance, fractions of both fraternities exited the park at the end of the game, as if they would exit a profitable gambling facility.

 The back-and-forth kicking seemed slightly sensible in the beginning as Wesley kicked up, in an attempt to get under, but unfortunately that never worked in their favour. Therefore, the patrons initially naively assumed that there was some method to the kicking madness that both teams chose to employ, but this psychosis never ceased until the fat lady cried out loud.

 Now back to the big questions asked in our preview; did Wesley accomplish any of the big IFs? Yes, some. This was the very first time Wesley College played the most composed and undistracted game of Rugby in all of 2023 and 2024, and their composure and serenity radiated since the initial lineup, as they stood up to pray the College song. Thereafter, they were occasionally stirred by their opponents, in order to try and summon their emotions, but the double blues remained unshaken. They were much more disciplined than they ever were this season, and significantly saintlier than their opponents. Regrettably, the third vital piece to the puzzle was missing, which was ‘tactical Rugby’. In addition, they were never seen to be attacking with the same vigour and charisma as they showed in the Peter’s game, or any of their games in 2023 in which they went down bravely.

 It appeared that Wesley has got themselves tested and certified as the team with the best defence this season, even against a team like Royal, that they looked pretty confident that they could win this game by merely pelting between the Poles. While they have conceded over 40 points in 3 games, they confidently took 3 points, every time it was offered around the visitors’ 40. It is an absolute waste of all the resources poured into nurturing and training the Wesley Pack, if they were not going to be used at critical and most appropriate times like these. All in all, 4 penalty opportunities inside the opposition’s grid went abegging, (although 9 points were scored) that could have been potentially used to score maximum points via lineouts inside the opposition 22. As fortune favours the brave, a positive and attacking mentality is vital to win matches, as opposed to safe tactics.

 On the contrary, Royal brought the bomb squad, but never used the Forwards in the primary onslaughts. To be clear, their primary onslaughts were composed of kicking, booting and punting. Could it be that they had decided that they must preserve and protect their big burly blokes to bombard the seemingly-more-worthy, or unpredictable Joes in their next game?

 Result Royal beat Wesley 27-14 

 S. Thomas’ hosting DS Senanayake – 13 July:

In spite of the constant and heavy downpour that prevailed all day, the Big Club Ground had only two puddles around the 20-meter mark, of just one side. The rest of the turf seemed pretty solid and played quite well throughout the game. The Boys from DS seemed quite edgy right from the start, whilst the Thomians felt quite at home, and seemingly relaxed. Though relaxed, they put the opposition under immense pressure continuously with every little thing they did. In addition, the Thomians played with a lot of passion and commitment that appears to be getting intense with every passing game.

 Of course, the hosts made a bucketful of silly blunders, many more than their usual tally. Their lineouts were the laughs of the day, as they messed up 6 of them, while throwing in the Ball like toddlers. Their infringements count exceeded the threshold, but stayed within the danger zone. In spite of their several comical shortcomings, they tackled, defended and poached extremely well to unsettle and demotivate the visitors throughout the game. Their devotion to constantly attacking and putting the opposition under pressure worked very well for them, while making things even more uneasy and volatile for the visitors.

 Unfortunately, it wasn’t Donz’s day, as things didn’t work out for them, although they had only a few but prohibitive shortcomings. Number one; they could not keep their infringements down as it reached an all-season high of 17, including advantages played. Their worst offense count so far was a nominal 9, that they consistently maintained in the last two games against Trinity and St. Anthony’s. They allowed the pressure of the game to get to them, which ultimately affected their focus, leading to the exponential increase in fouls. Mental strength and conditioning MUST go hand-in-hand with physical conditioning and skills development, in order to prepare a team for pressure games.

 Number 2; not playing to their strengths. Within a matter of minutes after kick-off, it was quite clear that the Donz Pack was much stronger than their opponents’, when they nearly scored a pushover Try to equalise, for the first and only time. It was further reaffirmed when the Thomian Scrum could not hold back their counterparts, on more than a few occasions. However, the Donz failed to take advantage of this significant plus, to use their Pack in the Mauls. Maybe someone announced that it is a no-Maul-weekend, as this was the second team with a clear upper hand, that did not wish to utilise its Maul power to overwhelm the opposition. Although it was previewed that the Donz could succeed by simply attacking with their Backs due to the mediocre Thomian tackling, they should have switched tactics once they realized that they were up against a better defence on the day.

 Result: STC beat DSS 29-15 

 St. Peter’s hosting St. Joseph’s – 13 July:

The 2024 Joe-Pete Rugby encounter proceeded amidst uncertainties of the possibility of the match being played due to most parts of the playing field being flooded. Thus, the game kicked off to a mediocre audience, which was quite contrary to the usual ornaments that this festivity commands. However, the crowd gradually filled up the Stands as the match progressed to a reasonable capacity.

 It would be quite unfair to carry out a stringent performance review of this encounter, as the game was played in extreme wet and slippery conditions, while the utmost importance has always been player safety. Therefore, we should be happy if the Boys managed to play some safe Rugby that prevented injuries under these trying circumstances. As such, it would be only fair to highlight the positives that glistened in these extreme conditions.

 As expected, the soft turf slowed down the extravagant three-quarter gimmicks of the Peterites, and therefore Joes were able to make more effective tackles than usual. Nevertheless, the Brigade Backline pleased the audience by exhibiting some captivating moves while scoring a few Tries. The wet conditions caused an exorbitant number of unforced handling errors in the hosts’ camp, which fortified Joes’ cause to considerably decrease the deficit. On the contrary, St. Joseph’s Ball handling was immaculate to concede only 3 unforced errors under these extremely sloppy conditions. It is worth mentioning that this is an exponential improvement since their last outing against Thurstan, where they displayed Ball handling skills of a lower Division Rugby team.

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

 Zahira hosting Vidyartha – 13 July:

This game was played in a pool of muddy water that was more suited for skating, thus the Boys from both schools deserve a deafening round of applause for entertaining the crowd by continuously playing fast, attacking Rugby all through the full 70 minutes.

 In contrast to what was predicted, Zahira did not choose to play a closed game of Rugby, but bravely took on the Tigers in their own game. Coach Shamlie Nawaz continues to baffle us by his daring and unusual tactics, but unfortunately only schools with certain Rugby cultures with predetermined mindsets are capable of yielding the full harvest out of his methods. The Zahirians were not afraid to run the Ball, or tackle and defend the sprinting streak, although the wet conditions helped their cause with the defence. The home team forced 5 knock-ons with its persistent tackling, with some of them accomplished quite close to their own goal line, which tipped the balance in their favour. 

 Acknowledging and respecting the power of the swift beasts, Zahira attempted even marginally difficult place kicks off penalties successfully. It must be noted that even easy place kicks under wet and slippery conditions could be trying, as the run-up to the kick would not be sturdy, and thereby affects the accuracy of the kick. Zahira’s Ball handling under wet conditions was impeccable, as they conceded 6 unforced errors, which is usually acceptable even under dry playing conditions. Their two Ruck turnovers underlined their attitude to counter attack even in this undesirable playing environment. The major setback of the Zahira game was the lineouts, in which they self-destructed 4 while throwing the Ball in. One crooked throw occurred at the opposition’s 10 with which they could have scored a Try.

 While Vidyartha also attacked vehemently, it appeared that it wasn’t quite their day, as almost all their offensives were spoiled very close to the host’s goal line. Their Ball handling was not quite bad either as they conceded a nominal number of unforced errors, but their inability to hold on to the wet Ball while being tackled, actually cost them the game.

 Result: Zahira beat Vidyartha 13-10

 Isipathana hosting Trinity – 13 July:

Havelock Park was the best venue that was available on Saturday for professional figure skating, as once players caught the Ball, they could stop running as the momentum was able to propel them forward. Yet the two teams played as if they were professional figure Skaters, not minding the hazardous conditions that prevailed beneath their Boots.

 It must be the mild and attuned Saturday afternoon temperature that woke the Trinitians up from their long slumber, as they did not fail to please all the Trinity fans and the neutrals who had pinned their undying faith (unlike the author), and turned up to witness an immensely completive game of Rugby. Trinity College Kandy returned to playing fine attacking Rugby, and tackled well as usual, despite the conditions not being so usual. They respected the opposition’s defending skills by opting to take a few penalty kicks in a totally unfavourable environment for kicking, hence missed the slotting two, just as their opponents. Their Ball handling was fair considering the degraded playing conditions. 

However, their lineout was a disaster, flopping 3 in their own accord, and allowing the opposition to turn over another 2. Nevertheless, the main reason for their defeat was due to conceding 15 penalties, which was way above the usual Trinity average, whereas the hosts only gave away a jaw dropping 7. The difference was phenomenal, and gave a clear-cut advantage to the non-offending team. 5 of those offenses were due to the Kandy Lads being unable to contest in the Rucks while staying on their feet, due to the extremely slippery conditions, more suitable for the top tier figure Skaters. However, their opposition didn’t seem to have any issues in this aspect, as they managed to limit it to 1.

 Isipathana continued its misfortune in Ball handling maintaining its average, regardless of the playing condition of the turf. Although their adherence to the laws of the game was immaculate, their on-field actions and body language sends a negative vibe, and distorts the spirit of the game. Verbal and bodily intimidation methods have repercussions, and may negatively alter the course of the happenings to a completely undesirable outcome. Therefore, the writer believes that the ‘Kings of Rugby’ should remain as Kings of Rugby skills only. This would ensure that they acknowledge and adhere to the core values of Rugby, that would pave the way to shed negative traditions and sustain solely the positives.

 Result: Isipathana beat Trinity 15-13

 

Dharmaraja hosting St. Anthony’s – 14 July:

In an extreme turn of events, Rajans decided to join forces to turn the tides in their favour to prolong the weekend upsets by beating the much-favoured SACK, after leading 5-3 at the breather. Let’s have a look at the match breakdown to see where and what went wrong for Antho, or right for Dharmaraja.

The game kicked off with the Rajans being adamant to retain possession of the Ball while advancing in phases, assisted by some top-notch support play. This made one wonder, if this sudden change on the total outlook was ignited by the fear of being relegated to the lower Segment next year? However, handling errors and infringements took possession away from the hosts, while giving the opposition the opportunity to counter-attack. Both teams tackled and defended with purpose, even at their respective goal lines. Although both teams were very close to scoring Tries on many occasions, they were averted by either persistent defence or their own wrongdoings.

While both teams’ game stats were comparable, Rajans remained undisputed in their quest to remain the Kings of infringements, with a tally of a whopping 20, that was 7 more than their opposition. Then why couldn’t SACK take advantage of these additional possessions, granted with territorial gains to score points? One aspect of it was the relentless defending by the Rajans, that coupled constantly flawless tackling with fine support play.. In addition, Rajans managed to enforce 4 holding-on offences in the opposition camp, defeating some of their onslaughts. SACK was also guilty of undercooking 2 penalty touch kicks that gave back possession to the other side.

All-in-all, it was the sub-par performance of St. Anthony’s that brought them to their worst defeat of the season at the hands of the underdogs. How so? The following is a sequence of how SACK conceded their Tries.

1.      SACK’s nonstop back-to-back infringements allowed Rajans to advance and score the first Try

2.      A passing error that resulted in a knock-on inside SACK’s danger zone facilitated Rajans’ second Try

3.      SACK failed to hook the Ball in their own scrum on their 5m line, thereby giving away possession to Rajans to score the uncontested 3^rd Try

4.      Not only that the Antho scrum half was partly responsible for the 3^rd Try, he also knocked the Ball on while collecting it from their own scrum on their 5m line, to gift the opposition a chance with an attacking scrum to score the fourth and final Try.

 (The writer can be reached at: 

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