Singer League 2018 Round 2 Peterites scrape through to remain unbeaten

Rukshan Madushanka of St. Peter's is tackled by Trinitian Naveen Rajaratnam

By Shamseer Jaleel

St. Peter’s College pulled off a close 28-21 win over Trinity College at Pallekelle during the weekend to retain the Major Dennis Perera Trophy for the fourth consecutive year.

The Trinitians’ only win came in 2014 under Tharinda Ratwatte. Trinity was forced to defend for most of the first half when the visitors attacked incessantly but the Kandy outfit’s defence stood firm. After several unsuccessful moves, the lads from Bambalapitiya broke through to allow Rukshan Madushanka to cross the try line. Shehan Liyanapathirana was accurate with his kick at goal. 

Javindu Fernando scored the next try when Trinity scrum-half Amith Kulatunge failed to clear a kick, knocking it on and allowing the Peterites to gather the loose ball and score. Liyanapathirana added the extra two points.

At halftime the score was 14-0 in favour of the Bambalapitiya outfit. After the turnaround, Javindu scored his second try to push the lead to 21-0. Trinity College hit back deep in the second half. Nippy scrum-half Amith Kulatunge sent their star winger Vishwa Ranaraja over the line. Akitha Sakalasuriya added the extra two points.

The next try saw Sakalasuriya artfully spot a tiny gap along the blindside and covered nearly 40 meters, eluding the Peterite fullback, to plant a try under the posts. He added the extra points to reduce the gap to 21-14. 

However, St. Peter’s always looked the better side and scored their fourth and last try through Nizran Nillar. Liyanapathirana had a perfect day by putting over the conversion. Trinity had time for one more Sakalasuriya try and conversion before the game ended. 

The Lions once again ran out of time, something which did not just happen in this game but has occurred throughout this season. They will need to plan well for the next season, giving more exposure for the 2019 and 2020 players in the squad.

Joes push through

St. Joseph’s College pulled off a close 26-16 win over Wesley College in their first match of the second round of the Singer League 2018 encounter played at Havelock Park.

Gemunu Cheethiya scored a hat-trick playing as a fullback in this encounter. The Joes, who led 14-8 at halftime, never looked likely to be beaten but they never seemed comfortably on their way to a huge win either. 

Nemsha de Silva scored the other Joes’ try. Santhush Algama converted three of the tries while Wesley’s tries were scored by Kavinda Perera and Ryan Samuel with Mursheed Zubair putting over two penalties. St. Joseph’s College will need to improve their game plan and defence going forward against St Peter’s and Isipathana, fixtures which could prove vital in their title race.

Royal outclass Zahira

Defending Singer League champions Royal College continued their unbeaten run as they dismantled Zahira College 41-5. They gave a lot of playing time to their bench during the encounter.

Meanwhile, in the Plate segment, wins were registered by S. Thomas’ College, who defeated Lumbini MV 40-10, Vidyartha who edged out D.S. Senanayake College 22-17 and St. Anthony’ College who registered their first win this season with a 48-36 triumph over Maliyadeva. This was the first game St. Anthony’s College Kandy was playing under Rugby Consultant Ronny Ibrahim.

Isipathana edge out Kingswood

Isipathana College survived a tense thriller against Kingswood College to beat them at home by 10 points (1 try, 1 conversion, 1 penalty) to 5 points (1 try) at the Nittawela Rugby Stadium in Kandy yesterday.

At halftime Kingswood led 5-3. The game was played under wet conditions as heavy rain poured into the ground minutes before the kick-off. Kingswood had a slight advantage in exchanges and looked the better side. But Isipathana never gave up on their chances and kept on attacking. Kingswood led for most of the game but Isipathana hit back in the last 10 minutes of the encounter to seal a magnificent win. 

For Kingswood their centre Shashan Mohamed played an excellent game while for the Green Shirts it was their fullback Seneviratne and skipper Manilka Ruberu who stood out.

Isipathana drew first blood through a Ruberu penalty from 30 metres out. Kingswood got an ideal opportunity to equalise when their standoff Malka Sampath missed a sitter in front of the posts. Kingswood took the lead through their dashing winger Ruchira Ekanayake who eluded a few Isipathana defenders to touch down near the right corner flag. Sampath’s kick was off target.

After the turnaround Isipathana scored their only try through replacement winger A.L. Goonasekera. Rubera was on target with his kick at goal. The referee for the game was Dinka Peiris.  

Soon after final whistle referee Peiris and the assistant referees were escorted to the dressing room as the Kingswood supporters tried to manhandle them.

Isipathana won the Under-16 encounter by beating Kingswood 47-0. (SJ)

An Isipathana player tries to evade two Kingswood defenders