St. Peter’s reign supreme at Dialog Schools Rugby League 2023

Unbeaten St. Peter’s College inflicted a second successive defeat on defending champions Isipathana College to emphatically clinch the Dialog Schools Rugby League 2023 title at the St. Peter’s College ground last weekend.

Sponsored by Dialog Axiata, Sri Lanka’s premier mobile telecommunications provider, the tournament provided gripping thrills and spills during eight, hotly-contested weeks that ended with the winner being decided last week.

St. Peter’s came to the game as the only unbeaten team with seven straight victories, six of them from Group 2A, and a dominating 39-00 win over St. Anthony’s in the Super Round. They recorded wins against Royal (11-05), Dharmaraja (34-07), Trinity (22-11), Zahira (56-07), Science (29-0), Vidyartha (66-10) and St. Anthony’s (39-00).

The unbeaten ride helped Peter’s accumulate 46 points in eight games including six bonus points. They scored 287 points while conceding only 56. Although Isipathana was expected to end Peter’s unbeaten run, the latter showed their might in their own den to end the season on a resounding note.

Isipathana was riding high after leading the group stage, winning all six games.  But Royal stunned them in the Super Round by running away with a close 22-17 win. The defeat put Isipathana in a must-win situation against St. Peter’s, this season’s only unbeaten team.

Isipathana recorded victories against Kingswood (32-08), S. Thomas’ (29-20), St. Joseph’s (28-18), D.S. Senanayake 22-06, St. Anthony’s 37-26 and Wesley College 24-11 before Royal produced a stellar performance to inflict a crucial defeat. Before last Saturday’s title decider, they had 37 points, including seven bonus points in seven games, and had scored 189 points against the 111 they had conceded. 

Had they managed to reduce the losing margin to five or less points, Isipathana would have still taken away the runners-up trophy but Royal did well to beat St. Anthony’s with a bonus point to finish behind the champions. 

Royal’s ascent to the second place is remarkable. Having lost their opening fixture against eventual winners, St. Peter’s College, 05-11, they were under tremendous pressure. But the lads from Reid Avenue fought back brilliantly to finish in the second place. They beat Science 45-10, Vidyartha 47-03, Zahira 44-03, Dharmaraja 36-18 but their defeat to Trinity 10-13 at Pallekele, which was also the first leg of the Bradby Shield, deeply hurt their chances of winning the league title. 

St. Anthony’s were the only team from outstation to feature in the Super Round. They had four wins in this season, all in the first round. They shocked St. Joseph’s College 22-12 in the tournament opener at Bogambara and beat Wesley 30-29, Kingswood 26-10 and S. Thomas’ 34-17. They were beaten by D.S. Senanayake 19-23 and Isipathana 27-36 in the first round and were completely outclassed in the Super Round by St. Peter’s 00-39 and Royal 11-37.

D.S. Senanayake and Zahira, with four wins and two losses each, finished the league fifth and sixth, while St. Joseph’s, S. Thomas’ and  Trinity—three powerhouses in school rugby—were pushed  to seventh, eighth and ninth places, respectively. They each had three wins, and as many defeats, in the six first-round games they played. 

Vidyartha, with two wins and four defeats, were placed 10th followed by Wesley, Dharmaraja, Science and Kingswood in 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th places, respectively. Kingswood is the only team to remain winless in the season, having lost all six games. 

Dialog Axiata is the proud sponsor of the Sri Lanka National Volleyball, Netball and Esports teams. The Company also has a close association with the President’s Gold Cup Volleyball, National Junior and Senior Netball tourneys, Sri Lanka Golf Open and Paralympic sports by powering the Army Para Games, National Para Games and the Sri Lankan contingent to the World Paralympic Games