The rise of the Green Titan

St. Peter's vs Trinity

The four Top Dogs of the Top Division locked Horns to express their emotions and show “who’s boss”, in two tightly contested games of Rugby, kicked off on Saturday evening. Both encounters progressed neck-to-neck from the start, and almost to the end, while keeping the players on their Toes and the spectators on the edge of their seats. Two of those alphas remained unbeaten, leading to a highly pumped-up Finale to explode on the concluding weekend. 

Isipathana hosting Royal – 10 Aug:

If Lady luck lobs a smile at you, you are in for a good roll of the Dice; but when she begins to stalk you, then your destiny is about to change. The Green Machine has been quite privileged to be riding on Lady luck during a few crucial encounters this season, regardless of the occasional shortcomings from their side. They did run up their infringement count and unforced handling errors exponentially during vital points in this game, which prohibited them from attacking persistently and scoring a few times. 

Both outfits engaged with the intention to score from the first long whistle; however, this failed to transpire for either party, as both defended exquisitely. In addition, they maintained flawless defensive formations continuously during the whole of the first half that seldom faltered at any given point in the game, particularly wherever it usually does. Therefore, wide open spaces were hard to come by, even momentarily, in order to make flashy breaks, thus the teams had to advance in phases, or by finding touch. 

As forecasted in the preview, Isipathana managed to disrupt the Royal lineouts by turning over just a few, and thereby rendering their destructive Rolling Mauls a myth of the yesteryears. Having struck down the most powerful weapon of the Titans, the Green Machine shocked everyone present, by erecting indestructible Green Walls that either halted or drastically slowed down hefty Tuskers’ pick and drives, which was presumed to be the visitors’ second most destructive weapon. Having meticulously accomplished the above two, left the visitors scowling at the Scoreboard pointlessly at lemons. 

Although Pathana opted for, and collected 3 points off what seemed like a long-shot place kick, they refused another opportunity that was offered right in front of the Posts around the 22m mark, for a scrum that was on offer alternatively several meters inside, that consequently failed to ‘work out’ for them. Had the place kick been taken, the home team would have enjoyed a 6-0 lead at half time. 

When the spectators expected a change of gear and tactics in the second segment, it just continued from where it was left off, and therefore became slightly boring up until the first Try was scored, which finally stimulated the crowd. Both teams infringed heavily, and displayed poor Ball handling either during decisive attacking plays, or at vulnerable zones, which made this encounter much more tainted than it was expected to be.

 Despite being stressed in the Royal vs Peter’s review dated 31st July (@ https://www.ft.lk/columns/The-fall-of-the-sluggish-Titan/4-764971), via the clause “It is the responsibility of the respective Teachers, Coaches and Masters-in-charge to inculcate these vital values on an ongoing basis, to enable the civil and gentlemanly gestures to manifest naturally in the Boys”, a distasteful act of a Tusker, turned the tides in favour of the Greens during the final seconds of the game. It was extremely unfortunate and totally unnecessary, that the Boy concerned and his fellow teammates had to learn a valuable life lesson paying such a high price, along with its scathed memories that would live with them for eternity. This incident is a call not only to Royal College, but to the Heads of all the other Schools, to persuade them to lay down the necessary disciplinary framework around players, parents and spectators at least now, so as to ensure that these types of behaviour never repeat in the future.  Since the aforementioned incident seemed a regular occurrence in any level of Rugby, a penalty seemed quite harsh or controversial per say, initially. In the incident, an RC player was seen running from yards away onto, and pushing a standing Pathana player from behind, who was holding the Ball, that caused him to lose his balance and fall. This action was affected after the Referee blew the whistle to halt play following a knock-on by Isipathana. As per the laws of Rugby, any of the following would warrant a penalty sanction:

“A player must not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship.”

“They must stop playing immediately when the referee blows the whistle to stop play.”

 The affected green player was seen extending his dramatic screenplay and posture, in order to get the attention of the Referee, and convince him to have a closer look at the offense. Consequently, this act was synonymous to events often observed at international Soccer games only, but never ever in Rugby. However, this class act was made essential by a decision made by the same Referee in the second week of last season’s Super Round, when an offense that warranted an instant Red Card was overlooked, and the game was allowed to go on, because the then affected green player immediately sprung up on his feet, and commenced playing as if nothing happened. When a dangerous play of that nature takes place, the play must be stopped immediately and the welfare of the player should be ascertained. Instead, the crowd had to yell in unison to get the Referee’s attention to even review the offense, and consequently sanction a penalty. Therefore, it becomes quite evident that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the melodrama that was artistically portrayed by the vibrant member of the newly developed, but much-needed Drama Club of Isipathana College. 

Result: Pathana beat Royal 19-18 

Peter’s hosting Trinity – 10 Aug:

As anticipated, Trinity College Kandy unleashed an attacking game of Rugby that often gained them territory, even while not being in possession of the Ball. Their lightning quick rush defence frequently struck the Brigade backwards, with every attempt at moving the Ball. However, the unrestrained count of foul plays, essentially submerged Trinity’s courageous Rugby that could have caused the biggest upset of the Tournament.

 As recommended in the preview, the young Lads from the Hilltops remained wide-eyed from the word go and throughout the game, in order to curtail as many Brigade breakthroughs as possible. Although they bravely opted to play the risky kicking game, they showed off their swiftness coupled with precise tactics to contain the speeding Road Runners. Regrettably, Shaan Althaf had forgotten to bring along his kicking Boots this time around, and it appeared more likely that he may have kicked a few with his Sandals, as none were shot between the giant Sticks. Out of the 9 penalties conceded by SPC, his Sandals missed a penalty kick, and undercooked 2 touch kicks off penalties, leaving his team with only 6 to work with. Luckily for Trinity, his backup Yevan Hulngamuwa who had promptly and spotlessly glistened his Boots, took the onus onto himself, to keep sending the oval Ball whizzing in-between the white Poles flawlessly. 

 Any player could have an off day, and it was quite smart of the Trinity coaching crew to expect this to happen, and was ready with an equally effective backup, who more importantly came into play quickly, before Trinity lost further valuable points. On the contrary, Trinity conceded a whopping 16 penalties that made the crystal-clear difference between the winners and the losers. Out of these 16, 3 were high tackles that would be a concern for the coaching crew to address before their next game.

 Astonishingly, Coach Sanath Martis had decided to work on SPC’s infringements count prior to this game, perhaps not being aware that Shaan would forget to bring his kicking Boots. Nevertheless, this timely correction was the sole reason for SPC emerging victorious, as they had earlier been in the habit of not being able to control their infringements count, which resulted in them conceding 18 penalties against Royal. In addition, SPC managed to score a Try off almost every other penalty that was offered within Trinity’s danger zone, which made their quest to remain unbeaten, quite easy at the end. 

Result: Peter’s beat Trinity 37-28

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