Isipathana clinches Zahira Rugby 7s t rophy

Tuesday, 20 January 2015 00:07 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Text and Pix by M. Farook Lantra Three-time winners Isipathana beat Prince of Wales Moratuwa by 24 points (two goals, two tries) to 19 (two goals, one try) in a nerve-tingling match, staged at the Zahira College grounds on 18 January. Both teams played exceptionally but by the end of regulation time the teams were deadlocked on 19 and during extra time the match-winning try was placed by Isipathana’s Rehan Silva.

Pathmasanka D. Fernando of Isipathana was judged to be the Player of the Tournament. The try-scorers for Isipathana were Fernando and Indunil while Prince of Wales secured tries through Vihanga, N. Pieris and Neshaka. More than 168 participants from 13 leading schools from across the Island took part in the Zahira Rugby 7s Friendship Tournament in front of a large gathering. The competition was organised for the seventh year by the Zahira Group of 60’s headed by M.S. Mazeer the Chairman of the Organising Committee, assisted by the group’s President Ifthikar Ahamed, tournament director Ibrehim Hamid, Coordinating Secretary Muhsheen Ariff and Chairman Technical/Discipline Shamly Swaz. The grand finale was co-sponsored by Allied Trading International Ltd. and Faiz Brothers Ltd. The chief guest for the grand finale was Sri Lankan cricket legend Muttiah Muralitharan while the Guest of Honour was SLRFU Secretary Gr. Capt. Nalin De Silva, member of the 1984 Hong Kong 7s Bowl-winning team. The Plate was won by Lalith Athulathmudali College who beat Central College Piliyandala 31 points to 5 while the Bowl was won by St. Benedict’s College, who beat Carey College 5-0. The final was handled by Pradeep Fernando.