Major comeback by Royal in round 2 to win Singer League

By Shamseer Jaleel

Royal College was written off by many after they lost out to Isipathana. They seemed to be lost in focus, lost their way at the halfway mark. But for a man who has changed many ordinary sides into winning outfits and taken national youth teams to success in Asia, this was just a routine in his coaching stint. 

He was calm but focused and took Royal to win the Singer League 2017 with a major comeback in round 2. He is none other than former Isipathana and CR & FC player and top class junior level school coach, Sanath Martis. Last time Royal won the Singer League was in 2015 under Bhanuka Gamage.

The Royal outfit was led by stand-off Ovin Askey who went through the mill in round 1. They edged out the Joes in a thriller 28/22; in the next one, the Peterite game, they were without five of their regulars who were down with injuries post their previous encounter against Joes. They beat the lads from Bambalapitiya 17/10. Their narrowest escape was against Rajans. After the game went into injury time with 15 a piece, a neat drop goal from the skipper took them through under wet conditions in Kandy. Royal outclassed DS in a one-sided affair 48/7. They not only lost out to Isipathana but also on the Maj. Milroy Fernando Trophy. The green shirts got the better of the Reid Avenue lads 22/17 in a tight game.

Royal started to keep things late in the second half from the Antonian game. They made a bold reply to the Antonians and went passed them 48/35.

In round two they started off by claiming the Michael Gunaratne Trophy by beating the Thomians 31/14 and outplayed Zahira 65/14. Despite Trinity having a heavier pack they lost out and were outshone by the Royalists. This clearly showed that Trinity did have proper training to counterattack Royal forwards. Only a few teams after having heavier packs are outshone in rugby. Their weakness of not having a proper forward coach was a major win for the Reid Avenue Boys who not only beat Trinity by five points but also with this win claimed the Singer League. Royal will always go one level high, as history in the last three decades clearly shows that the team winning the first leg always win the Bradby Shield.

Royal were gifted with some fine players in their line-up such Shabith Feroze, Hamza Reza, Nikhil George, Janindu Dilshan and Mohamed Shakir along with skipper Ovin Askey. The outfit was well looked after by veteran coach Sanath Martis in the three quarter line while former Sri Lankan player Dushantha Lewke had a major win in the forwards line. They will be looking to place the icing on the cake when they meet Trinity in the second leg in two weeks on home territory.