Science College after convincingly defeating St Peters college in their league match last week, successfully managed to knock-out St Peters in the Milo Knockout tournament at Royal Complex on Sunday.
U19 Singer Schools Rugby League came to an end last week with Royal college emerging as unbeaten champions and Science after a moral boosting victory in their last league match looked threatening. For St Peters College it was another chance to regain their pride after some poor performances in the latter stages of the league.
RT Maduranga of Science kicked off proceedings as the match got underway. The playing field was sluggish due to heavy rain which took place just before the match. St Peters were struggling with the wet ball and the wet outfield, but Science showed they were not to affected by dominating the first half.
Science drew first blood inside the first five minutes as Kamesh Fernando struggled to hold on to the high ball, ended up giving the ball away to Sajith Dilshan who scored his first try of the match. RT Maduranga made no mistake in bisecting the uprights. ( SC 7: SPC 0 )
Science got onto the driving seat in no time, not letting St Peters settle their nerves. They kept going hard at the Peterites and the Peterites were looking clueless in the field.
However, after a quiet passage of play, the Peterites finally started to hit their straps. They won themselves a penalty under the post but Sandesh Jayawickrama failed to convert it to points. These easy chances hurt them badly. Science College kept attacking and enhancing the lead RT Maduranga bisected the uprights yet again through a well taken penalty inside the 22″. ( SC 10: SPC 0 )
Pressure was telling on the Peters camp as the pressure induced panic into their game. The boys from Mt Lavinia made full use of this loose play by St Peters and the second try of the match brought controversey. The ball was kicked deep into Peters half and the Peterite captain was accused of obstructing the charging runners of Science College while he was running behind for the ball. Conversion was easy pickings for RT Maduranga who put Science College way ahead in the game. ( SC 17: SPC 0 )
Peters needed to score and they needed it quick. They had a different game plan from their last match, making use of their forwards and driving the ball deep into their opponents half. This strategy worked out fine as they got on the score board with a try by their strong force Nishon Perera. His power and strength was too much to handle as he shoved away too tackles and went over the line. The conversion wasn’t successful by Nishon but it was a much needed breakthrough for the Peterites. ( SC 17: SPC 5 )
Peters looked good for around ten minutes after the try, but Science didn’t let them score easily. Just as the Peterites looked to close in the deficit Science struck back with another wonderfully worked try. Ball taken from a line-out in their own half passed on to their Fullback RT Maduranga who made the initial run through the middle then offloaded to Sajith Dilshan who went over the try line for the second time of the match. Conversion wasn’t successful but the damage was done as Science kept running away with the game. ( SC 22: SPC 5 )
Peters created some breakthroughs towards the end of the first half but Science was upto the challenge. The Bamba brigade exhibited some sloppy play right through out the first half while Science on the other hand dominated from the word go until the half time whistle was blown. At the stroke of half time the scores stood as 22 points to 5, Science on top.
Half Time : SC 22 – SPC 05
St Peters with a huge mountain climb, came out all guns blazing in the second half. They looked more organized and settled after the break. After a good passage of play by St Peters, they managed to get over the try line. It was Diyath Fernando who came on as a substitute in the first half who managed to score. They stuck to the same strategy which they applied in the first half, making use of their forwards and driving the ball as further as possible before they send the ball out to their runners. Nishon Perera failed to bisect the uprights but St Peters were on track. ( SC 22: SPC 10 )
Petes had the majority of possession in the second half, but Science somehow manged to score another try and put themselves in a demanding position. It was Sajith Dilshan again who completed his hatrcik for this match. Peters were on the attack, ball was kicked deep into the Science territory but it was well manage Science who found blind holes in the Peters line. The conversion wasn’t successful but Science knew that they had the game under their belt. It needed a miracle for St Peters to close in the deficit. ( SC 27: SPC 10 )
Peterites didn’t let their heads down eventhough it seemed inevitable the opponents had the game in the bag and kept attacking and their playing kept on getting better as the match went on. They played with heart and showed so much character in the latter stages of the match. Science College lost one player towards to end due to bad discipline on field. Peterites gave a good fight back and it got the Science camp on their toes. Five minutes before the final whistle, St Peters struck for the third time as Shiva Stephan went over the line with sheer brute strength shoving away the defenders. The conversion by Kevin Dixon was successful ( SC 27: SPC 17 )
Time was running out but St Peters showed heart and will power until the very last minute. They manged to go over the line yet again, this time it was a well taken quick tap by Diyath Fernando who made the initial run. LNT Perera who came in as a substitute scored the final try of the match. Time was not in their side but they did fight hard in the second half. At the final whistle scoreboard stood at 27 points to 22, giving Science College a convincing win and a place in the semi finals.
Final Score : SC 27 – SPC 22
ThePapare Man of the Match : Sajith Dilshan
Science College scorers
Sajith Dilshan 3 tries
RT Maduranga 2 conversions, 1 penalty
St Peters College scorers
Nishon Perera 1 try
Diyath Fernando 1 try
Shiva Stephan 1 try
LNT Perera 1 try
Kevin Dixon 1 Conversion
