Dharmaraja College Kandy held Trinity College Kandy for a draw in their season opener 34-34 in the Lion’s Den at Pallekelle turning tables in the rugby arena while creating history as the very first occurrence of this nature.
It was one of the most anticipated days in the Kandy with the much loved sport rugby reverberating in the hills. Before start of play Pallekelle was brimming with support from either side and the two schools lived up to expectations dishing out some scintillating rugby. Trinity and Dharmaraja were meeting each other after a lapse of two years since last year Dharmaraja was relegated down to Division II making the anticipation grow even higher .
Right from the kick-off whistle there was pressure mounting in the field with both teams opting to attack from the start. It was the Trinitians who drew first blood in their home grounds with the use of their quick forwards. Set-plays have always been the plus point for the lions. Similarly their set-pieces came in handy as a loophole pass by Lochana Girihagama made Dureka Aluwihare score beneath the posts. Ratwatte made no mistake to bring the two extras and gave the home team a lead from the start.
Minutes later, Trinity were once again on rampage when corner wing Girihagama made a run through the Rajans defense and chipped in a kick which Aluwihare successfully collected and scored to take the score to 12-0.
If one could divide this game into two, this is ideal. Till the lapse of 15 or 20 minutes was the Lions dominance and afterwards it was the visitor’s dominance. Dharmaraja started their scoring for the day through their three-quarters at a time when there were gaps between the Trinity line further towards the left and center Madusanka scoring the first. Thilina Wijesinghe made no mistake in the conversion and gave them the 7 points.
Trinity came gushing in with their reply when skipper Halique Wadood made a break through the Rajans forwards this time finally allowing Ratwatte to score in the 20th minute of play. Ratwatte missed with the boot leaving scores at 17-7
Dharmaraja always opted for open play with their three-quarters constantly running the ball. Dharmaraja repeated their previous try scoring tactic and this time it was the Wing-three Weerasinghe who scored the try. With the conversion going through it reduced the deficit to just three points.
The equalizer came during the 30th minute of play. An absolute 49m stunner by the Rajans fullback Thilina Wijesinghe equalized the scores with his kick going through successfully. Minutes later Ratwatte attempted Wijesinghe’s feat but was not successful. Dharmaraja took the lead for the first time in the game towards dying stages of half one with the utilization of their open play tactic with Wing-three Weerasekara. That indeed left Trinitan outfit to rethink on their plan while the Rajans pavilion was overwhelmed with joy and the sound of success.
At Lemons score stood 22-17 in favor Dharmaraja
With the deficit for Trinity being five points, the RedGoldBlue supporters yet held the notion that this five points was not a hindrance for Trinity’s game but with the passage of time, the visitors went on to dominate and increase this deficit to a higher margin. B.T. Kumara was the person this time who followed his predecessors through the line for a score extension of five points. Trinity capitalized on little mistakes of their opponents and their efforts finally reaped harvest in the 20th minute as Lochana Girihagama went over to bring the deficit down to 5 points as scores stood 22-27.
It was a rapid moving play observed coming towards the latter stages of play. Dharmaraja scored once again, this time through their rumbling forwards with less than 10 minutes of play remaining. Trinity replied violently for this with Girihagama repeating his previous attempt with a set-piece and scores stood 29-34 with less than two minutes of play remaining.
At this juncture, it was Dharmaraja all the way and prospects of them making history with a great win were at large. Hope had faded off for the Trinitians as they watched play in disappointment and desperation. But yet everyone had this faint idea of the miracle in which they believed. That indeed was the only option for the home team if they wanted to play safe.
The miracle arrived in the final phase of play when the substitute wing-three Lakwin Gunasekara gave all his might and power and made a run to the try line to equalize at 34. That was an exhilarating moment on and off the field with Ratwatte out for the 38m conversion which had decisive victory embedded in it. But to the dismay of the Trinity fans he failed in this attempt but the home team fans were glad to settle down for a draw.
Play ended in a draw 34-34. It was a great game of rugby with Dharmaraja being the stand out team for the day. Coming up through a hard path from last year, Dharmaraja has developed themselves showing signs of being a heavyweight in this tournament. They will surely go on to cause some upsets while Trinity College needs to brush up on their skills if they need to end up at the top of the list.
