Trinity College spreads their rugby spell over the double blues at the CR rugby grounds on the 3rd of May 2013.
Anybody who dropped by to watch the Trinity vs Wesley match was praying for better weather. The sky was gloomy and it had been showering since the morning. Luckily the rain has ceased couple of hours before the game play. Yet, seeing the cloudy sky, it couldn’t be guaranteed the play won’t be disturbed until the last minute of the game.
The double blue thunder strike the game
Within the first half of the game it wasn’t only the sky that was thundering. The double blues were dominating the Kandy Lions. Starting off with a try by Number 10 player, J. Madhushan Wesley was on the score board within less than 10 minutes of the start. Along with the conversion of the try by the captain Rahul De Silva the total was 7-0. Trinity College was facing a very stressful atmosphere not only in the field but also from the amazing crowd support of the opponents. It wasn’t surprising when the penalties came along from the Kandy camp as they were struggling to ease down the pressure. The well-known kicker for Trinity, T. Ratwatte, playing at Number 10 scored the first penalty within five minutes of Wesley’s first try. Then the he went on with his second and the third without leaving a gap for the Blues to get back on scoring.
Wesley’s hunger for a try was finally satisfied by Number 15 – L. Madhushanka. As we witnessed previously the captain converted the try into a total of 14 points while Trinity remained at 9 with the three penalties. The cheers were changing the phase as Wesley started to get back on the score board. Till then the atmosphere of the support was, furious screaming at the visitors. The movements in the score made them once again be upbeat. Facing the game with much confidence it was again the double blues who took over the points table. S. K. Ariyawansha was next to score a try pushing the total for Wesley up to 19 points. However it remained at that as an unconverted try. Gaining the lost passion from the last game Wesley was leading 19-9 while breaking for the half time.
Loins roar louder than the thunder
Regaining the assurance and turning the game in favor of them was not easy for Trinity. As with the start of the second half slight rains started pouring to the ground marking an unpleasant beginning. This did not bother the Kandy battalion. Many substitutions were done by Trinity College to keep the team focused on the goal of recovering the game.
As usual T. Ratwatte broke the silence on the points table with a penalty. Since then the struggle was moving to and for both schools. The captain of the Wesley team was replying to the kicks by the Kandy lions but it was not strong enough to add any scores to the board. Meanwhile Trinity did not have a favorable phase either. With the slight rains causing the ball to be slippery they missed two valuable penalties which otherwise might have guaranteed their victory early on. Having the scores at 19-12 S. Guuasekara playing at No. 25 scored a try closing up to the total of Wesley College. As the weather remained unfavourable that try too went uncovered.
At this point of the game Wesley College was insecure and hunting for more points as well their gut feel told them the Lions were hot on their heels. The coaches for Wesley Mr. Henry and Mr. Pathirana were literally scrutinizing every single move the players made.
Trinity College was coming strong as it was closing up to the end of the game. At the 32nd minute of the second half the anticipated change took place for Trinity. As Wesley was almost making it to the try line a missed pass let the Kandy camp get hands on the ball. Having already played an amazing game for Trinity, Ratwatte made his way through the defenses of Wesley for more than 60 meters finally reaching the try line himself. This remained an unconverted try once again however it did the required job for Trinity College.
Final Score – 22-19 to Trinity
