Unbeaten Trinity College Kandy continued to hold on to their position as league toppers in the Singer A Division Rugby League 2013 as they out powered the traditional hometown rivals St. Anthony’s College Kandy 22 points to 14 ending scoreless at lemons
Week by week the competition in the tournament increases, the heavyweights require an additional dose of adrenaline to deal with this situation and hold up their ends. St. Anthony’s elated with their win over Royal College last weekend, were present at the Lion’s den Pallekelle to give their best. The home team on the other hand were on a must win stand to keep their league in the vicinity.
The game which started off took a different twist overall, a twist which no one in the pavilions of Pallekelle expected. Right from the kick off whistle it was the Antonians who got the upper hand on the field with them attacking from the very first minute. Several breaks were initiated through the Trinity line while the home team was busy employing men to uphold the Antonian force. Their efforts bore fruit when Full Back Sajith Hemantha kicked an easy 10m penalty to draw first blood for the visitors.
The Eagles extended their lead with another penalty in the 21st minute with Hemantha kicking another in successfully. With a lead of 6 points, the visitors looked aggressive with the Lions yet to open their account for the day. Trinity College had two occasions to draw first blood, both of which went astray. The Trinity prop forward missed out an easy opportunity of scoring when he knocked on the ball at the try line and Flyhalf Tarinda Ratwatte missed out a 33m penalty in the mid-first half.
Just a minutes before the call for lemons, it was the gigantic NO8 of the Antonian pack who strudded his way through the Trinity defense over the try line. This indeed was a decisive moment since a lead of 11 points was indeed a daunting task to hunt down.
At Lemons scores stood 11-0 in favor of St. Anthony’s
St. Anthony’s continued their progress from the first half for the first few minutes of play as well. Hemantha kicked-in another penalty to extend the lead to 14 points. However, that was all what the visitors were able to do in the game. The rest was just one way traffic towards the Red,Gold,Blue pathway. Minutes after the restart the Trinity forward gushed their way through the defensive Antonian line to kick- start their campaign for the day. The pick’n drive moves came in to force for the Lions as they crossed over for try #1.
Trinity’s second try came through an untiring effort put up by the three quarters utilizing their set-pieces allowing Flyhalf Tarinda Ratwatte the adequate space to place the ball right under the posts. With the easy conversion it reduced the deficit to just two points.
For the first time in the days play, the Lions were able to take the lead when Dureka Aluwihare scored try #3 covering over 20m with some good ball handling by the three-quarters. Aluwihare’s try put Trinity on the driving seat of the game with a fair lead of 3 points over their counterparts.
Uncertainty yet prevailing in the game, it was wing three Lakwin Goonesekara who sealed the game for the Lions. This clearly differentiated the winner for the day and gave Trinity another victory under their belt to continue their reign of supremacy as the league topper.
Final Score – Trinity 22 (3Tries,1Goal) in reply to St.Anthony’s (3Penalties and 1Try)
