Semi-final two of the Milo President’s Trophy knock-out rugby tournament saw the two traditional rivals; Royal and S. Thomas pitted against each other and after an intense battle it was the Royalists who emerged victorious by 24 points to 15.
Royal College had the added advantage of playing on their home turf whilst the league runners up knew they had to contain the marauding Royal eight if they were to keep their hopes of reaching the finals a reality.
The Thomians were awarded a penalty right off the kick-off when the Royalists were penalized for tackling a player in the air. Despite the fact, there was no malicious intent the referee awarded the penalty in to the Thomians. However, Ashwantha ball ball Herath missed the difficult kick. Royal was seemingly unable to get out of their own half as the Thomians kept on the pressure attacking the Royal defense. After a few phases inside the 22, the Thomian forwards spread the ball out wide which saw Wayne Mack going over for a corner flag try. Herath atoned for his earlier miss by successfully adding the extras from the difficult angle. (RC 00 – 07 STC).
Royal, however, responded almost immediately through the boot of their Mr. Reliable Ovin Askey who fired across a 30 meter penalty. (RC 03 – 07 STC)
The Royal forwards displayed their usual brilliance in the set pieces and in the 25th minute opted to go for touch when awarded a penalty. The Royal eight got the rolling maul going and shoved their way to the line giving Ashok Wijekumar the opportunity to get his name on the score sheet. Askey made a fantastic conversion to put his team ahead (RC 10 – 07 STC).
Five minutes from half time Royals’ Prop Ayesh Maduranga was sent to the ‘coolers’ after being warned for repeated infringements at the breakdown. S.Thomas, however, could not take maximum advantage and had to be satisfied with just 3 points through the boot of Ashwantha Herath who slotted in a 22 meter penalty which meant the teams went into the break on level terms. (RC 10 – 10 STC)
Half Time: Royal 10 – S. Thomas 10
Royal started the 2nd half better and managed to dominate possession for most of the period. Maduranga returned from his 10 minute break and the scales tipped in favour of the men in gold when the Thomian skipper Pandula De Silva was shown yellow for conceding a second consecutive penalty. Royalneeded no second invitation as they opted for the rolling maul and executed it in a clinical fashion which saw Azmir Fajudeen doing the honours. Askey was yet again on target with the extras (RC 17 – 10 STC).
Photo Album – Royal College vs S.Thomas’ College – Schools Rugby Milo K/O 2016
Five minutes later Royal came back storming into opposition territory again. Another rolling maul was stopped close to the try line but after several hit-ups were repelled by the Thomian forwards, Royals captain Nikhil Gunadheera managed to ground the ball on the line. The Thomians did well to slow the Royal maul on many an occasion and even managed to drive them back a couple of times which the referee seemed to miss allowing the Royalists to regroup and muscle forward eventually. Askey converted his skipper’s try in fine style and Royal was now in a commanding position (RC 24 – 10 STC).
The return of skipper did stabilize the fast sinking Thomians and they gave themselves a glimmer of hope when full back Mayon Wijewardane touched down mid left in the 23rd minute. Herath, however, missed a kickable conversion much to the disappointment of the Thomian crowd (RC 24 – 15 STC).
S.Thomas created numerous chances in the last 20 minutes but poor handling and some abysmal decision making by the Thomians compiled with some resolute defense by the Royalists meant the visitors could not repeat the heroics of the league encounter. The pressure of not breaking the Royal defense compounded by a ticking clock saw the Thomians starting to panic which only made things worse. Time and again the Thomians reverted to making one off runs and tried to muscle their way over rather than manipulate the defese.
The Thomians kept probing the line but couldn’t add the finishing touches to the opportunities they received. Royal, on the other hand, held their nerve andcontrolled things to ensure the Thomians were deprived of space out wide to launch any attacks. The score remained the same until the full time whistle was blown sending Royal College into another knockout final.
ThePapare.com Player of the Match – Ashok Wijekumar
Referee – Rohan Fernando
Royal: (10) 24
Tries: Ashok Wijekumar, Azmir Fajudeen, Nikhil Gunadheera
Conversions: Ovin Askey (3)
Penalties: Ovin Askey (1)
S.Thomas: (10) 15
Tries: Wayne Mack, Mayon Wijewardane
Conversions: Ashwantha Herath (1)
Penalties: Ashwantha Herath (1)
