Schools Rugby League; Week 05 preview

2017 edition of the Schools Rugby League is in full swing with most of the teams finding their rhythm in the concluded weeks and will be looking to get much needed victories under their belts in the current week.

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Wesley College will host Zahira College at Longdon Place in an important encounter in Segment 1B

Wesley ran in 6 tries against a hapless Science outfit and will be looking to extend their current good form. The double blues suffered an embarrassing defeat in the opening fixture of the league but have bounced back strongly going on to win all three game that they have played since. They will be determined to finish the first round on a winning note and go into the second round strongly. The Lee brothers have been in terrific form for the double blues and a lot will be expected from them in the encounter against Zahira.

WATCH LIVE: WESLEY V ZAHIRA

After two heart breaking games against S. Thomas’ and Trinity College at home, Zahira turned up the heat against Prince of Wales last week getting themselves a 10 try victory and going past the 50 point mark for the first time this season. The gutsy Zahirians are looking like they are gaining confidence with every game they play and will be focused on getting the better of the double blues in the final game before first round ends. Zahira have in their arsenal the current highest point scorer of the league in Zaid Sinhawansa and their speedster Yuzran Lantra who has touched down 6 times and is the joint highest try scorer alongside team mate Sinhawansa and Trinity’s Diluksha Dange.

Dharmaraja College will host D.S Senanayake College at Bogambara on Saturday.

Despite having had two close encounters against Royal and Isipathana,  Dharmaraja was made to wait for their maiden victory of the season as they were  humiliated by the Josephians in Colombo last weekend. Returning to home turf Dharmaraja will be looking to get the much needed first victory of the season to keep their chances of getting selected for the second round. High ball collection of the back three was a real problem for the Rajans when they played the Joes last week as the Josephians exposed the vulnerability by kicking to their back three.

Last minute addition to the league D.S Senanayake have not been able to put in a convincing performance so far having conceded 4+ tries in every game they played . The gold blacks are a well-built team and look like they are decently conditioned but have lacked the game sense and the skills to compete in the top division having lost all their games and they haven’t been able to stop the oppositions from posting big margins. Dons will have to concentrate on making an improved defensive performance in order to be able to trouble the Rajans in their own den.

Thomas’ College will host the neighboring Science College at Longdon Place.

Thomains have had two difficult weeks having lost two trophy games back to back against Wesley and Trinity. Things got worse for the school by the sea when their senior man Christian Deliel was struck by dengue fever and the talismanic skipper Naveen Heenakankanamge was affected by a stomach bug having had to come to the Trinity game straight from the hospital. However despite turning out to be on the losing side the Thomians will be happy about the grit that was shown by their players in the second half which troubled Trinity but more importantly Hans Walpola showed good control with his boot and created opportunities for the Blue and Black hoops.

WATCH LIVE: S.THOMAS’ V SCIENCE

Science College who are fielding a very young outfit this season, have struggled to match up against the other teams in the top division. Having secured their only win against the bottom placed Prince of Wales team Science have had trouble containing the attacking strengths of the other teams. Hashan Madhumadhawa the center turned scrum half has been the shining star in an otherwise bleak team and has shown that he has a good rugby brain on him and is capable of reading the game well.

Royal college will host Isipathana College at the Royal Complex for the all-important Milroy Fernando Trophy.

The Royalists are still unbeaten this season and recorded a runaway victory against the dons last week. Royal have been one of the better conditioned and technically savvy teams in the league as each player seem to understand their role and responsibility in the team.  This week will be a test for Royal’s defence as they will have to contain the Greens who look to run from all corners of the field. Forwards have been excellent for the boys from Reid Avenue with Hamza Reeza leading them from the front. Strong running center Janidu Dilshan has been a stand out performer for Royal and will be looking to put the finishing touches on the opportunities that will come his way.

WATCH LIVE: ROYAL V ISIPATHANA

Isipathana had a hiccup in their campaign going down to St. Peter’s last week after 6 years and with it surrendering the unbeaten tag that they carried forward from last season.  Isipathana’s defensive flow was exposed in last week’s encounter and a lot of work would have been put into rectifying the same.  Pathana despite showing good fight in coming back from behind to square the scores at half time could not find the line in the second half and will be focused on ending Royal’s unbeaten run this season.  Senior man Harith Bandara will be a key component in the Isipathana team and will pull all the strings, he needs to gather the forwards around him as it was seen that he doesn’t get much support  from the front eight. Skipper Sumudhu Rankothge hasn’t been the same player that he was last season and will look to lead from the front and neutralize the Royal center threat.

St. Anthony’s will be hosting St. Joseph’s at Bogambara on Sunday.

Despite being equipped with a talented squad, the Antonians only have a solitary victory against the struggling D.S Senanyake College this season.  With three games in hand, the Eagles must win at least two out of three encounters to be able to qualify for the second round.  Anthonians have a very good back line with the likes of Dinuk Amarasinghe, Jehan Seelagama and Samuel Madhuwantha in their mix but haven’t been able to find the cohesion that is required to be a threatening outfit.   They will be determined to turn up for the game against the fellow saints and get closer to the second round qualification.

WATCH LIVE: ST.ANTHONY’S V ST.JOSEPH’S

Similar to the Antonians there was much hype about the revamped St. Joseph’s outfit but they were humbled by two defeats in the opening weeks. Having finally gotten their first victory last weekend against Dharmaraja, Joes will be focused on continuing the winning momentum as they require a win against the eagles to be able to qualify for the next round. Chathura Senevirathne impressed with his big thumping kicks and put the opposition under pressure.  Gamunu Chethiya who moved to the fullback from his usual outside center position impressed with a number of counter attacking runs and will be a player to look out for.

Trinity College will host Prince of Wales at Pallekele on Monday

After 04 weeks of travelling to Colombo, Trinity College finally play their first home game of the season on Monday against Prince of Wales.  The Lions who have been in top form and are unbeaten after four games will look to sharpen their moves against the struggling Cambrians. It is possible that the Trinity coaches will look to try out the unseen members of the squad and provide them with game time before the all-important second round. The two front rows Aveesha Priyankara and Shaveen Ekanayake have shown some silky skills for front rowers but the big revelation for Trinity has been Warren Weerakoon who has made the #12 jersey his own with strong straight carries and timely offloads.

WATCH LIVE: TRINITY V PRINCE OF WALES’

Newly promoted Cambrians have been the whipping boys of the Segment 11A as they have conceded more points than any other team in the league.  Prince of Wales has found it difficult to match up to the rest of the teams physically and skill wise. Travelling to Pallekele for the first time this season they will be determined to avoid a repeat of what happened the last time when they visited the ground in 2009 when Trinity scored 106 points. Skipper Primesh Perera has labored tirelessly for the Cambrians and his distribution has been good although the rest of the backs haven’t made good use of the quick ball supplied by him.