The second longest continuous schools’ rugby fixture will come alive for the 76th occasion as St. Peter’s College will welcome undefeated Trinity College to Bambalapitiya to kick off the second-round action of the Singer Schools Rugby League 2017.
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One of the oldest and by far one of the most entertaining fixtures in the rugby calendar, the Trinity-Peterite game has savoured some exciting rugby in true spirit and sportsmanship. Played first in 1933, Trinity secured the first win under the captaincy of Eddie Buultjens 59-0. Over the years, the encounters have been an important fixture for both teams in their respective rugby calendars.
In the year 2014, a trophy was introduced for the encounter in memory of the former Army Commander Lieutenant General Deshamanya Denis Perera who was a Peterite alumnus in retrospect for his contribution to the sport and the country.
Since then three encounters have been played for the trophy out of which 2 have been in favour of St. Peter’s College while Trinity won the inaugural encounter in Pallekelle in 2014. In total both schools have met on 75 different occasions and Trinity College lead the tally with 52 wins while St. Peter’s College have 17 wins. Six matches have ended in a draw.
Trophy Results
| Year | Captains | Result |
| 2014 | Shenal Aponso (SPC)
Tarinda Ratwatte (TCK) |
SPC 22 (3T 2C 1P)
TCK 29 (4T 3C 1P) |
| 2015 | Kevin Dixon (SPC)
Isuru Rangala (TCK) |
SPC 30 (4T 2C 2P)
TCK 25 (3T 2C 2P) |
| 2016 | Sandesh Jayawickrema (SPC)
Rahul Karunathilake (TCK) |
SPC 29 (3T 1C 4P)
TCK 20 (3T 1C 1P) |
| Overall Tally | Trinity 52 | Drawn 6 |
Last year
The Peterites who took the trip to Pallekelle for their final encounter of the season were victorious over a depleted Trinity outfit thanks to their playmaker Stephan Sivaraj and sensible playing by Diyath Fernando. St. Peter’s ended up winning the encounter 29-20 dominating the 80 minutes.
Traces of the 2015 comeback win for St. Peter’s remain fresh in everyone’s minds where Kevin Dixon mastered a comeback for the Peterites after they were marginalised to 13 men. It was Diyath Fernando who scored one of the important tries down on the right wing and fast-forward two years, Fernando has a greater challenge when he leads the St. Peter’s side against a stronger & confident Trinity outfit.
Season Performance
The lads from Bambalapitiya survived the cup championship by meagre being able to win only 3 out of the 6 matches they played. The three victories include the significant upset where St. Peter’s defeated the strong Isipathana outfit ending their 12-match winning streak. Other than that, the other wins have come against St. Anthony’s & D. S. Senanayake.
The Lions have been the better side on paper and the most successful outfit in this year’s league winning all their first-round matches. Their wins have come in convincing fashion throughout the season with 4 out of the 5 games played in Colombo.
Something that would worry the lads from Kandy will be the four-week break that they had after the conclusion of the first round but Nathan Yee’s Trinity side would not be taking the Peterites easy.
Players to watch out
Diluksha Dange
The in-form Diluksha Dange should hamper the St. Peter’s defenses playing at center having already scored 8 tries this season. Getting a promotion from the wing position to center, Dange has been Trinity’s playmaker and the secondary option for kicking.
Shaveen Ekanayake
Trinity’s prop-forward Shaveen Ekanayake should be the other player that St. Peter’s should worry about. The bulldozing forward has made his reputation in the first half for being one of the agile forwards who would break through any opposition.
Stephan Sivaraj
Sivaraj has been the lone warrior for the Peterites on many occasions with his forward thinking and kicking abilities. Sivaraj has with him a total of 60 points accounting to almost 50% of the total points St. Peter’s have scored this season.
Diyath Fernando
Skipper Diyath Fernando will have a pivotal role to play if he intends to take his team to victory in the second round opener but will need the assistance of his three-quarter line in both defense and attack. The Peterites forte this year is their back-line and it is important they step up this second round.
Final words
Trinity College will march out at Bambalapitiya as favourites this Saturday but the determined St. Peter’s should be getting their act together to showcase exciting rugby and ThePapare will be bringing you live action from the 4th Deshamanya Denis Perera trophy on 29th of April 2017 4.00 p.m. onwards from Bambalapitiya.
