A final minute try from the Trinity skipper Avishka Shiek saw them grasping victory from the hands of the Antonians as the Lions registered a win in their season opener of the Singer Schools’ Rugby League 2018 defeating St. Anthony’s 15-11 at Nittawela.
The season opener that was scheduled for Sunday was later postponed to Monday and both teams looked very well prepared but the eagerness in holding onto possession saw both teams committing simple errors in ball handling.
However, the Antonians drew first blood in the early stages of the game as Mohammed Markarim bisected a penalty through the posts easily from right in front covering a good 30m. (TCK 00-03 SACK)
It was Lenox Calyanarathne who was the first to get over the whitewash as he barged through the Antonian defence from the back of the scrum to score the opener for Trinity. Shiek, who had been handed the kicking duties missed the conversion. (TCK 05-03 SACK)
The game then started to settle down a little with both teams running from left to right without any points to show for themselves. Sloppy lineouts led to missed opportunities for Trinity and thanks to some good lineout contest from Mohammed Shabeer, the Antonians were successful in winning the ball back.
The Eagles finally broke the scoring ban when play reached the 25th mark as Ishara Liyanage dived over the line for the Antonians first when the cheeky scrum-half spotted space on the blind side. Makarim failed to convert from the distance. (TCK 05-08 SACK)
Rectifying his miss in the earlier instance, Makarim extended the team’s lead just before halftime as the Antonians for the 1st time in 8 years led Trinity at the break.
Half Time; Trinity 05 (1T) – 11 (1T 2P) St. Anthony’s
The second half was nothing short of exciting action with Trinity scoring first through Mohommed Ikram. A lineout in their 22m saw the Trinitians making the best use of the opportunity allowing Ikram to score from the barracks. (TCK 10-11)
With time running out, the Antonians were short of options as Trinity were desperately in search of a scoring opportunity. With a minute to spare, it was Naween Rajaratnam who created the opportunity drawing three defenders and later allowing Avishka Shiek to place the ball under the posts for the winning try.
The Antonians will have only themselves to blame to have taken home a win after leading 11-5 at lemons. They were the better team out of the two but could not get their act right for the entire 70 minutes of play.
For Trinity, it was Lenox Calyanarathne, Naween Rajaratnam and Avishka Sheik who stepped their game up in a mud-ridden game with too many cynical errors. The Antonians will have to keep their heads up and look positively ahead with players like Mohammed Shabeer, Ishara Liyanage and Mohammed Makarim who put their hand up and battled till the end.
Trinity will next host St.Joseph’s in Pallekalle while the Antonians
will see a visit from the defending champions Royal College to settle some unfinished business.
Full-time score: Trinity 15 (3T) defeat St. Anthony’s 11 (1T 2P)
ThePapare.com‘s Player of the Match – Naween Rajarathnam (Trinity)
Breakdown:
Trinity College – Tries by Avishka Sheik (1T), Mohammed Ikram (1T) &Lenox Calyanarathne (1T)
St Anthony’s College – Try by Ishara Liyanage, Penalties (2) by Mohammed Makarim
Cautions and Dismissals: Geeshapa Kulathunga (Yellow) Trinity
