Chamath Kalhara(L) tries to break away from Wesley's Daiyan Sabar(R)
Isipathana College secured the 2nd spot in the Schools’ Rugby League table as they overcame a stern challenge from the double blues as they beat Wesley College by 22 points to 17 at Longdon Place earlier today.
The Green Machine was under the pump during the first few minutes as Wesley came out strong right from the kick-off. They almost scored inside the first five minutes when skipper Daiyan Saber got over the line but decided to offload which led to knock on. From there on in the momentum shifted towards Isipathana.
Isipathana opened the scoring with a try from their halfback Chamath Kalhara. A few minutes earlier Ravindu Anjula missed a certain try-scoring opportunity when he tried to outsmart the final defender with some fancy footwork without charging to the corner flag. But Chamath made it count a few phases later when Wesley College left a huge gap open on the inside which paved the way for Chamath to score under the post. Skipper Ruberu added the extras. (IC 7 – WC 0)
Isipathana went on to extend their lead a few moments later. It was once again Chamath who took the ball from the driving maul and broke through to score his 2nd try of the game. Wesley was once again caught leaving the blind side open, making it easy for Chamath to run through. This time Ruberu missed the conversion. (IC 12 – WC 0)
Isipathana College v Wesley College | ThePapare Stats Centre
ThePapare Match Centre
Isipathana went on to score their 3rd try of the game. Ashan Gunasekara was the try scorer but once again the credit should be given the Chamath who took the ball from the ruck, burst through the defenses and unselfishly passed the ball to the incoming support player. (IC 19 – WC 0)
On the verge of the halftime whistle, skipper Ruberu added 3 more points to extend their lead and end the half with a huge lead of 22 points.
Half Time: Isipathana College 22 – Wesley College 0
The 2nd half was an entirely different story. Wesley came out with a bang and grabbed the momentum right from the word go. Theekshana Vithanage opened the scoring with a good 30m sprint down the line to get things underway for the boys in blue. It was their decoy running and territorial game plan which paved the way for the try which was converted by Murshid Subair. (IC 22 – WC 7)
Wesley kept the pressure on and Isipathana looked rattled and out of sorts in the 2nd half. Fullback Murshid Subair scored Wesley’s 2nd try of the game. Quick hands and some fast rugby by the Wesleyites caught Isipathana off guard as the deficit came down to just 8 points with more than 10 minutes remaining in the game. (IC 22 – WC 14)
It was a crucial final ten minutes for both sides but some rearguard defense from the Green Machine prevented the boys in blue from crossing the whitewash in the remaining minutes. Murshid Subair added 3 points to close down the deficit to just 5 points but ultimately it proved too little too late as Isipathana recorded a nail-biting victory.
Full Time: Isipathana College 22(3T, 2C, 1P) – Wesley College 17(2T, 2C, 1P)
- ThePapare.com’s Player of the Match: Chamath Kalhara (IC)
Point scorers for Isipathana College: tries from Chamath Kalhara(2), Ashan Gunasekara(1), conversions from Manilka Ruberu(2) and Penalty from Manilka Ruberu(1)
Point scorers for Wesley College: tries from Murshid Subair(1), Theekshana Vithange(1), Conversions by Murshid Subair (2) and Penalty by Murshid Subair(1)
