The two brother schools, Wesley College Colombo and Kingswood College, Kandy, are yet again set to display their prowess when they play each other at Racecourse this Saturday, for the coveted 26th L. E. Blaze Trophy 2018.
History
Sir. L. E. Blaze founded the school in Randles Hills on May 4, 1891. Although they started playing rugby that same year, it was only in 1906 that they played their first ever schools rugby match, against Trinity College.
The Blaze trophy holds special significance as it serves to honor the grand ancestor of Sri Lanka schools’ rugby, Louis Edmond Blaze.
The first Blaze Trophy game was played on 17th July 1986 where Kingswood College was captained by Ronnie Ibrahim and Wesley College by Sumedha Kuruppu. The inaugural encounter was won by Kingswood College. It was a very active encounter till the early 2000s, where the Blaze trophy was played out in two legs but was unfortunately disrupted as a result of an ugly incident between spectators in 2005 at the CR & FC grounds in a President’s Trophy semi-final. Out of 25 encounters for the L.E Blaze trophy, Kingswood has won 20, and Wesley has won three, while two games have ended in draws.
Recent past
Since being reinstated in 2013, Kingswood has held the upper hand over the Double Blues.
The 2013 game ended in a dead lock after both teams scored 8 points each but Kingswood managed to win the trophy in 2014 thrashing Wesley 21 points to 44 at Longdon place.
2016 – The 24th Blaze trophy saw the Double Blues overcome the boys from the hill capital quite comfortably, winning 57 points to 07 under the captainship of Zayaan Sabar.
Last year
Last year, with both teams standing on equal ground coming into the game, the crowd was treated to a thriller. After an exhilarating 80 minutes, Heshan Jansen and his troops managed to stun Wesley and reclaim the L. E. Blaze trophy with the game ending 40 points to 39 in favour of the Kings. Although Wesley were favourites to win last year, Kingswood managed to upset them; this year Kingswood are favourites to win, can Wesley do the same?
This year
This year, Wesley is captained by fourth year coloursman, Daiyan Sabar. So far under his leadership the Double Blues have won 3 games and nearly recorded their fourth when they surprised the league toppers Royal at Longdon Place in the 7th week. Wesley will field a young outfit, and in comparison to last year, Coach Paul Toia and his boys are doing quite well considering the composition of the team. However, Wesley are currently below Kingswood on the points table in 7th position with 18 points.
Kingswood is captained by third year coloursman Tharindu Waligampola. His experienced team was crowned Champions of the All Island U18 tournament in 2016 and so far they have not disappointed with their performance in the league,securing 4 wins despite being promoted back to the top division only last year. Kingswood is currently at number five in the Singer Schools Rugby League points table with 24 points.
The outcome of this match will be crucial for Wesley if they are to qualify for the Knock-outs. Wesley will have to win with a bonus point (or two) and prevent Kingswood from accumulating any points in this game. That way, they will go up to sixth place with 24 points. Although the two teams will be equal on points then, Wesley will be go ahead since the points scored against them are fewer.
Prediction
15 – 10 Kingswood will defend the Trophy. The saying “Forwards win matches” will come into play, and considering the strength of the forward pack in both teams – Kingswood are favourites.
