D.S. Senanayake College hammered Sri Sumangala at Havelock Park, scoring 12-tries past the helpless lads from Kandy, notching up a mammoth 76 (12T 8C) in reply to their 10 (1T 1C 1P).
Promoted teams suffered continued setbacks, as Sri Sumangala was thrashed in the 7th week fixture of the Dialog Schools Rugby League game played at the Park.
DS was without skipper Umagiliyage, who was forced to sit out following his blue cards. Asela and Co. mixed and matched new combinations against strugglers Sri Sumangala.
The game started off with Janindu Wijerathna picking off a loose pass to score the opening try, converting his effort as the torture began for Sri Sumangala. (DS 07-00 Summa)
It took four tries from the Dons for Sri Sumangala to score their first, by which time the game had pretty much slipped from the visitors’ grasp.
Fullback Mohomed Sabeer scored a brace, and prop forward Omika Bogahawatta scored a push-over try to give the home team an unassailable lead.
Wijerathna converted 3 out of 4 tries as the Dons took a commanding lead of 26 points. (DS 26-00 Summa)
Sri Sumangala opened their scoring with a try through big forward Rajaguru, and Adeel added the extras to make it 7 for the visitors. However, the happiness was short-lived as the Dons struck back immediately, adding more misery for the visiting lads from Kandy.
This time, it was hooker Praveen Lakmal who got in on the action, scoring his team’s fifth try of the first half to put them firmly in the driver’s seat.
Wijerathna converted on the stroke of halftime, as referee Charani Liyanage brought the first 35 minutes to an end.
First Half – D.S. Senanayake College 33 (5T 4C) lead Sri Sumangala 07 (1T 1C)
The second half began much as the first ended, with the hosts getting in on the action minutes into the second 35, putting the visiting team under pressure from the onset.
Lankesh Wickramasinghe, Mohomed Sabeer, Praveen Lakmal, NDB Player of the Match Omika Bogahawatta, his brother Thimath Bogahawatta, and stylish five-eighth Pasindu Bandara all got their names on the scoresheet, compounding the suffering of the visitors. This raised questions yet again about their participation in the top division, given their disastrous 2024 campaign.
Janindu Wijerathna added the extras on four occasions, missing out three times as the home team raced away to a convincing, thumping win over the visiting Summa lads.
The visitors managed a solitary penalty on the stroke of full time off the boot of fullback Samarakoon, but it made no difference to the result of the game.
Full Time: D.S. Senanayake College 76 (12T 8C) beat Sri Sumangala 10 (1T 1C 1P)
- NDB Player of the Match: Omika Bogahawatta (DS Prop Forward)
Points Breakdown:
D.S. Senanayake College:
Janindu Wijerathna 1T 8C, Mohomed Sabeer, 3T, Omika Bogahawatta 3T, Praveen Lakmal 2T, Lankesh Wickramasinghe1T, Thimath Bogahawatta 1T, Pasindu Bandara 1T
Sri Sumangala College:
Rajaguru 1T, Adeel 1C, Samarakoon 1P