St. Joseph’s College started off their 2014 Schools Rugby season in style when they beat last year’s league runner-up and knockout champions Wesley College by 20-10 at CR & FC grounds.
Wesley number 12 Ishara Madushan kicked off the game for Double Blues on a perfect day for classic open rugby. Both teams took their time to settle down with the match conditions and situation of it being the first outing. After months of training before the start of the season and Wesley renowned for their speedy three quarter line were up against an improved three quarter line from Darley road.
Wesley conceded early penalties through the first ten minutes and Josephians pounced on the chance to gain entry into Wesley territory early on. Josephian ‘Man Mountain’ Stephan Gregory put the first points on the board in the 12th minute of the game when he scored from a pick and go move after a few attacking phases from the Blue & White lads. 115kg Prop forward was unstoppable with only few meters away from the try line. Josephian full back Shamilka Kurumbalapitiya converted the try. (Joes 07 – Wesley 00)
Wesley College looked off coluor as they committed many mistakes at breakdowns which gave away possession and territory to St. Joseph’s College. Josephian full back Shamilka Kurumbalapitiya missed a difficult penalty chance in the 18th minute to the dismay of the Josephians supporters which could have easily strengthen their stranglehold on the boys from Campbell Park.
After the end of the first quarter, the Josephians showed their prowess when they won a scrum against the run of play deep inside Wesley territory and the forwards paved the way to their experienced wing three quarter Shasheen Sudaraka to run down the flank and score the 2nd Josephian try for the day. Shamilka Kurumbalapitiya failed to add the extra points.
(Joes 12 – Wesley 00)
The Darley road lads slid down to 14 players for the next 10 minutes when their second row forward Charana Sendanayake was sent to the ‘sin bin’ for a high tackle on a Wesley player. St. Joseph’s extended their lead with only 28 minutes on the game clock when their impressive full back Shamilka Kurumbalapitiya collected a loose ball near the half way line and stretched his legs to run down and score a brilliant individual try. Fly half Raveen Antonio missed the conversion. (Joes 17 – Wesley 00)
Wesley College had the lesser percentage of possession and territory in the first 30 minutes mainly due to their poor ball passing and handling skills. Wesley College found some momentum in the latter part of the first half with their number 8 Sithum Peiris and their skipper Joel Tillakaratne linking up perfectly to run attacking angles at the Josephian defense line but the Blue & White boys were way superior in their defensive strategies which was hard to break for the Double Blues as referee A.C Tennakoon blew the half time whistle with the Josephians enjoying a comfortable lead.
Half Time: Joes 17 – Wesley 00
After the break both teams took the field as Shamilka Kurumbalapitiya kicked off the second half. Wesley looked a different side in the second half from the word go as they looked to stick to a proper game plan. The Josephian scrum collapsed for several times and the referee awarded a yellow card to Josephian prop forward Praveen Chandrasekaran in the 45th minute and the Wesley boys took the maximum out of the one man advantage as their hooker Thisara Maduwantha barged over for a stunning try to put the first points on the scoreboard for ‘Zam Zam Zakey’ Double Blues. Skipper Joel Tillakaratne bisected the posts with ease.
(Joes 17 – Wesley 07)
Wesley played their usual brand of rugby in the second half as their back row forwards led by Sithum Peiris and Shehzad Hamidon played aggressive and smart rugby to help their dangerous backline consisting of speedy runners in Joel Thillakaratne, full back Lahiru Madusanka and center Ishara Madushan to run hard at the Joes who looked bit lackluster in the first quarter of the second half.
The Josephian back row trio – Number 8 Suchintha Udumalagala, Minura Randula and Shehan Bopearachchi were involved in almost every breakdown as they were dominant in their basics.
Wesley’s Tillakaratne brought down the deficit only to 7 points in the 55th minute when he slanted across a 30 meter penalty kick after the Josephian line was caught offside.
(Joes 17 – Wesley 10)
Wesley sensed a chance for redemption as they made the Josephians defend most of the times in the second half but the boys wearing Blue & White jerseys tackled excellently as they continued their outstanding structural defensive work to halt any chance for a Wesley comeback. Josephian replacement fly half Dulith Fernando fired across a pressure 37 meter penalty kick in the 65th minute after Wesley scrum was infringed for not binding accordingly.
(Joes 20 – Wesley 10)
70% of the possession and territory was enjoyed by Wesley College in the second half but they failed to break the Josephian defense once more in the final minutes with replacements coming onto the field. Josephian skipper Vishmitha Peiris showcased his usual power packed performance as a center three quarter and his first victory as the Josephian rugby captain for the 2014 season was confirmed when referee A.C Tennakoon blew the final long whistle.
Full Time: Joes 20 – Wesley 10
ThePapare.com Man of the Match – Shamilka Kurumbalapitiya
After the game, Josephian head coach Leonard De Zilwa spoke few words on the game with ThePapare.com “Both teams played an interesting game with big hearts but the boys with bigger hearts won the game. “
Sri Lanka and Havelock prop forward and Wesley head coach Henry Terrance expressed his thoughts on the defeat to ThePapare.com “We didn’t execute our game plan properly and I think that’s the main reason for us to be on the losing side. “
