The Singer Schools Rugby League encounter between Royal College and Wesley College was played at the Royal College Sports Complex today. The match went down to the wire as both teams gave it their all in order to put on a wonderful display of crowd-pleasing rugby.
The dedication and passion of the players from both sides was very evident as a win would have meant a first win of the season for either of the two teams as both Royal and Wesley were defeated by Isipathana College and St Josephs College respectively in their season opening encounters. Ultimately it was the boys donning the blue and gold jersey that elevated their game in order to earn a well -deserved victory with a score line of 22-20.
Wesley had the opportunity to draw first blood in the second minute of the game through a penalty which they secured as a result of the Royal line being offside. Ishaaq Juranpathy did the needful for his side as they went into a 3-0 lead. Royal responded quickly through their captain Nimshan Jayawardana who stepped up to the mark to slot a simple penalty through the uprights. Wesley suffered a double blow as their flanker Yohan Perera was shown a yellow card for the infringement he committed which led to the penalty. Royal 03 Wesley 03
Many believed that it would be Royal who would capitalize on the extra man advantage they possessed but it turned out to be the Wesleyites that controlled the next passage of play. They attacked ferociously and took the game to the Royalists who were forced to defend their line on numerous occasions. The fly half for Royal W. Ashok played a crucial role in the teams defense as he kicked his team out of trouble time and time again in order to nullify the Wesleyite threat.
The relentless pressure applied by the Wesley College offence finally proved to be too much for the Royalists as the visitors scored the first try of the game. The move was set up by the captain Joel Thilakarathna who kicked across field in order to unleash Omar Kuthubdeen who sped up the right flank. He was brought to ground but the support play was brilliant and the fullback Lahiru Prasad Madushanka finished the move to score the first of his two tries. Juranpathy converted with ease in order to take the visitors into a 7 point lead. Royal 03 Wesley 10
Royal attempted to stage a strong come back as they played aggressively in order to win themselves a penalty that was within the kicking range of Nimshan. Much to the disappointment of the crowd, the skipper missed the kick as the scores remained untroubled.
Royal finished the half strongly through a great try that started with a scrum inside the Wesley half. Ashok set up the hooker Supun Warnakulasuriya through the use of a beautiful short pass. Warnakulasuriya ran into space and was supported by his forwards who ultimately got the ball out to the center Umesh Madushan who scored on the right flank. Nimshans conversion was successful as the score read 15-10 in favour of Wesley College at half time.
Half time score- Royal 10 Wesley 15
The momentum that Royal carried into half time proved to be vital as they started the second half with great will power and strength. Their efforts were rewarded through two devastating tries which were orchestrated by the teams forwards. The first try was set up through Royals trademark play which is the rolling maul. The forwards combined brilliantly to drive the Wesleyites back as the try was scored by Supun Warnakulasuriya. The conversion was missed by Nimshan but as the scores stood at 15 points apiece everybody gathered at the complex knew that the next passage of play would be decisive. Wesley’s indiscipline in the ruck cost them once again as their prop Maduwantha was shown a yellow card. Royal used the penalty to great effect as their forwards opted to use a pick and roll strategy which led to the talented Nikil Gunawardena crashing over the line to score. Nimshans conversion was successful as the hosts took the lead for the first time in the game. Royal 22 – Wesley 15
Both teams fought hard in the next passage of play and Wesley missed a crucial opportunity to score when their captain Thilakarathna missed a straight forward penalty.
Wesley looked down and out when they were handed what the Royal fans thought would be a knockout punch when their flanker Perera was shown a second yellow card which led to him being ejected from the game. But the Wesleyites do or die attitude did the trick for them as they scored a cracker of a try in the final minute of the game. The move was started by the teams No. 08 Sithum Peiris who showed great power and agility as he leaped over the ruck and burst into a devastating run towards the Royal try line. Although he was curtailed by a strong Royal defense the support play of the Wesleyites was exceptional as Thillakaratne offloaded the ball to Madusanka who went on to score. With the score reading 22-20 in favour of the Royalists, the captain stepped up to kick the conversion which would decide Wesley’s fate. The kick sailed wide as Royal’s supporters exhaled a huge sigh of relief as referee Dinka Pieris blew the full time whistle a few seconds later.
Full Time: Royal 22(3T,2C,1P) v Wesley 20(3T,1C,1P)
ThePapare.com was able to catch up with the Royal College assistant coach Dushyanth Lewke who said ‘We are extremely happy with the boys performance, however I believe there is greater room for improvement if we stick to our basics which we hope to achieve ahead of our game against St.Joseph’s next week’.
