The round two games of the Singer Schools League kicked off over the weekend and the battle for the top slot continued as eight schools advanced to the cup segment based on their performances in the first round.
The outcome of week one in the second round saw Isipathana and Kingswood remaining unbeaten and Trinity and Royal staying in the hunt for the top slot.
Isipathana Vs St.Thomas’
St.Thomas’ rather fortunate to be in the top eight after their average performance in the first round failed to come out with an improved performance as the Pathanians who dominated most of their first round games continued to stamp their authority and ran freely leaving “Thora”, helpless in defense. Although the final scores were 61-0, Isipathana managed only 15 points in the first half. The Thomians defended well in the first quarter but lacked the fitness to defend effectively right throughout the game. Isipahtana played their natural game using the full width of the field and skipper Shenal Silva was instrumental in creating many try scoring opportunities. Second half was a walk in the park for the home team as the visitors lacked determination to stay in the game. Isipathana will be facing tougher oppositions in the coming weeks against Kingswood who is the only other unbeaten team in the top tier, and not to forget a steadily improving Royal side.
Kingswood Vs St.Joesephs
Kingswood edged out against a spirited Joesphian side that travelled upto the hills to prove their praise worthy for the performances they’ve showcased in the first round. Unfortunately for the visitors they suffered yet another loss by a narrow margin. St.Joesephs has been playing well and put more than a few spirited performances, but has failed to turn tight games in their favor. With the national coach Leonard De Silva back with the team St.Jospehs’ is sure to grow from strength to strength in the next few weeks. As for Kingswood, this was one of the closer games they’ve had since their draw against the Peterites in the first game. With a mobile set of forwards and a skilled set of three quarters, Kingswood has the ability to upset any team. Although the real test for the Kingswoodians lies ahead as they will be taking on Isipathana, Trinity and Royal in the coming weeks.
Royal Vs St. Peters
Royal although having lost the Bradby continued from their good performance in the 2nd leg of the Bradby to surprise all Peterite fans. Royalists displaying brilliant forward play found the patience they lacked the previous week to disrupt the Peterite defense. Once again the Royal maul was unstoppable and not many schools seemed to have learned the art of sacking the maul before it gets going. It was not only the forwards but the backs also combined well to add the finishing touches complimenting the hard yards gained by the forwards. Skipper Nimshan Jayawardene once again led from the front. St.Peters will be scratching their heads thinking why they could not plan better for this game. It was evident that the visitors lacked a structured game plan to counter the Royal forward play or they failed to execute as planned.
Trinity Vs Science
Trinity resisted the challenge posed by Science easily and proved to be too superior for the visitors. Science could not capitalize on the early scoring opportunity they had. Trinity although taking time to settle down took the game away after half time. Skipper Tarinda stepped through the disorganized defense of Science and brought in the other skillful backs of the Lions into play. The Trinity third row, probably the best in the schools arena at the moment has been consistently performing. sound in defense and omnipresent in the offensive; three of the five tries scored by Trinity were scored by the third row proving their capabilities on the field.
