Prince of Wales’ College, Moratuwa created history winning the 2014 Milo Premier Trophy beating Ananda College by 29-8 in the final worked out at Royal Sports Complex on Monday evening.
Two stunning tries by Tharindu Dilshan made the difference in a game that was evenly contested as Prince of Wales’ College took sweet revenge against Ananda College for the 15-12 loss they suffered in the Singer League Plate Championship one month ago.
Cambrian first five-eighth Yohan Peiris kicked off proceedings as Anandian full back D.V Pushpakumara had the best opportunity to open scoring through a penalty to give Ananda an early lead as Prince of Wales’ infringed in their half as the Cambrian tackler failed to roll away, but Pushpakumara missed the uprights.
Ananda skipper Oshadha Rathnaweera drew first blood in the 5th minute from a brilliant surging try as the Flanker took a quick tap from a 5’ meter penalty and ran through the Cambrian defense. D.V Pushpakumara failed to convert the try. (POW 00 – Ananda 05)
Cambrian skipper Wenura Chathuranga out-performed his adversary as the hard-working number 8 touched down from a solid rolling maul executed perfectly from a 5’ meter line out with only 8 minutes of rugby been played Yohan Peiris failed to add the extra points. (POW 05 – Ananda 05)
D.V Pushpakumara once again failed add points through his boots as he missed a straight-forward 35 meter penalty kick in the 15th minute after the Cambrian forwards were penalized for illegal entry into the maul. Prince of Wales’ fly-half Yohan Peiris missed a difficult penalty kick in the 17th minute as both place kickers were not up to standard early on in the game.
Cambrians attacked through their forwards but failed to penetrate the Ananda defense but after several phases of sucking the Ananda defense, boys from Moratuwa used the blind side to a larger extent as their winger Tharindu Dilshan scored his 1st try of the evening when he touched down near the right corner flag with the 1st quarter coming to an end. Yohan Peiris failed to bisect the posts. (POW 10 – Ananda 05)
Just as the game clock ticked to 30 minutes, Ananda full back D.V Pushpakumara fired across an easy 22’ meter penalty kick to reduce the deficit. (POW 10 – Ananda 08)
Final 10 minutes of the 1st half, crowds saw a kicking battle between Yohan Peiris and D.V Pushpakumara. Both play makers used their boot to gain territorial advantage but the back three from either team were good with the high ball. Prince of Wales’ got the final chance to put some more points on the board as they had the possession and territory but few cardinal errors gave Ananda boys some reprieve to stay in the game as referee blew the half-time whistle.
Half Time: Prince of Wales’ 10 – Ananda 08
After the lemons break, D.V Pushpakumara restarted the game and both teams opted to kick looking for territory giving away possession as the possession stats changed continuously for the first few minutes of the 2nd half before Cambrian center Janeesha Fernando hustled through the Ananda defense in the 46th minute to score an excellent try. Yohan Peiris converted with ease to extend the lead. (POW 17 – Ananda 08)
Prince of Wales’ mid-field combination of Janeesha Fernando and Vihanga Fernando was eye catching as they posed the biggest threat to the Anandians who looked out of sorts after their promising start to this all important final. Both teams made unforced errors throughout the game as the fatigue and the pressure of a final slowly crept in to all the players.
Ananda gifted an easy try to Prince of Wales’ College in the 62nd minute when their fly-half dropped the ball inside their goal area instead of collecting it cleanly and clearing it away. Cambrian full back Sujan Kodituwakku dived on to the ball to score the 4th Cambrian try of the match. Yohan Peiris missed the conversion. (POW 22 – Ananda 08)
Ananda players showed terrible handling skills at times while Cambrian back line was lethal with their good hands and unpredictable yet skillful back-of-the-hand passes. Prince of Wales’ cover defense and around the fringes defense was exceptional as the Anandians failed to find a hole though they got 2 perfect chances deep inside Cambrian half but both chances went begging from as the Ananda offensive player was held up inches away while the other player knocked on the ball meters away spreading out the dismal performance by Ananda College in the final.
Tharindu Dilshan rounded off his memorable game with a stunning 25 meter sprint to score his 2nd try and the last for the match, under the posts with minutes away from the final whistle. Yohan Peiris made no mistake with the conversion. (POW 29 – Ananda 08)
Ananda had no gas in the tank for a miracle come back while Referee D.Nimal had a consistent and commendable game and he blew the final whistle of the 2014 under 20 rugby season with Prince of Wales’ winning the Milo Premier Trophy 2014 to cap off their exciting season.
Full Time: Prince of Wales’ 29 – Ananda 08
ThePapare.com Man of the Match – Tharindu Dilshan (Cambrian winger)
Sri Lankan Prime Minister D.M Jayarathne congratulated the Prince of Wales’ College rugby team and handed them the Milo Premier Trophy 2014 at the post-match presentation ceremony.
