Isipathana College managed to keep their unbeaten tag intact when they won a hard-fought Singer Schools Rugby League encounter against St. Peter’s College by 20-18 points at Bambalapitiya on Friday evening.
St. Peter’s College grounds hosted a rugby game after 2 years and this match was tipped as the most-looked forward clash of the 4th week encounters. Isipathana vs St. Peter’s game last year ended on 25-25 at CR & FC and much were at stake before this game in front of a packed house.
Pathana stand-off Isuru Kongahawatte commenced the game with the kick off. Peterite skipper made the first infringement when he tackled the Isipathana scrum-half Harsha Maduranga in the air with only 3 minutes on the game clock. Isuru Kongahawatte made the 40-meter penalty attempt but failed to bisect the uprights.
Pathana outside center Anuradha Rankothge made a scintillating run through some loose Peterite play in the 8th minute and the move was ended by their star player and skipper Omalka Gunarathne who barged over the try line to score the first try of the match. Isuru Kongahawatte missed the conversion. (Isipathana 05 – St. Peter’s 00)
The hosts got their scoreboard rolling in the 12th minute when the Pathana scrum-half was off-side in a scrum and referee awarded an easy 22’ meter penalty and it was successfully booted by the Peterite fly-half Sandesh Jayawickrama. (Isipathana 05 – St. Peter’s 03)
Slippery hands from both teams on a dry evening broke the early intensity of the match. St. Peter’s continuously missed tackles and in the 17th minute of the first half, nippy Pathana wing-three quarter Dilan Gallage scored a superb try in the far corner which was started through a terrific counter-attacking run by Rehan Silva. Isuru Kongahawatte failed to add the extra points. (Isipathana 10 – St. Peter’s 03)
Few minutes later, St. Peter’s once again responded with a 22’ meter penalty kick after the visitors were infringed for offside play. Sandesh Jayawickrama made no problems with the kick to stay in the hunt. (Isipathana 10 – St. Peter’s 06) Sandesh Jayawickrama received yet another chance to reduce the deficit but he was not successful third time around.
Isipathana lost their hard-working flanker Vageesha Weerasinghe for 10 minutes in the 29th minute of the match for continuous foul play of the team but the Peterite count of mistakes continued to rise. Five minutes before the half-time whistle, dangerous Pathana rolling maul drove past the Peterite defence as Omalka Gunarathne scored his 2nd try of the match and the 9th of the season from the back of the maul. Isuru Kongahawatte once again missed the opportunity to add the extra points. (Isipathana 15 – St. Peter’s 06)
Half-time: Isipathana 15 (3T) – St. Peter’s 06 (2P)
Peterite first five-eighth Sandesh Jayawickrama restarted the game after the oranges’ break. The first half saw a high number of knock-ons from both teams but the large percentage was from the home team. The Peterite structured play had major issues but the Isipathana set pieces were astonishing, specially the line-outs. The hosts looked a different team in the 2nd half playing according to a goal but their plans were disrupted early on when they replaced their bustling prop forward Reshan Rajapaksha mistakenly due to the lack of communication of their support staff.
Replacement wing three-quarter Harshana Peiris brought his team back to the game with a classic winger’s try in the 50th minute. The try was brilliantly set up by the Peterite skipper Kevin Dixon who gave a timely pass to his winger. Kevin ‘Kutty’ Dixon missed the conversion. (Isipathana 15 – St. Peter’s 11)
Isipathana showcased their champion attributes soon after the Peterite first try as they were quick to respond with another counter-attacking try through the talented utility back, Rehan Silva who pierced the Peterite defense after his forwards were continuously attacking in the Peterite danger zone. Chathura Dilshan failed to add extra points. (Isipathana 20 – St. Peter’s 11)
Both teams were physical during the breakdowns but the visitors plucked out the try-scoring chances in the first 3 quarters of the match. The Peterites came back strongly in the final 20 minutes with Kevin Dixon scoring a stunning try after collecting Nishon Perera’s chip kick as the Pathana sweepers failed to hold the Peterite skipper. Sandesh Jayawickrama added the extra points to heat up the contest. (Isipathana 20 – St. Peter’s 18)
Isipathana ferociously defended in the last 10 minutes as Peterites were camping in their opposition 22’ for several minutes but they failed to convert that pressure into points. Isipathana managed to hold on the Peterites due to their courageous defending around the fringes but the lack of a good place-kicker almost proved costly for the reigning champions as the scoreboard read just 2 points in favour of the winners at the end of the game.
Full-time: Isipathana 20 (4T) – St. Peter’s 18 (2T, 1C, 2P)
Referee – D. Nimal
ThePapare Player of the Match – Matheesha Sarathchandra (Isipathana 2nd row forward)
Isipathana Try Scorers – Omalka Gunarathne (2), Dilan Gallage (1), Rehan Silva (1)
St. Peter’s Try Scorers – Harshana Peiris (1), Kevin Dixon (1)
St. Peter’s Points Scorers – Sandesh Jayawickrama 8 points (2 Penalties, 1 Conversion)
Match Summary – Audio
Video Replay
