It’s that time of year when everybody’s a rugby fan. Just like everybody’s suddenly a boxing pundit.
Royal v Trinity
Yes, it’s Bradby time, and while I’ve chosen not to make the arduous trek to Pallekalle this year, I may have just picked the wrong year to do that. It looks like this will be the closest Bradby encounter in many years. Trinity’s dominance over the last 5 years should not be seen as a lack of competence from Royal. They have competed in each of those five years and also won a few legs despite losing the encounter. It has hardly ever been one sided.
It’s safe to say that the underdog usually pulls their stockings up for the Bradby. This is the game that most of these lads have been dreaming about since they were ten years old. So we should expect nothing less than an impassioned performance. The good thing about the emergence of other powerhouses in schools rugby means, that the level of intensity is something the lads are now accustomed to. This means that the passion helps rather than hinders the quality of rugby.
Trinity have been sublime in the last few years. They’ve had some excellent players, who have controlled games both in the forwards and the backs. Players like Randika Alwis, Tarindra Ratwatte, Kanchana Ramanayake and Kaneel Seneviratne have proved their quality. Royal, despite having some very good teams have not had a real star since Shehan Pathirana in 2011. The two Jamaldeens have come close, but not had the same impact. So Royal rely a little more on the balance of the entire team.
That being said, Trinity have lost the most influential personality of their recent rugby history. Neil Footie, the Kiwi, is probably going to be watching this game and smiling satisfactorily at the legacy he has left for Irishman Eric Miller. All my sources say that he left an indelible mark on the rugby culture of Trinity College, and also concentrated on the junior structure, which many highly paid 1st XV coaches don’t care about. He will be missed, but if his systems continues to work, he would be happier to be appreciated rather than missed.
This year both Isuru Rangala – the Trinity skipper, and Bhanuka Gamage – his Royal counterpart are experienced. Gamage scored a hat trick in the team’s last outing while Rangala oversaw a tense finish against Science College. Royal have shown this year that they can dominate both with a tight game and an expansive game. To counter that Trinity will have to be excellent at the one thing they’ve shown not to be excellent at this season, and that is defence.
The Royal forwards this year are excellent. They don’t have a lot of weight in the front but they have skill and strength. The engine room is tall and big, and the third row of Pieris, Lahir and Warnakulasooriya distribute their roles brilliantly. Pieris gets around the park supporting the ball carrier, while Lahir is unforgiving in defence. Warnakulasooriya devastating with ball in hand and his fitness is his primary weapon. Rangala’s men will have to compete upfront if they are to make a game of it. Rahul Thilakaratne is the biggest man in Trinity pack, and along with his experienced skipper will need to front up. Trinity will miss the likes of Singalaxana from a few years ago and will have to ensure their fringe defence holds, while hoping the backs make their first up tackles.
The key to Royal though is Gayal Jayasinghe. The young fly half has all the skills but plays more like Andrew Mehrtens than Carlos Spencer. His long game is deadly accurate and he also has an excellent kicking game. What I would like to see is him running a bit more off phase ball. Keep defences guessing. Trinity have excellent wingers in Goonetillake and Pethiyagoda who will be more difficult to stop in broken field than Royal’s last opponents. Royal will have to avoid kicking to them.
The graft in midfield though will be an interesting one. Iddawela and Gamage are direct physical centres. The former holds the ball up well and off loads judiciously. The latter runs great angles and has a good turn of pace. They combine well. Weerakoon and Dissanayake though do not combine as well. They are somewhat similar in their style although Dissanayake has shown the occasional flashes of brilliance. A lot will depend on therefore on Thisula Perera, the talented by erratic fly half, and Boyagoda, my Trinity wild card. Boyagoda has great service and if he can keep the Royal fringes guessing, it will give his outside backs a little more space to play with.
Given what I have seen so far this season, I don’t believe Trinity can win without turning the Royal team around. If 9 and 10 can kick accurately and pressure the Royal back three, they will neutralise the effect of the likes of Warnakulasuriya. If Trinity play smart, they have a chance.
Royal on the other hand have a good set piece and all the spokes in their wheel seem to come together. They will have to play badly to lose. We all know that form books go out of the window. No doubt the two week break would have been better for Trinity than Royal, given the momentum the latter had going into the Wesak weekend. It will be an excellent game of rugby, of that much I’m sure – if the referee allows it to be. What I’m not sure of is who is going to win.
Royal have never won in Pallakalle. There’s always a first time.
Sri Lanka v Phillipines
A familiarly ill disciplined Kazakhstan allowed Sri Lanka to win easily, in a game they may have otherwise fought hard to in Manila on Tuesday. The 1st semi final of the A5N second tier finished 35 – 14 in favour of the Sri Lankans.
The Kazaks suffered an early red card with one of their players stamping viciously as their maul rolled on, on the fallen Sri Lankan player. It was a stroke of luck for Sri Lanka, which was compounded by two yellow cards for Kazakhstan as well although one was late in the game, leaving them with only one player in the third row.
On a ridiculously hot day, Sri Lanka started well scoring through an inventing Lavanga Perera off the second phase early on after a thumping Mubarak touch finder. Another Mubarak chip then bounced beautifully for the chasing Gayan Weeraratne to feed Dhanushka Ranjan for an under the posts try. Another penalty from Rizah made the 15 – 0 lead comfortable for Sri Lanka.
Fazil Marija made some incisive breaks and one of them saw Dhanushka Ranjan score his second, in an excellent personal performance, while Dulaj Perera iced the cake at the end of the game. The Sri Lankan backs, including the replacements were very good against a leaden footed Kazakhstan defence. However, it is not a measure of what can be expected tomorrow against Philippines who have several players plying their trade overseas.
The forward pack which is missing the likes of Dhanushka Perera, Shenal Dias, Sudarshan Muthuthanthri. Bilal Hassen and Shehan Pathirana is much weakened. They were adequate against a 7 man Kazak pack, but will need to step up their defensive efforts against Philippines. Coach Taylor has gone for Dimitri Wijetunga in the second row alongside Sean Wijesinghe. This may have to change against the next opponents as they are not natural positions for either player. The Filippinos maybe smaller, which will allow Taylor to make the change. The two tries that Kazakhstan scored were largely due to the physical superiority of their forwards. Most of the experienced forwards like Henry, Achala Perera and Kishore Jehan had only a half in the onerous conditions, and they should hopefully be fresh when they are called upon on Saturday.
The other player that needs to be at the top of his game is Udangamuwa, who finds himself the starting no.8 for Sri Lanka after just one season in the jersey. The former Dharmaraja centre is a bundle of energy, and got his hair pulled for his trouble, but lacks the nous of an international no.8. While he certainly has the physical prowess, the hands and defence sometimes let him down. Roshan Weeraratne will need to be in his ear all game, while at the same time working on his distribution, which is sadly the least competent part of the scrum half’s game. He makes up for it though and is a big game player.
Sandun Herath has been quiet so far, and we will need him to search for the ball. He is destructive when he hits it at pace, and together the Peterite duo will need to have a good game. Mubarak is usually a steady presence at the back and he will need to win the aerial and territorial battle for Sri Lanka if we are to win this game.
Hong Kong and Japan play with the big boys, so this is a rite of passage for Sri Lanka. If we get back the forwards we are missing, competing at top level is easy. But for the moment the Philippines volcano must be conquered. It will not be easy, but it is entirely possible.
Good luck Tuskers!
