The 2013 schools rugby season has been one of the most keenly contested leagues in recent times. There have been upsets aplenty, tinged with controversy after controversy. At the forefront of most of the irregularities has been the poor standard of officiating and the lack depth in referees.
This is really beginning to hurt the sport at every level. All hell has now broken loose following the Royal vs Isipathana game that has been in the news the past couple of weeks for all the wrong reasons.
Royal / Pathana fiasco
Though I was overseas at the time, I kept a keen eye on those rugby alerts coming in on this much looked forward to encounter. It was bitterly disappointing that a traditional contest should end on such a sour note as it did. The reasoning served up by the Royal camp for the ‘walk-off’ was that their players were being subjected to dangerous cheap-shots which the officials were turning a blind eye too. I decided to watch the ‘channel 4’ documentary -like video posted by the Royalists which was supposed to plead their case. My thoughts, and daresay unbiased thoughts are as follows. Having played the game for many years, and been in the thick of things as a loose forward, I must confess that I have been on the receiving end of much worse than some of the ‘kicks’ and ‘punches’ thrown. However, eye-gouging simply has no place in this game, or any sport for that matter. That needs to be dealt with, and with the severest penalty being meted out to those offenders. Having said that, I personally feel that having a heavier, bigger and superior set of forwards, the Royal eight should have been more imposing and bossed the game. There’s a way to deal with those kinds of antics, methods well within the laws. You make every tackle, ruck and hit count. For all their talent this Royal side seems to have a soft underbelly and sides will look to exploit this. What I found most disturbing was the appalling standard of refereeing. There were two clear tries scored by the Royal forwards who barged their way through with referee Pradeep Fernando in perfect position to see the grounding. How he missed that, only he would know. Had those two scores been awarded, the contest would have taken a much different path.
An inquest has been held with the outcome due in the coming few days. You feel the results could only hurt Isipathana. They haven’t done themselves any favours to be honest. I was at the Wesley game and saw first-hand how a player just walked up and kicked an opponent on the head. That led to a red card and rightly so.
Lions roar in Pallekelle
The first leg of the 69th edition of the Bradby was held yesterday, up in the Lions den. Torrential showers across the country raised many concerns. However, come game time, the pitch was in perfect condition for running rugby, and that is exactly what both teams did with aplomb. Trinity opened the scoring through an opportunistic try by Sanchana Shiek that went unconverted. However, it was the visitors who then took control of the game with Skipper RimzieJamaldeen scoring a fantastic try, running round the stretched Trinity defense. At lemons the score read 18-8 to the Royalists, which was a fair reflection of how the half went. The hallmark of any side coached by Bilal Yusuf is that they are particularly solid in set pieces as were the Royalists in that first period. Scrums were solid. Lineout options were good, and they were continuously getting pass the gain line. At this point it looked very much like Royal would see it home from there.
However, the second half couldn’t have been more different. Trinity were a different side. TarindaRatwatte was pulling the strings, and the Trinity backline were running hard and acute angles making ground at will. The Trinity forwards were outstanding in defense, against a heavier Royal pack. Stand-in Skipper ShahinSinhalaxana was immense and led admirably in the absence of Wadood. Royal’s cause was not helped when they went down to 14 men for ten minutes following a spear tackle, which the Lions capitalized on. Trinity went on to score 29 points in the half which completely blew the Royalists out of the water. It was fast, running rugby at its best. Like the numbers peeling off the back of their jersey’s Royal just could not stay in touch, with Trinity scoring tries at regular intervals. At the long blast of referee Jonathan Kaplan, the score stood 37-25 to the hosts. The ‘Blue & Gold’ are now left 12 points adrift come the second leg in a fortnight’s time. Quite a sizeable lead for the Kandy team. However history has shown that no Bradby series rests easy. Royal will have to throw everything, including the kitchen sink (not literally of course) should they have any hope wresting the coveted shield from Trinity.
A new champion for 2013?
As the curtain comes down on the league season, we are left with a two horse race to the crown. Incidentally, both schools are from the hill capital. Dharmaraja, promoted from the B segment last season have set the benchmark. They are the only unbeaten side this year, with their nearest rivals Trinity the only side to hold them to a draw when both teams met earlier in the season. Only Royal stand in their way as they march towards winning the trophy which I believe would be a first in the history of the league. The Rajans possess the perfect blend of power and pace, and have arguably been the most consistent schools team this year. They look firm favourites to walk away with the all the prizes having already taken the sevens title. St. Josephs came very close to what would have been a memorable win when the two sides locked horns at Longden place last evening. In a topsyturvey affair where the lead changes hands many times, Dharmarajah had to come from behind to score and win the game in the dying moments. In doing so, the side from Kandy have displayed the ability to dig deep when the situation demands it. A true trait of champion side. However, there’s one more chapter to be written. Come next Saturday evening, one team will stand above all else.
Thomians rise from the ashes
This article would not be complete without a word on my alma mater that has made great strides this season since hitting rock bottom in the recent past. S. Thomas’ led by immensely talented flay half Devin Jayasinghe are set for promotion to the elite half of schools rugby for next season. They have faced little opposition in gaining top spot in the second tier, and also pulled off a major upset earlier in the season by beating then A-division league leaders Trinity in their traditional fixture. That’s just rugby I guess. There are good days, and bad. Let’s hope there are more of the former for the school by the sea come next season.
