The second leg of the Sri Lanka schools all island rugby 7s came to a close today at the Royal College Sports complex.
After a grueling two days of some high class and very competitive rugby, the tournament came to an end meeting the spectator’s expectations to the fullest.
The former champions Dharmaraja college Kandy , met St.Peter’s college in one of the most heated playoffs of the day with the crowd on the very edge of the sideline itself. The Rajans who were leading 10-00 at lemons were dumbstruck when the Peterites made their famous come back grinding with a vengeance to win the encounter in a close 14-10.
A spirited C.W.W Kannangara outfit came out with a note worthy performance creating an early upset against Royal college led by the formidable outside half and Sri Lanka youth player Rimzee Jamaldeen with display of great skill and play paving the way to emerge shield champions.
The bowl was won by Science college Mount Lavinia after a hard tussle with Wesley college winning by 14-7 in a game that promised much excitement as Science is well- known for the their “nippy” and entertaining rugby going up against the newly crowned Western province rugby 7s victors.
The highlight of the evening was the collision between St. Peters college and Isipathana college which the saw the Pathanias leading the game 10-00 at half time. However in the second half, the Peterites bounced back with all fury recording their first touchdown just seconds in to the second half. Despite the many bold efforts by the Pathana runner s to breach the defense the Peterite defence held strong.
In the latter stage of the game a minor mishap between two players lead to the fishing-out of red and yellow cards by the referee to players from St.Peters and Isipathana respectively. This lead to a game of rough rugby being played by both teams, which caused heated atmosphere amongst the spectators as well. Noteable performances came from Isipathana fly half and junior national cap Hirantha Perera but the Peterites drowned out any hope for the Pathanians with a defense of sheer solidity.
