Wijesundara's breakthrough try was not enough to prevent the Thomians from registering a win
It was a sunny evening as Thevin Eriyagama kick started proceedings deep inside DS territory which put the Dons under immediate pressure. Grasping onto the early advantage, S. Thomas’ made their way inside the visitors 22′ and made it count. After setting up a rolling maul, Lashanra De Silva spotted a yawing gap in the DS defence line and broke away from the back of the maul, opening the scoring for S. Thomas’ in the fourth minute. Aaron Ferdinando’s conversion slightly drifted away from the uprights. (STC 05 – 00 DS)
DS struggled to hold onto possession in the first few minutes conceding penalties which led to S. Thomas’ second try. It was a repeat of the first try as the Thomian skipper Christian De Lile busted through the DS defence from the back of a driving maul. This time from a much difficult angle. Adrian Ferdinando managed to bisect the posts and add the extra two. (STC 12 – 00 DS)
D.S.Senanayake College vs S. Thomas’ College | ThePapare Stats Centre
Singer schools rugby league 2018
It was all going the Thomians way, until recently included DS full-back, Mafaz Brantha, cut short the deficit with a well executed try just before half time. After receiving the ball and cutting inside, it was a hop, step and jump for Brantha as he touched down under the posts opening the scoring for DS. He converted his own try narrowing S. Thomas’ lead to 5 points going into half-time.
Half-time S. Thomas’ College led 12 – 5 D. S. Senanayake College
Five minutes into the second-half, DS struck the Thomians with an early try which turned the tables around making it anybody’s game. DS second-rower, Saranga Udawatta, scored the equaliser after Vishal Akalanka took a quick penalty and passed it out to Udawatta who touched down slightly away from the post which made it difficult for Brantha to add the extras. (STC 12 – 12 DS)
The Dons played a total different game pattern this week by utilising their pacey three quarters much more than the usual “picking and going” forwards who scored most of the DS tries throughout this league, which surprised the home team.
>> The Points Table for the Plate Championship
However, De Lile and his boys weren’t giving up. It only took them five minutes to take back the lead, after Sadak Ishak scored a stunner. Young scrum-half, Sukith Perera, kicked a peach of a box kick from inside their own 22′ which Ishak chased down, chipped again and dove to make the touch down just before the ball crossed the dead line. Adrian Ferdinando slotted an important conversion to add the extras. (STC 19 – 12 DS)
Staying true to their name “Dons”, DS kept hitting the Thomians’ and sucking in defenders to create space for their winger to break free. And what a ploy it was! just three minutes before full-time, Lalanka Wijesundara scored the ‘try of the match’ after making a dashing run from his own 22′ beating 5 Thomians, to end up under the posts. Brantha added the two points, making it a deadlock. Everyone expected a tie, except for the 15 Thomians’. With three minutes to go, the urgency S. Thomas’ displayed was the real deal but they held their composure and outplayed DS in the dying moments of the game which saw second-rower, Harith Senanayake go over the whitewash to score the match winner. As Adrian Ferdinando’s conversion drifted away, Referee Rohan Fernando blew the final whistle confirming S. Thomas’ victory.
Full Time : S. Thomas’ College 24 (4T, 2C) won – 19 D. S. Senanayake College (3T 2C)
ThePapare.com’s Player of the Match: Sakith Perera (STC)
Referee: Rohan Fernando
Points Breakdown – S. Thomas’ College
Tries : Lashanra De Silva, Christian De Lile, Sadak Ishak, Harith Senanayake
Conversions : Adrian Fernando (2)Points Breakdown – D. S. Senanayake College
Tries : Mafaz Brantha, Saranga Udawatta, Lalanka Wijesundara
Conversions : Mafaz Brantha (2)
