D.S Senanayake College hosted the unbeaten Isipathana College at the Sugathadasa stadium in a game which can be dubbed as the best game of the season so far. After trailing by 15 points at one point, Isipathana College managed to come from behind and end the hopes of D.S Senanayake to beat the Green Machine after 36 years as the final scoreline read 27-24.
D.S Senanayake drew first blood in the game after a pass from Isipathana was intercepted by Thatheera Perera as he had too much gas for any chaser from the opposition to catch up with. The conversion however didn’t go through for the Donz (DSS 05 – 00 IC)
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After taking the lead early in the game, D.S Senanayake managed to put Isipathana under immense pressure as nothing seemed to be going their way. To make things worse for the Green Machine, the hosts entered their half once again through a territory gaining kick after a penalty. And then from the lineout a powerful rolling maul from DS was way too much for the lads from Havelock to stop as they almost went all the way. DS then took the ball out and worked the ball to the right with Janidu Wijerathne finishing the move with a try. Wijerathne converted the try by himself as the lead grew for the home team (DSS 12 – 00 IC)
Trailing by 12 points, more mistakes started to creep in from the visitors and an offside penalty from a kickable distance gave the opportunity to DS skipper Sehanda Umagiliyage to extend their lead to 15 points (DSS 15 – 00 IC)
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Going into the last 10 minutes of the first half Isipathana decided to make an early change as Kalindu Silva who was not starting the match in a very surprising manner came out from the bench and straightaway the Green Machine showed more composure with that replacement. They finally started to build up more phases and the continuity of play was clearly visible and it laid the foundation for the first try from their skipper Nisaja Jayaweera. Shahid Zumri converted the try for Isipathana (DSS 15 – 07 IC)
With Isipathana finding their feet again, D.S Senanayake started to concede penalties and it led to another try for the boys in green. Isipathana came closer and closer with each penalty and skipper Jayaweera was once again the catalyst to break the opposition defensive line. With Zumri’s conversion going over the Green Machine supporters found their voice at Sugathadasa (DSS 15 – 14 IC)
Half-Time : D.S Senanayake College 15 – 14 Isipathana College
Isipathana got ahead of D.S Senanayake for the first time in the game just a few minutes into the second half via a line offside infringement from the hosts. Zumri was once again accurate with his kick to gain the all important three points (DSS 15 – 17 IC)
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But the lead was short lived for the Green Machine as the boys in black and gold also received a line offside penalty from Isipathana and Umagiliyage added the three points (DSS 18 – 17 IC)
The back and forth nature of the second half continued when Isipathana were awarded with a penalty advantage inside the 22m territory of D.S Senanayake and Zumri obliged to his captain’s decision by adding the three points giving his side the lead (DSS 18 – 20 IC)
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Just like last time the points buffer didn’t last long for the visitors as a tackler not rolling away advantage to DS gave Wijerathne the opportunity to kick it through and retake the lead (DSS 21 – 20 IC)
The back and forth penalty pattern finally ended when the hosts received a penalty with just 5 minutes left on the clock. Thinethra Dodangoda was sent to the sin bin giving DS the numbers advantage but rather than playing the clock out or going for a try, they went for the three points to increase the lead to four points (DSS 24 – 20 IC)
With around 3 minutes to go Thivein Perera went for a clearance kick from their 22m territory and Zumri who made the collection went for a high hanging kick of his own. Rasindu Bandara was safe underneath the ball but Silva, who gave a terrific chase, timed his tackle on Bandara to perfection and quickly stole the ball before the ruck was formed as Bandara was isolated. Just a few phases later while Silva was trying to give the ball out from the ruck it hit the referee which resulted in a try for the Green Machine. From the scrum Isipathana targeted the left side of the field with Benthotage almost going over before a terrific kick tackle stopped him. But Zumri who joined in as the half back gave the pass out to his younger brother Shakib Zumri and he managed to touch the ball down to take the lead back with just 1 minute to go. The older Zumri converted the try again as three points separated the two sides (DSS 24 – 27 IC)
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With time running out D.S Senanayake College tried a last throw of the dice but that was also prevented by the younger Zumri who positioned himself perfectly over the ball carrier and won a holding on penalty for his time. With the referee signalling no more time left, Abdullah Faizer kicked the ball out as the Sugathadasa stadium erupted with the cheers of Green Machine supporters.
Kalindu Silva was adjudged NDB Bank Player of the Match as his introduction played a huge part in changing the fortunes around for the Green Machine. He was also the catalyst behind the match winning try for Isipathana as he deserves a lot of credit for the brilliant chase and turnover. His team needed something special to beat the phenomenal boys from DS and he provided exactly that.
D.S Senanayake College will consider themselves really unlucky for losing this game after having a 15 point lead. Isipathana on the other hand will be extremely proud about the immense character they showed to pull things back and keep their unbeaten record intact. All in all it was a terrific game of schoolboy rugby and both the teams can be really happy for the heart all of them showed during the 70 minutes. At the end of the day one team lost and the other one won but Schoolboy Rugby was the real winner.
Full Time : Isipathana College 27 (3T 3C 2P) beat D.S Senanayake College 24 (2T 1C 4P)
- NDB Bank Player of the Match : Kalindu Silva (IC)
Points Breakdown
Isipathana College : Shahid Zumri 12 Points (3 Conversions 2 Penalties), Nisaja Jayaweera 10 Points (2 Tries), Shakib Zumri 5 Points (1 Try)
D.S Senanayake College : Janidu Wijerathne 13 Points (1 Try 1 Conversion 2 Penalties), Sehanda Umagiliyage 6 Points (2 Penalties), Thatheera Perera 5 Points (1 Try)
