Isipathana College thrash Thurstan College in their traditional big match scoring 105 points to nothing
Isipathana College displayed their vengeance after a disappointing end to their schools rugby season when they went after arch rivals Thurstan College in their big match 105 points to nothing.
The mighty green army was too strong for the Thurstan boys who crumbled into a heavy defeat. Isipathana kicked off proceedings as they looked to regain their lost pride. First up Pathana looked bit sluggish as they took a while to hit the straps. Thurstan College on the other hand looked more tidy and upto this huge task ahead of them.
Seven minutes into the game Isipathan broke the shackles and drew first blood. Ball was taken from the line out inside the 5m, Chathura Dilshan shoving his way over the try line to put them in the scorecard.
Pathana didn’t look back after that first try, kept scoring almost every five minutes of the match. Having opted to leave out the senior players including their captain Omalka Gunarathne, the Greens did not look any less threatening from the way they went on with the proceedings.
Stand out performer for Isipathana was Gayan Wickramaratne, who scored the next two tries. Both tries were pretty similar, Pathana doing the basics right sending the ball right down the line and letting Gayan add the finishing touches. Fourth try of match came from Chamod Anjana. Chamod took the ball from the restart and just broke through the defense of Thurstan, made good ground and offloaded to Manilka who sent the ball back to Chamod to complete the try. Conversion was successful by Gayan Wickramaratne. ( IC 24 : TC 00 )
Then came the try of the match. It was Nisal Deshatha who collected the ball from the restart and ran all the way through the defenders to score right under the post. Conversion was again successful by Gayan Wickramaratne. Gayan shortly afterwards completed his hatrick as he went over the try line after a well taken quick penalty inside the 22″. Conversion was successful by Gayan Wickramaratne. ( IC 38 : TC 00 )
Chamod Anjana went on to score his second try, he didn’t have much work to do as the ball was pretty close to the try line. He shoved away two defenders and scored an easy try. Just before the half time Chathura Dilshan also completed his second try, showing his power and strength as he pushed his way over the try line. First half was all about the mighty green army, more than 80% of possession was held by Pathana. Thurstan looked out of sorts throughout but gave it all they had.
Half Time – IC 48 : TC 00
Thurstan kicked off the second half as they tried to contain the onslaught by Isipathana. A few minutes into the second half Pathana got back to their attacking mode as Devin Goonawardane brother of Omalka Gunarathne broke through from the half line and went onto score under the post, Gayan bisecting the uprights easily.
Their intentions were clear from the beginning, they were targeting the three figures, as the crowd kept shouting motivating the players to strive for the three figures. They kept the scoreboard ticking as Sumudu Anuradha ran through the defenders and offloaded to Harith Bandara who scored his first try for the match. Conversion by Gayan was yet again successful. ( IC 62 : TC 00 )
They were well on their way to the magical three figures. Isipathana had quiet passage of play for a good ten minutes while the Thurstan boys were giving their rivals a good fight.
Sumudu Anuradha broke the shackles as he found a blind hole in the Thurstan defense and found his way over the try line. Gayan Wickramaratne made no mistake in bisecting the uprights.
Then came another beauty of a try by Gayan Wickramratne, simply outsmarting his opponents. His speed and agility was too much to handle for the Thurstan boys. With that try he notched up his points tally upto 34 points including 4 tries and 7 conversions. ( IC 76 : TC 00 )
Isuru Madushan scored his first try which was converted by Asitha Gayashan which put his team just 17 points away from reaching three figures. Into the last 15 minutes of the match Captain Omalka Gunarathne and one of their star performers during this years season, Rehan Rumesh put themselves in the game to put the finishing touches. Rehan Rumesh did not take much time to make his presence worth as he went over the try after taking the ball from the scrum inside the 22″. Asitha easily bisected the uprights.
Captain Omalka Goonawardane also put his name on the score card as he was given ball by Rehan Rumesh who made the initial breakthrough. Conversion was successful by Asitha Gayashan.
Then came the moment they had been waiting for from the beginning of the match. Captain Omalka going over the try line and reaching that magical three figures in style.
It was fitting end for Omalka’s school career. Just before final whistle Rehan Rumesh scored his second try to extend their points tally to 107 points, giving them an easy and mighty win over their arch rivals Thurstan College.
Final Score – IC 105 – TC 00
