Defending Champions Isipathana kickoff their campaign in style

Defending Champions Isipathana College kicked off their Dialog Schools Rugby Knockouts campaign for the year 2025 with a comfortable 61-00 win over Sri Sumangala College Kandy today (26th of April) at the Royal Complex to book their spot in the quarter final stage of the tournament.

Isipathana started off steadily and gradually built the momentum which ended with Abdul Azeez  scoring the first try of the season for Isipathana on the left wing as the Green Machine walked away with points in their very first go inside the opposition half. However the conversion from Avishka Hiran didn’t go over (IC 05 – 00 SSCK)

The 2nd try for Isipathana College came in the form of Nimantha Sandeepa who used the left corner of the field to perfection making use of the weak defensive effort from the Summa boys. He tried to add the extras himself but once again it didn’t go over (IC 10 – 00 SSCK)

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To make matters worse for the boys from Kandy, an offside infringement gave the defending champions the opportunity to add 3 more points through Avishka. Just a few minutes later, Hiran scored a try as well to increase the lead further for the boys in Green. But the kicking woes continued for Isipathana when the conversion went astray (IC 18 – 00 SSCK)

Sethupa Bometh scored his first try of the season and Sandeepa added another to his tally which was converted successfully by Hiran as the lead increased to 30 points for the defending champions at half time (IC 30 – 00 SSCK)

Half-Time : Isipathana College 30 – 00 Sri Sumangala College Kandy

Samiru Disas scored the first try in the 2nd half for Isipathana after numerous mistakes during the early parts after lemons. Sandeepa added the extras for the Green Machine. Skipper Thrinethra Dodangoda then channelled his inner football player to kick a loose ball twice and chase it down himself to touchdown for a phenomenal try as you don’t see a forward pulling off something like that often (IC 42 – 00 SSCK)

After receiving a penalty just 5 meters away, Shaakib Zumri took the quick tap and went over to further increase the lead of Isipathana. Sandeepa kicked the conversion through to add the extras (IC 49 – 00 SSCK)

Isipathana College scored two more tries through Lahiru Herath and Damsara Witharana and the latter one was converted by Sandeepa to make it 61-00 in favor of the defending champions who started off their campaign with a comfortable victory (IC 61 – 00 SSCK)

Although the Green Machine walked out victorious, this was very far from being a picture perfect performance. It was a decent effort with a brand new line-up as they are just starting to gel with game time as a unit. But against Wesley College who looked phenomenal against St. Joseph’s College, Isipathana will have their work cutout and will need to produce a much more disciplined performance especially with their backline.

Nimantha Sandeepa started off the tournament exceptionally scoring two tries and converting three tries. He also gained some good meters for the team with lovely footwork and the brilliant lines which he used to attack. For being a huge threat to the opposition throughout the match, Sandeepa was named the Swisstek player of the match.

Full Time : Isipathana College 61 (10T 4C 1P) defeated Sri Sumangala College 00

Swisstek Player of the Match : Nimantha Sandeepa (IC)

Isipathana College : Nimantha Sandeepa 16 Points (2T 3C), Avishka Hiran 10 Points (1T 1C 1P), Abdul Azeez 5 Points (1T), Nimantha Sandeepa 5 Points (1T), Lahiru Herath 5 Points (1T), Damsara Witharana 5 Points (1T), Samiru Disas 5 Points (1T), Shaakib Zumri 5 Points (1T) & Sethupa Bometh 5 Points (1T)