Isipathana College survived a fierce second half rally by St.Anthony’s college, Kandy to remain unbeaten in an exciting Singer League fixture which saw the latter winning by 43 points to 35 at Havelock park.
The game was played at a furious pace right from the onset and it was Isipathana who looked the more dangerous during the initial exchanges and drew first blood in as early as the 3rd minute with skipper Sumudu Rankothge adding the finishing touches to move executed well by their dangerous backs. Randy Silva who took up the kicking duties however failed with the conversion. (IC 05 – SACK 00)
Anthony’s had the chance to hit back right after the re-start but Samuel Maduwantha’s 30 meter penalty attempt strayed off target. Instead it was the home team that doubled their lead through a Harith Bandara try. Isipathana’s second rower Sudeera Gayanath managed to evade his tackler and made 30 meter break right down the center field before drawing the last defender and send Bandara under the posts. Randy Silva added the east extras as Isipathana led 12nil.
That lead was cut to a mere 2 points as the Antonians hit back through skipper Dinuk Amarasinghe and scrum half D.Upremarathne who scored back to back tries in the 10th and 15h minute respectively. Maduwantha added the extras on one occasion as the Antonians fought their way right back into the game.
The tries kept on coming for the hosts though as Winger Vinoga Keshawa went through to score by the corner flag thanks to a long cut out pass by fly half Randy Silva. Randy’s conversion attempt however fell short again as his team led by 7 points. (IC 17– SACK 10)
Samuel Maduwantha kept his side within touching distance slotting in a well executed penalty in the 28th minute but two minutes later Isipathana scored yet another brilliant try through Harith Bandara which was also his second of the game. Randy’s conversion attempt was on target as his team extended their lead. (IC 24– SACK 13)
Samuel Maduwantha uncharacteristically missed another penalty which was in his range in the 35th minute as the teams went into the half time break.
Half Time: Isipathana 24 – St.Anthony’s 13
Isipathana College got off to a flying start in the 2nd half dominating the visitors during the 1st ten minutes of play. A stunning break by Isipathana’s open side flanker saw him off load it to Winger Nadeesh Chaminda which enabled the “green machine” to bring play into their 10 meter line. Devin Gunarathne powered his way to the try line off the resulting break down to give isipathana a perfect start. Randy was on target with the conversion as his team cushioned themselves with an 18 point lead. Things only got worse for the visitors as the Isipathana scored two stunning tries through scrum half Harith Bandara and Full back Chamod Fernando. Winger Nadeesh Chaminda and full back Chamod Fernando showed great understanding and off loading skills for the first of the two tries scored by Bandara who also completed his hat-trick in the process while Chamodh Fernando’s dancing feet saw him leave the antonian defense in tatters. Randy Silva converted one of the two tries as Isipathana drifted away. (IC 43– SACK 13)
From their onwards though it was all about the Antonians fight back as the hosts wilted under pressure. Unlike the first half the Antonian forwards began to gain valuable yardage that had the Isipathana defense back pedaling. Antonian Skipper Dinuk Amarasinghe was the first to score finding a gap in the blind side to touchdown near the right corner flag. The difficult conversion was made to look easy as Maduwantha nailed the conversion with pin point accuracy after missing his previous 3 conversion attempts. (IC 43– SACK 20)
Despite the daunting task, the visitors grew in confidence even further as few minutes later they scored yet again through their winger D. Wickramarachchi. Maduwantha however failed with the extras as the closed the gap to 18 points. Isipathana tried their best to take control of the game but looked poor in game management as they kept playing into the hands of their doughty opponents.
The visitors reduced the deficit even further in the 65th minute through their center Jehan Seelagama who powered his way to the try line bumping off defenders to score a fantastic try near the corner flag.
Another difficult conversion attempt was missed by Maduwantha as the Antonians backed by their traveling fans were in the ascendancy. (IC 43– SACK 30)
Maduwantha who is usually very reliable with the boot had a bad day in the office by his standards but it was he himself who silenced the partisan home crowd with a stunning individual try stepping and leaving the Isipathana defense in disarray. Despite the brilliant try Maduwantha missed the conversion but a 30 point lead was now cut down to a mere 8 points.
But fortunately for the defending champions, they managed to see out the remaining few minutes without conceding any more points securing a vital victory and also keeping their title defense on track.
Full Time: Isipathana 43 – St.Anthony’s 35
Referee – Dinka Peiris
Thepapare.com player of the match – Umesh Jayamanna
Score Breakdown
Isipathana 43 (24)
Tries : Harith Bandara (3), Sumudu Rankothge, Chamod Fernando, Vinoga Keshawa, Devin Gunarathne
Conversions : Randy Silva (4)St.Anthony’s 35 (13)
Tries : Dinuk Amarasinghe (2), Samuel Maduwantha, Jehan Seelagama, D.Wickramarachchi, D.U.Premarathne
Conversions : Samuel Maduwantha (1)
Penalties : Samuel Maduwantha (1)
