The flood lights were not the lights at Havelock Park last night. Despite the hustle and bustle of the rat race outside, all eyes are peeled to get a glimpse of the clash between the Reid Avenue war machine and the Maelstrom blowing from the school by the sea.
This encounter was elevated to prolific heights as it was the first schools rugby encounter played under lights in Sri Lanka. This gave Havelock park an almost “coliseum” like atmosphere, with the gladiators out for blood.
The Thomians kicked-off the match sporting their fast paced rugby where the forwards play a considerable role in the mid field. The Royalists brought the hurt to the Thomians from the kick off as they seemed to favor mauling the Thomians on to the back foot with their famed rolling maul. The Royal third rowers had a noticeable effect on the game as they were mostly successful in containing the Thomian number eight Shanel perera whose breaks often provide the platform from which the backs take flight. Royal stuck to their traditional strategic approach which involves a great deal of forwards play in the close quarters whilst Thomian wingers Eeza Ibrahim and Asanga Ranasinghe labored greatly in defence to push the relentless Royal onslaught out of play in the corners.
The Thomians were kept on the back foot by the royalists whom were testing their mettle at every moment when Devin Jayasinghe managed to switch the pressure towards the Royalists in the wisp of an eyelash with a stunning kick in to touch, bringing the Royalists almost as far back as their own 22 meter line. The Thomians drew first blood with well-organized support play which saw the burly center Nayanesh Jirasignhe Scoring right of the uprights. The conversion was put astray by Jayasinghe (to the dismay of the crowd)
Royal came back hard at the blue and black, with captain Rimze jamaldeen placing the ball deep for his runners. It was when the Thomians conceded a penalty for handling in the ruck where Jamaldeen managed to put the points on the board getting his team off the mark.
This was followed by a game of errors and fundamental misplays played between the two teams which lasted, what saw like unbearable for a while.
Jayasinghe seemed to be at his best with the boot as his chips, kicks and everything of the sort managed to move the Thomians forward throughout the game. Hashaka Senanayake reminded the all of his presence as his ruptured the Royal defence and ran for the hills until he was bought down just short of the goal line where the Royalists where found guilty of coming in from the side of the ruck. Jayasinghe opted to go for the three points and had no trouble propelling the ball through the uprights.
Royal held on to their consistent gnaw at the Thomian defence as they advanced ferociously with inside center Devin De Silva running his collision course and Prop forward Shuayb Muthaliph barrel rolling over the gain line. Until magic Jawwarth came splitting through the Royal defence from a forced turn over and blazed a trail for the goal line, when he was brought down by Royal speedster Nimshan Jayawardene. The ball was laid up for Kushmanth Muththetuwagama, the unorthodox prop found Eeza Ibrahim who pranced through the Royal defence unchecked, unchallenged. The conversion was sent sailing through the posts and out of the park by Jayasinghe.
Captain Jamaldeen, feeling bold after an aggressive advance by his forwards decided to go for a drop goal which fell short of the uprights and to the dismay of the Royal supporters was fumbled by none other than counterpart captain Jayasinghe, which resulted in a 5 meter scrum from which the latter earned the privilege of converting his own touchdown, which was followed by a loop around with Senanayake. The conversion was good, however it may be a questionable call by the referee as some confusion and disappointment was expressed by the on lookers regarding the accuracy of the kick.
A hard reply came from the determined Royalists as Rimzee Jamaldeen orchestrated a text book “miss a man” ploy which saw speedster Nimshan sailing over the corner flag to score the royalists first touchdown.
The dying moments of the first half saw the Royalists advancing viciously at the Thomian goal line however fundamental errors prevented them from tasting the fruits of their labor.
HALF TIME; STC: 22 – RC: 8
The second half was kicked off by the royalists and saw the Thomians back on the attack, battering the Blue and Gold defence like blizzard. However the Royalists showed great perseverance as they slowed the game to the tempo of their rumbling tumbling forwards and yet again embarked on their relentless siege at the Thomian defence, lumbering over the gain line every chance they got.
When the Royalists decided to up the ball in to space to give gas to their runners Thomian fullback Jawwarth came forward to thwart their plans as the ball somehow managed to find his prying clutches and was bought back hard at them with invigorated flair and pace.
It became Royal’s business of the day to employ the might of the eight, as they managed to plant yet another touchdown through a well-executed rolling maul. However Jamaldeen sends yet another conversion astray!
Both teams were presented a yellow card each for what seemed like unsportsman-like conduct, and were playing with a man-less on the pack.
The dying stages of the game were fought on aggressively by both the teams with desperation and heightened tension from the crowds was also observed as the match referee appeared to make some questionable calls.
The last nail was driven in to the coffin when Jayasinghe put on an imposing run which lead to Eeza Ibrahim scoring second touchdown of the evening which extinguished the hopes of the Royal camp. The Royal armada which came with ferocity sank to the bottom of the ocean as the seven year hoodoo was broken for the world to see …
Because in the end, it all returns to the sea…
FULL TIME; STC: 29 – RC: 20
