Robust Rajans took on the resurgent Antonians at Bogambara this evening. The emerging force of the hill capital, Dharmaraja college thrashed St. Anthony’s to remain unbeaten in the top of the table.
Upholding an uninterrupted spate of victories Dharmaraja College Kandy has come up from the B division to destroy each team consecutively. Rajans came into field brimming with confidence knowing that a win would leave them in a very strong position in the league. On the other side the visitors– St. Anthony’s facing a dreadful loss against the table topper last week, arrived at Bogambara in a mood to retain a win and to raise their position in the table.
It was the home side who made the better start with M. Weerasekara crossing the line for a try on the left corner. The kicker Thilina Wijesinghe was on target with his first kick of the day and Rajans were 7-nil ahead after just 5 minutes.
The Rajans had control over their territory right from the start of play. In the 10th minute Rajans outside center Udagamuwe dashed over the line leaving the defenders no chance to block and the kicker Thilina converted it to a goal successfully to make the score 14-nil. Rajans displayed some excellent workings in the field throughout the play.
After 25 minutes on the clock, Rajans went off script and silenced the visitors crowed; The fly half R.P Hettiaarachchi produced an excellent try on the left corner and the kicker landed the conversion successfully to extend the lead for 21-nil.
The Antonians added their first points on the board at around the 30th minute when Sajith Hemantha crossed for a try gleefully and himself landed a successful conversion. Former Antonian skipper Panduka came up with some heavy handoffs and brushed through the defensive line to produce yet another try. Sajith made no mistake with his boots in converting to leave a 7 point margin.
Half Time: DRCK 21 (3T, 3C) – SACK 14 (2T, 2C)
The second half exposed with an attacking mode of play but with the pressure mounting high for the visitors continuously. Antonian right wing Jayagoda collected a clean pass by the inside center to dive over the line for a touch but the conversion was well wide.
Antonian Prop T.N Sahabandu was penalized near their own 22 and as a result Rajans got an opportunity to kick at goal. Thilina Wijesinghe who has performed well with his boots throughout the season, slotted it over the bar to make the score 24 (DRCK) – 19 (SACK).
By the 56th minute, the Rajans pack shoved along 10m in the oppositions territory and the second row L.L Fernando touched down for a try. The kicker was accurate in converting (DRCK 31- SACK 19).
The Antonian inside center Charles Praveen came up with his fist try for the season in a monstrous way, crashing the heavy defense and touching down safely under the post. The kicker seemed comfortable with the placement thus he kicked through the uprights successfully. The Antonian pack was penalized for collapsing on the 70th minute which gave Rajans a chance to extend their lead. Thilina once again with the kicking responsibility found the target with accuracy to make it (Rajans) 34 – (St.Anthony’s) 26. Just 5 minutes later, the Rajans blind side flanker T.S Kaariyawamsa made a 50 m sprint and made a fabulous try and the kicker made no mistakes in converting.
The Antonians were penalized near the 50 meter line which allowed the Rajans an opportunity to kick at goal and annex their points but the kick went a stray.
During the extra minutes awarded, the rampaging home side was relentless in attack and L.L Wijesinghe crossed over the try line mirthfully. Thilina clipped over the bar for a successful conversion.
Dharmaraja was clearly the better side of the day and despite the Antonions taking on a full on fight to the opposition Dharmaraja College cantered home unbeaten yet again.
Full Time : DRCK 48 (6T, 6C, 2P) – SACK 26 (4T, 3C)
