A crucial Dialog Schools Rugby League encounter between Vidyartha College and Royal College took place today (23rd of June) at the Nittawela Rugby Stadium and the visitors showcased a dominant performance to take home the big W with a scoreline of 25-10.
With the home team supporters being very vocal to begin the proceedings, the pressure was clearly on the visiting Royal College side. But Vidyartha College committed too many fouls inside the first few minutes which opened the doors for Royal College to gain territory and then use the rolling maul with Naqeeb Mohamed going over for the first try of the day. Nabeel Yahiya missed the first conversion of the day (RC 05 – 00 VCK)
In the latter part of the first half, Disas Pathirana from Royal College was sent to the sin bin after a late tackle and with the numbers advantage Vidyartha College had a golden opportunity to find their first try. But a cardinal mistake of going off feet gave the possession back to the Tuskers and from a territory gaining kick they once again went close to the opposition 22m line. After another clean lineout Royal College made headway with a rolling maul and then the forwards kept pushing deep into the Vidyartha College half. They took things slowly and showed a lot of composure to use 30 plus phases before Ayyash Shiyam overpowered a very tired last line of defence to register the 2nd try of the game. The conversion was once again missed by Yahiya (RC 10 – 00 VCK)
The first half was a hard hitting one which Royal College showed a lot of physicality and Vidyartha College although they had some opportunities, couldn’t find that full blown attack to disrupt the momentum of the Tuskers.
Half-Time : RC 10 – 00 VCK
10 minutes into the 2nd half, Vidyartha College conceded a penalty inside their own half which gave Royal College the opportunity to go for the kick into touch. Skipper Thivein Perera took his team very close to the whitewash with a thumping kick and from the lineout which followed the forwards did the rest as they launched a dominant rolling maul which Vidyartha College had no answer to. Shiyaam was the try scorer and the conversion though was once again unsuccessful by Yahiya (RC 15 – 00 VCK)
Few minutes later another penalty conceded by the Tigers laid the foundation for the Tuskers to mount a successful attack using the forwards with Senuja Ranasinghe providing the finishing touches. A fourth missed conversion meant the score stayed the same but the bonus point was secured for the visitors (RC 20 – 00 VCK)
With time running out and the deficit being too much to catch-up with, Vidyartha College scored a try against the round of play as Royal knocked the ball forward inside their own 22m territory and Tigers worked the ball out wide. Thamodya took the quick tap after receiving a penalty and gained some valuable metres before they worked the ball to the left of the field and Kenula Wijetunga went over. Thamodya missed the conversion continuing the bad day for kickers (RC 20 – 05 VCK)
The final try of the game for Royal College came when they received a scrum just 5 metres away from the whitewash as Shiyam completed a hat trick for the Tuskers. However Yahiya’s kicking woes continued with another failed attempt at converting the try (RC 25 – 05 VCK)
Just in the dying seconds of the game Vidyartha College skipper Gayan Perera finally scored a try which was more of a consolation from the left corner of the field. As the conversion went astray again the referee signalled for full-time (RC 25 – 10 VCK)
Royal College will take a lot of positives out of this game as their forwards thrived in wet and soggy underfoot conditions. Their ruthless aggression and brute physicality was the clear highlight of this fixture and it will be interesting to see whether any team can tackle this forwards line-up of Royal College this season.
The hooker for Royal College Naqeeb Mohamed was a man on a mission today with his incredible precision using a wet ball for line-put throws. He scored a try very early in the game and played an important part in the 30 plus phase try scored by the visitors. For his dominant effort, Mohamed was adjudged NDB Bank Player of the Match.
Full Time : Royal College 25 (5T) beat Vidyartha College 10 (2T)
- NDB Bank Player of the Match : Naqeeb Mohamed (RC)
Points Breakdown
Royal College : Ayyash Shiyam 15 Points (3 Tries) , Naqeeb Mohamed 5 Points (1 Try), Senuja Ranasinghe 5 Points (1 Try)
Vidyartha College : Gayan Perera 5 Points (1 Try), Kenula Wijetunga 5 Points (1 Try)
 at the Nittawela Rugby Stadium and the visitors showcased a dominant performance to take home the big W with a scoreline of 25-10. ){kind=link}