The annual Royal Thomian rugby encounter played for the Michael Gunaratne memorial trophy was played at the Royal College Sports Complex this evening.
Both teams came into this prestigious encounter with all to play for as the Thomians were looking to defend the trophy they won after a period of eight years through the hard work and effort of the 2013 team led by their inspirational captain Devin Jayasinghe.
The Royalists captained by ‘Mr Dependable’ Nimshan Jayawardena came out all guns blazing backed by an enthusiastic home crowd who were thrilled to witness the home team score the first points of the game through a brilliant try. The try was scored by none other than Nimshan who was set up by Bhanuka Gamage. Nimshan after having collected Bhanuka’s pass broke through the Thomian defense with ease to score. The conversion that followed was missed. (RC 05 STC 00)
The Thomians displayed their grit as they bounced back with a try of their own that was scored by their talented scrum half Asanga Ranasinghe who caught the home team’s defensive line off guard as he sliced through the Royal defense. Praveen Ferdianando missed the conversion. (RC 05 STC 05)
The Royalists regained the lead through a rolling maul which is the team’s signature move. The forwards powered their way over the try line as the move was completed by the hooker Supun Warnakulasuriya who scored a well-deserved try. Nimshan converted with ease to take the Royalists into a 7 point lead. (RC 12 STC 05)
Nimshan scored yet another wonderful try to boost the Royal lead as he danced his way through the Thomian defense with his amazing footwork and devastating speed. He went onto add the extra points.(RC 19 STC 05)
The Thomians narrowed the deficit on the verge of half time through their center Naveen Henakankanagamage. They created a massive overlap on the left flank which they exploited beautifully resulting in their second try of the game. Ferdinando stroked the ball through the uprights to cut the deficit to seven points.
Half time score– RC 19 STC 12
The first 20 minutes of the second half were set on fire by the Royal speedster Daniel Gulasekharem who scored two wonderful tries. The first of the two tries was set up by Nimshan who put Daniel into space through a perfect pass. The winger ran into space with precision in order to score yet another try for the Royalists. He went onto score his second try through a blistering move set up by the Royal backs who worked the ball from Bhanuka to Nimshan who set the winger up for his second try. Nimshan after having missed the first conversion scored the second in order to put the home side into a commanding position. (RC 31 STC 12)
After having applied hordes of pressure on the Royalists, the Thomians scored a try through their prop Pandula De Silva. The burly prop showed great agility and speed as he ran about 20 meters in order to score a wonderful try. The conversion was missed. (RC 31 STC 17)
The final points of the game were scored by the Royalists who were propelled forward by their trusty forwards. The prop Thiwanka Perera completed the move as he took the hosts into what all those gathered knew was an unassailable lead. Nimshan missed the conversion that followed.(RC 36 STC 17)
The Royalists faced a scare in the dying stages of the game as two of their players namely Thiwanka Perera and Umesh Madushan were shown yellow cards and sent to the sin bin. The Royalists fought off a few dangerous attacks by the Thomians and managed to close out the game in order to record a deserved win for the Royalists who can also proudly boast of the fact that the Micheal Gunaratne trophy is back at Reid Avenue.
Final Score- RC 36(6T 3C) STC 17(3T 1C)
ThePapare Player of the match – Royal’s Nimshan Jayawardena
