Royal College took sweet revenge when they scored a last minute converted try and registered a stunning 30-29 victory over Trinity College in the 2nd semi-final of the Milo President’s Trophy played at Royal Sports Complex.
Trinity skipper Tarinda Ratwatte kicked off the proceedings. Royal ‘Tuskers’ showed interest in a faster game using the full width of the field and their continuous attacking rugby won Royal a penalty in the 4th minute as trinity defense was penalized for offside play. Royal skipper and full back Nimshan Jayawardene was on target as he put over a 45 meter penalty kick and Royal took the early lead.
(Royal 03 – Trinity 00)
Royal had the possession and territory early on until Trinity scored off their 1st attacking move inside Royal 22’ as wing three-quarter Lochana Girihagama continued his try scoring stream at Royal complex when he shrugged off few tacklers to score the 1st try of the match with only 9 minutes on the clock. Trinity captain Tarinda Ratwatte made no mistake with the conversion. (Royal 03 – Trinity 07)
Trinity forwards gifted an easy 25 meter penalty to Nimshan Jayawardene in the 13th minute when they were penalized for not binding in the scrum and Royal skipper booted the kick with ease as Royal cut down the deficit only to 1 point. (Royal 06 – Trinity 07)
Straight after Nimshan’s penalty kick, Royal made a clinical error of playing in an offside territory and Tarinda made no mistake with the kick. Ratwatte calmly put over the 30 meter penalty as Trinity gained a four point lead. (Royal 06 – Trinity 10)
The game was evenly poised with both teams dishing out quality rugby, Royal spent over 5 minutes deep inside Trinity 22’ but they failed to convert points scoring opportunities into valuable points as the Trinity defense looked solid especially around the fringes, driving back the Royal attackers. Nimshan Jayawardene missed out two penalty kicks in the 25th and 29th minutes as Trinity held on to the lead despite conceding penalties in kickable areas.
Towards the half time break, Trinity ‘Lions’ extended their lead to 7 points when their exceptional first five-eighth Tarinda Ratwatte slanted across a 28 meter penalty kick in the 36th minute after Royalists were caught defending in an offside position.(Royal 06 – Trinity 13)
Royal went into the half time break with much needed momentum as seconds before the half time whistle Trinity forwards made an infringement in a ruck and the referee gave away a penalty to Royal which their skipper Nimshan Jayawardene who was inspirational executed excellently from 35 meter out from the uprights as an exciting half of rugby came to an end.
Half Time: Royal 09 – Trinity 13
After the 10 minute break, Nimshan Jayawardene kicked off amidst the cheers of a large gathering from both sides. This was the third time the arch rivals were locking horns for the season and Trinity had emerged victorious on previous occasions.
In the 3rd minute of the second half, Trinity prop forward Sanka Etulgama was sin-binned for continuous foul play as he was on warning for bringing down the Royal maul in the 1st half.
Royal sniffed an opportunity as they grinded hard inside Trinity 22’ building a few phases before Royal skipper Nimshan Jayawardene broke through the strong Trinity defense in the 47th minute of the game. Nimshan successfully converted his own try to give a 3-point lead to the boys wearing Blue & Gold jerseys. (Royal 16 – Trinity 13)
Place-kicking is an important part of the game and Tarinda Ratwatte showed how important the kickers role is when he put over a long range 50 meter penalty kick in the 51st minute of the game to level the scores after Royal were penalized for holding on to the ball after being tackled. (Royal 16 – Trinity 16)
Both Trinity and Royal tussled hard to get back into the lead and the boys from Kandy regained their lead in the 56th minute after a Royal player joined the ruck from the side and Tarinda Ratwatte converted an easy 30 meter penalty. (Royal 16 – Trinity 19)
Trinity suffered a major setback when prop-forward Sanka Etulgama was ‘red’ carded after being shown the yellow card for the 2nd occasion for bringing down a player in the air in a line out. Trinity had to play the final quarter of the match with only 14 players. Defending the Royal forwards over the next few weeks was a daunting task for the Trinitians.
Lochana Girihagama scored a try in the 72nd minute of the game as he kicked on a loose ball into the goal area and collected to score his 2nd try of the match under the posts. Tarinda Ratwatte added the extra points. (Royal 16 – Trinity 26)
Trinity missed the plot in the 75th minute of the match when their burly prop-forward Basu Karunathilake was yellow carded for bringing down the marauding ‘Royal maul. With only 6 forwards left, Trinity had no answers to the unstoppable ‘Royal’ maul in the 76th minute as regular try scorer in the schools league; Supun Warnakoolasuriya scored a brilliant try off a strong maul. Nimshan Jayawardene bisected the posts to add the extra points. (Royal 23 – Trinity 26)
With only two minutes left, Tarinda Ratwatte scored his 5th penalty kick of the game as Royal were infringed for coming in from the side and contesting for the ball in a ruck.
(Royal 23 – Trinity 29)
Royal needed to score a converted try in the final minute and they worked hard to achieve a relishing win as No.8 Nikhil Gunadeera barged over left of the posts as the stadium erupted with roars from Royal supporters. Nimshan Jayawardene had to put over a pressure penalty kick to ensure his team’s victory and calm and collective Nimshan easily booted the conversion handing a stunning win and setting up the finals clash with unbeaten Isipathana college on the 13th July at Royal Sports Complex.
Full Time: Royal 30 – Trinity 29
Referee – Priyantha Gunarathne
ThePapare Player of the Match – Nimshan Jayawardene (Royal) and Tarinda Ratwatte (Trinity)
