The much-anticipated Singer Schools Rugby League 2016 commenced on Friday with a blockbuster clash between S.Thomas’ College and St. Joseph’s College for the Lady Jayathilake Memorial Shield which the former won convincingly by 32 points (5T,2C,1P) to 3 points (1 Penalty) at CR & FC grounds.
After Devin Jayasinghe led the school by the sea to victory in 2013, S. Thomas’ were deprived of taking back Lady Jayathilake Shield to Mount Lavinia by the Josephians but this time around, the 2016 All-Island schools sevens winners led by Pandula De Silva were able to win back the shield.
The Thomian center Ashwantha Herath kicked off the game but his kick was unsuccessful but the boys in blue and black showcased their muscle power and strength from the very first scrum in the middle of the field.
The visitors broke through the Josephian defence several times but they were deprived of a score due to a spirited yet unstructured defence by the hosts’. The inexperienced Josephian pack were put under tremendous pressure by the well-drilled Thomian eight even though they could not finish off numerous try-scoring opportunities due to their handling errors.
Against the run of play, St. Joseph’s entered the Thomian 22’ and opened scoring in the 21st minute when the Thomian line was caught off-side. Fly-half Chathura Senevirathne booted over the 15-meter penalty with ease. (SJC 03 – STC 00)
The Thomians kept on pegging at the Josephian try line but they were not able to cross the whitewash until the stroke of half-time when a perfect 8,9,14 move through the blind-side helped winger Naveen Henakankanamage score the first try of the evening near the right corner flag. Ashwantha Herath missed out on the conversion. (SJC 03 – STC 05)
Half-time: St. Joseph’s 03 – S. Thomas’ 05
After the 10-minute break, Chathura Senevirathne recommenced the game. The Thomians showed attacking intent once again but this time around the Josephians showed a positive approach to the game.
Henakankanamage ran circles around the Josephian winger Malinda Pinto and full back Gemunu Chethiya to make a stunning 50-meter run and dive over for his second try as Thomians hit back strongly to score early in the second half. Scrum-half Senal De Silva missed out on the conversion. (SJC 03 – STC 10)
After 14 minutes of rugby in the second half, the Thomian full-back Mayon Jayawardene sneaked through the Josephian defence with a lovely run to score under the post. Ashwantha Herath made no mistakes with the conversion. (SJC 03 – STC 17)
Photo Album – St.Joseph’s College v S.Thomas’ College
A few minutes later, Jaywardene put his name once again on the score books with another excellent run to go past couple of Josephian defenders to score under the posts yet again to put the final nail in the coffin. Ashwantha Herath bisected the posts again. (SJC 03 – STC 24)
The Josephian skipper Romesh Priyankara played a lone warriors’ role throughout the game but his younger crop of players were not up to the standard as his deputy Devon Fernando was sent to the ‘Naughty Chair’ for 10 minutes for a dangerous tackle.
By far the best couple of minutes for St. Joseph’s were witnessed when they were down to 14 players inside the Thomian 22’ but their fly-half Senevirathne slipped the ball right in front of the uprights. The Thomians lost Harith Senanayake for 10 minutes as he was yellow-carded for continuous foul play.
The home team defended ferociously in patches but lacked good ball to hurt the visitors as their hard-working flanker Christian Delile scored the 5th try for the evening through the blind-side in the 75th minute to extend the lead for the winners. Replacement scrum-half Dion Diaz failed to add extra points. (SJC 03 – STC 29)
The Thomians played exceptional rugby throughout the 80 minutes as final points were made by Ashwantha Herath through an easy penalty kick in the last minute as the school by the sea made a strong start to their campaign. The Josephians will need to regroup and fix their issues with set-plays in the coming weeks.
Full-Time: St. Joseph’s 03 – S. Thomas’ 32
Will the 7s crown be a boon for the Thomians?
After the game, ThePapare.com Man of the Match, Naveen Henakankanamage shared his views exclusively to ThePapare, “We just played our hearts out and yes, I’m unimaginably happy. We are just going for the kill and thrash all the other schools and become the triple champs.”
Referee – Irshad Cader
Points Scorers:
S. Thomas’ College – Mayon Jayawardene 2 tries (10 points), Naveen Henakankanamage 2 tries (10 points), Christian Delile 1 try (5 points), Ashwantha Herath 1 penalty and 2 conversions (7 points)
St. Joseph’s College – Chathura Senevirathne 1 penalty (3 points)
