St. Peter’s College finally played to the best of their ability as they crushed Wesley College by 45-22 points in their Singer Schools Rugby League encounter worked out at CR & FC grounds on Friday.
A total number of 11 tries were scored between the two teams inside the 80 minutes of play. St. Peter’s College happily secured the bonus point win with 7 tries while the Double Blues have now lost 3 out of 3. After recovering from a serious concussion, Kevin ‘Kutty’ Dixon’s inclusion in the playing XV made a huge difference to the Peterite plans and confidence levels.
Wesley center Chamika Kusal commenced the game with the kick-off which did not even reach the 10-meter line. St. Peter’s started the try-fest in the 5th minute when their vice-captain Nishon Perera scored an easy try under the post as he was barely untouched during his 35-meter dash. Sandesh Jayawickrama converted (SPC 07 – WC 00)
Double Blues skipper Oma Kuthubdeen attempted an early penalty kick in the 9th minute but it was not successful. After 23 minutes of ding-dong rugby, big Peterite 2nd row forward Rahal Delpachithra barged over after several minutes of attack inside Wesley 22’. Sandesh added the extra points. (SPC 14 – WC 00)
Wesley rallied back quickly after conceding two tries through their center Chamika Kusal as he completed a brilliant move initiated by full back Oma Kuthbdeen. Kusal and Oma completely found Peterite defense napping in the far corner in the 27th minute. Oma failed to convert the try. (SPC 14 – WC 05)
St. Peter’s continued to produce brilliant rugby with their star skipper Kevin Dixon and Nishon Perera combining well in attack as the duo was always lethal with ball in hand. Peterite hooker Ravin Yapa got his name in the score sheet when he scored a comfortable try in the far corner in the 33rd minute. Sandesh bisected the posts brilliantly. (SPC 21 – WC 05)
Just before the half-time whistle, Peterite winger Diyath Fernando danced his way through couple of defenders to score his first try of the evening after Kevin Kutty broke the Wesley defense once again with his quick side-stepping skills. Sandesh failed to convert the try as referee ended the first half.
Half-Time: St. Peter’s 26 (4T,3C) – Wesley 05 (1T)
After the lemons break, Sandesh Jayawickrama kicked off the game. Wesley looked like a different side in the 2nd half as they used their forwards and backs effectively and kept the continuity in play which enabled replacement winger Avantha Hashan to touch down near the right corner flag in the 44th minute of the match. Oma missed the conversion. (SPC 26 – WC 10)
St. Peter’s missed few tackles and their errors kept on piling up in the next couple of minutes as the Double Blues continued to play the game inside the Peterite 22’ but they failed to convert the opportunities into points.
As the game clock ticked to 60 minutes, Nishon Perera made another dashing break as the tired Wesley defenders failed to hold the marauding center. Fly-half Sandesh missed the conversion. (SPC 31 – WC 10)
Winger Diyath Fernando was excellent in counter-attacking moves as he sneaked through almost all defenders in a brilliant run from one corner to the other but a valiant tackle by the Wesley full back deprived him of a certain try but few phases later Kevin Dixon scored his first try of the match. Nishon Perera converted the try. (SPC 38 – WC 10)
Diyath made another sizzling run which kept all the spectators at the edge of their seats but once again his move was finished off by another player and this time it was Shehan Mark De Silva who touched down in the 71st minute of the match. Sandesh added the extra points.
(SPC 45 – WC 10)
Chamika Kusal and M.R Sahabdeen scored two tries in the dying stages of the match to give some respect to the Wesley final score but the boys in Blue, White & Gold notched up their best performance so far in the season to boost their chances of regaining the league title.
Full-Time: St. Peter’s 45 (7T,5C) – Wesley 22 (4T, 1C)
Referee – Irshad Cader
ThePapare Man of the Match – Diyath Fernando
SPC – Try Scorers: Nishon Perera (2), Diyath Fernando (1), Rahal Delpachithra (1), Ravin Yapa (1), Kevin Dixon (1), Shehan Mark De Silva (1)
SPC – Conversions: Sandesh Jayawickrama (4), Nishon Perera (1)
WC – Try Scorers – Chamika Kusal Samarathunga (2), Avantha Hashan Samarawickrama (1), M.R. Sahabdeen (1)
Wesley – Conversions: Chamika Kusal Samarathunga (1)
