After a disappointing season last year, St Peter’s College will have to turn things around this year to get back into the top tier of the Schools’ Rugby arena.
St. Peter’s College have always been known for their excellence in the field of sports and Cricket and Rugby hold an important place amongst the wide range of sports that are being played in the school. With the privilege of being one of the first four schools to play rugby in Sri Lanka, St Peter’s has been a humble servant of Rugby in this beautiful island.
However last year, under the captaincy of the very talented Kevin Dixon, the Peterites could not play up to their potential. The likes of Nishon Perera, Sandesh Jayawickrama and Diyath Fernando couldn’t guide their team to the top tier in the league last year. With a few changes in the coaching staff and new faces in the team, the boys from Bambalapitiya are ready to turn the tables in this year’s league.
Season so far
Peterites are known for their heroics in the 7’s format. They were crowned champions in last year’s All Island 7’s tournament after beating the formidable Isipathana College outfit in a nail biting finale. However this year, the Peterites were knocked out in the Cup quarter finals by S. Thomas’ College who went all the way to win the tournament. They started off the season with a good win at home against Kingswood College last week and will be facing Science College in the coming week in what will be a big game for the boys.
Players to look out for
The team this year is led by 4th year coloursman Sandesh Jayawickrama who was the most prolific scorer for St.peters last season accumulating 58 points.Rahal Delpachithra will lead the forwards and he will play a vital role in the front row this year. Speedster Diyath Fernando and Sivaraj Stehpen will have to play a vital role in making the St.Peters team a champion outfit this season. Theekshana Herath who is marking his debut appearance in the St.Peters colors is another interesting player to have an eye out for and will look to strike fear in the opposition camps with his scintillating runs.
The coaching staff
Last year there were a lot of controversy behind the scenes which ultimately affected the performance of the team. This year too, the Peterites started off the season under the guidance of Mohammad Sheriff who was put in charge of defending the 7’s title this year. However, Colin Dinesh, who coached St. Peter’s for many years after the golden era they had under Sanath Martis, was asked to come back after he was replaced last year by the school. Mohammad Sheriff and Rajeew Perera will be second in command to Colin Dinesh while Ransilu Jayathilaka will look into the fitness of the players. Colin knows these players well and he will surely utilize them properly and hopefully turn things around this season.
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