S. Thomas’ College have appointed 3rd year coloursman Revanka Abeywardana to lead the Thomian 1st XV Rugby team for the year 2020. He will be assisted by Jaan De Zoysa who will also be playing his final year for the School by the Sea.
Revanka has played as a third row forward for S. Thomas’ in the past and will look to lead his team from the base of the scrum this year as well. Being a heavyweight eigthman, he scored a few tries last season and will be very keen to lead his team to the title which they haven’t won for 20 years. Their last league title came in 2000 under Gavin Jayasekare. Last year the Thomians had a decent season, winning 5 out of 9 encounters and finishing in 5th place with a surprise win against the Peterites.
Vice-captain Jaan De Zoysa has been playing for S. Thomas’ since 2016 and will be expected to play a crucial role in the team’s success. The experienced fly-half has had decent 3 years in his schools’ rugby jersey being the playmaker of the side. His kicking abilities will also come in handy as he looks to have a memorable final year in the Blue & Black jersey.
The Thomians will be coached by Shamly Nawaz for a second year running and they have an uphill task against a formidable Trinity unit up in Pallekale on the 6th of March in their first encounter for the prestigious Canon R.S.De Saram Trophy. The last time the Thomians made a top two finish in the league after 2000 was in 2009 and 2016 when Shaveen Kapuwatte’s and Pandula De Silva’s teams ended as runner’s up in their respective years.
Can the Thomians finally bring back the title to Mount, which they haven’t been able to for the past 20 years?
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