Trinity over power Wesley at Pallekale

Trinity displayed some impressive form when they beat Wesley 21-11 in their Singer schools rugby league fixture at Pallekale earlier this evening. In a topsy-turvy match, in which the lead changed hands several times, Trinity made less unforced errors eventually winning the game after being 8-7 down at half time.

As expected, this was an entertaining affair with plenty of end-to-end action. In a game where heavy rain was expected, the rain gods just blessed the game with a drizzle, although the Wesleyites were competitive throughout, Trinity eventually got the rub of the green in the end as they outscored their hosts three tries to one.

Trinity thought they had opened their account in the early minutes when their forwards went over the whitewash right in front of the posts but their efforts were disallowed by the referee who decided that the ball carrier had knocked the ball on while crossing the try line.

Despite that setback,  Trinity continued to attack and minutes later Lenox Calyanerathne confronted from the back of a scrum before passing to Tehan Karanunathilake who drew in the final defender and offloaded the ball to Akitha Sakalasooriya, to round off under the posts and open scoring. Sakalasooriya added the extras of his own try. (TCK 07-00 WC)

Wesleyites upped the ante on attack, in an attempt to narrow the gap, and shortly afterwards Aquib Thahir crossed the try line from the back of a lineout drive, the hooker grounded the ball under a mass of bodies. Mursheed Zubair missed from close quarters. (TCK 07-05 WC)

Points Table | Schools Rugby League 2018 Division I ‘A’ & ‘B’

Points Table of the Schools Rugby League 2018.

Wesley had the better exchanges off the restart and extended the lead minutes later courtesy of a Mursheed Zubair penalty after the Trinity flankers were blown up for obstruction. Naveen Rajarathnam and Praveenda Wijethilake helped the Wesley course by getting themselves yellow carded to the disappointment of the Trinity crowd who had cheered when Sheshan Jayawardana the Wesleyite prop had got himself carded. However, Mursheed had little trouble bisecting the posts from under the posts. (TCK 07-08 WC)

Half Time; Trinity 07(1T 1C) – 08(1T 1P) Wesley

Trinity were fastest out of the blocks in the second half and were rewarded in the 45th minute courtesy of Warren Weerakoon who crossed the whitewash after running onto a pass from Naveen Rajaratnam deep inside the Wesleyites red zone.

Akitha Sakalasooriya slotted the conversion which meant that Trinity were in control with a 6-point lead but the patient Wesleyites struck back in the 50th minute through Mursheed Zubair who landed a 3-pointer after the Trinity line were caught coming out of the blocks too quick to meet their attack. (TCK 14-11 WC)

The double blues launched several attacks and nearly scored their second try in the 69th minute when Paranthiran was in the clear inside the Trinity red Zone but a crucial tackle from Awishka Shiek halted his progress bundling him into touch.

The rest of the half was an arm wrestle as both teams had chances to score further tries but a combination of solid defense and some handling errors meant the sides cancelled each other out during the game of two halves. Trinity dominated the latter stages of the game, courtesy of their smart substitutions and finished the match stronger through Neranjan Vitharana who scored the fourth try in the 70th minute. Minidu Jayasundara added the extras for the referee to blow the long whistle and bring the game to an end with finally a Trinity victory in the second round! (TCK 21-11 WC)

Full Time; Trinity 21(3T 3C) – 11(1T 2P) Wesley

• Referee: Weranga
• Thepapare.com player of the match: Praveenda Wijethilake (TCK)

Score Breakdown: Trinity 21 (3T, 3C)
Tries: Warren Weerakoon, Neranjan Vitharana, Akitha Sakalasooriya
Conversion: Akitha Sakalasooriya (2), Minudu Jayasundara (1)

Score Break Down: Wesley (1T, 2P)
Tries: Aquib Thahir,
Penalties: Mursheed Zubair

Yellow Cards:
Trinity : Naveen Rajarathnam, Praveenda Wijethilake, Vishwa Ranaraja
Wesley : Sheshan Jayawardana