With the first-round of the 2018 Singer Schools’ Rugby League nearing its final week, the Plate segment is set to heat up as the underdogs from the ‘B’ Division take on the wounded foes from the top Division for the Plate Championship.
Four teams from the ‘B’ Division and four teams from the ‘A’ Division will be in contention for the Plate title, where four of the eight teams will have to earn their place in the top division.
‘B’ Division
The top two teams from both group ‘A’ and ‘B’ will progress forward in the league and battle out for a promotion.
Currently, Vidyartha College and Science College have reserved their spot in the top four as they sit comfortably in the first and second positions with 24 points each, after winning all their four games in Group A.
In Group ‘B’, Maliyadeva College has secured their place in the top four after maintaining an unbeaten run thus far while Lumbini and Thurstan College are at second and third positions. Lumbini are the favourites to qualify after having won three of their four games and accumulating a total of 17 points while Thurstan trail by 4 points having 13 total points after their four games.
If by any chance the Cambrians upset Lumbini and Thurstan beat Mahanama with a bonus point, Thurstan will qualify. However, considering both teams’ performance, it’s quite evident that Lumbini will qualify but we’ll just have to wait and see!
‘A’ Division
The bottom two teams of both groups ‘A’ and ‘B’ will play against the top four teams of the Division 2.
In Group A, S. Thomas’ and St. Anthony’s College are exposed as they lie at the bottom of the group with four losses each, while in Group B Dharmaraja College are in the bottom of the table. However, a contest between DS and Zahira stands as both teams have the opportunity to remain in the top division. DS are currently ahead of Zahira with 10 points in their bag as Zahira trails with just 5 points.
If DS is to qualify to the 2nd round, they’ll have to win or secure at least a 2 points margin (more than four tries = 1BP, losing within a margin of 7 points = 1BP) in their match against St. Peter’s this weekend. However, if the Dons fail to do so and Zahira record a win (with or without a bonus point) and the total points of both schools end up tied, Zahira will go through since they defeated DS earlier in the league.
Log onto stats.thepapare.com to find out more
