Royal, Wesley, CWW Kannangara group leaders

By M Naushad Amit

Isipathana managed to break the secret code of the unbeaten and defending league champions Kingswood to register a shocking and exciting 25-19 win as the sixth week of President’s Schools Rugby League came to a dramatic end. The match was played at Bogambara with a large number of enthusiastic spectators witnessing both teams attempting to prove their true might in a battle of supremacy. This was a severe test for the Kingswood XV as the earlier four matches they played were against more inexperienced sides. Isipathana who were much focused on a win implemented their game plan from the first minute of the game to gain the upper hand over their opponents and went on to add more pressure on the home team as they led 19-nil at half-time.
Kingswood coach Nilufer Ibrahim was full of praise for his opponents while he was very disappointed with the performance of his players. “Isipathana played a great game. I still had hopes after the half-time that our boys would bounce back to win but instead they failed to stick to the game plan and when they realised the extent of the danger it was too late. Our boys simply failed to stick to the basics and they did not give their 100 percent. We conceded points from our own mistakes,” he said. Admitting the fact that though Kingswood remained unbeaten until last weekend they also failed to give 100 percent in the previous games Ibrahim said time has come to regroup and think serious about the remaining matches in the league. “Though we won our previous four games with good scores I must admit that we did not play up to our potential. The players have understood the importance of doing the basics in a game as it proved very costly against Isipathana. This weekend we are hoping to shuffle a few players which will be vital against St. Peter’s. We must bounce back and we will,” added Ibrahim whose team slipped down two notches to No.3 in the points table.

Overwhelmed by their win against the formidable Kingswood side Isipathana coach Shamly Nawaz was optimistic that his side can continue to win after the success last weekend. “We played our full team against Kingswood. We had a perfect game plan and I must commend my players for executing it as I taught them. We scored on every possible opportunity and gained a healthy lead in the first half. The players maintained the lead throughout the game. In addition we managed to match their power,” said Nawaz. Commenting on their upcoming game against St. Joseph’s Nawaz said that his team will not take anything easy. “St. Joseph’s is a tough side to play against. They have a heavy pack and a really good back division. We are hoping to play a running game against them,” he added. Isipathana remains at No.4.
One of the surprises of the previous week was the timely bounce back by St. Peter’s who were after three straight defeats. In a crucial match which was against their traditional rivals St. Joseph’s, St. Peter’s played a totally different game to record a convincing 41-5 win at Longdon Place after leading 10-5 in the first half.
“After losing three consecutive games an occasional doubt did arise, among some, of our chances but in our heart of hearts, as a team, we were confident we could beat St. Joseph’s. If we look at the final scoreline it is much more than we anticipated,” said Sanath Martis the Peterite coach. He also expressed surprise at St. Peter’s not getting much opposition from the Josephians after they had beaten top teams like Trinity and St. Anthony’s. “It seemed that they had no game plan or skills. They are a side that could topple any good side but I was surprised to see them playing such a bad game. We changed one of our key players, skipper Dilshan Paul, to fullback from the centre position but the Josephians on many occasions kicked straight to him. They knew it’s a big game for them but we had a super game plan. Things went on very well for us on that day,” he said. With this win St. Peter’s moved up a place to No.6 and they will have a tough week ahead when they take on Kingswood. “Even after winning a crucial game against St. Joseph’s we are not overconfident, boastful or have a bloated morale as some others. We would like to come into the game as underdogs. We are confident that we can make repeat last year’s performance,” Martis added.
Similar to his counterpart’s assessment St. Joseph’s coach Dishantha Priyadharshana admitted that they could not defend that well and lost the usual touch in a very important game. “We did not have two of our regular forwards and our front division players did not have the finish to turn opportunities into points. St. Peter’s scored in quick succession and had our players on the defensive all the time. Even our kicks went straight into their hands. It was simply not our day,” he said. This weekend St. Joseph’s who went down two notches to No. 7 will confront the high-spirited Pathanians and coach Dishantha is certain that his boys will bounce back. “Our boys are recovering from a bad dream right now. It has come to a point that we should maintain our standards in the top league. We have done pretty well so far and hope to get back to playing a more spirited game in the coming weeks. The game against Isipathana will be a good opportunity to mark a comeback,” he added.
Royal who remains unbeaten so far took the top spot in the Division 1 Segment ‘A’ points table. Their sixth victim this season was Dharmaraja who lost 30-3 at Bogambara. In contrast to what the final scores reflect, Royal was given a torrid time by Dharmaraja who trailed by only two points (5-3) at half-time. “We played better than our earlier encounters but in the second half our boys played an aimless game. We could not capitalise on the 5-3 half-time scores. Match after match we have improved to be a better side but in this game we failed to defend in the second half,” said Dharmaraja coach CS Ekanayake. He was positive that in the coming weekend eighth-seeded Dharmaraja can play a fighting game against their hometown rivals St. Anthony’s. “This is a vital game for us. We will do everything possible to win. At this point of the tournament we have identified our strengths and weaknesses. The boys are very confident that we can do it,” Ekanayake mentioned.

With an important game ahead of them, Royal’s assistant coach Bilal Yusuf said the game against Dharmaraja was a good warm up for the second leg of the Bradby Shield which is schedule for this weekend. “We rested about eight of our key players as we have an important game coming up this week. Dharmaraja was our final outstation match and it’s a big relief that our remaining matches are in Colombo. We did not strain our players much against Dharmaraja as we have to prepare for the Bradby. Our main focus is to record a win and regain the Bradby Shield,” Yusuf claimed.
After a strong first half struggle where they trailed by a narrow 18-19, St. Anthony’s succumbed to a second half rally by the Thomians who ended up in a convincing 52-25 win at Nittawela. This was the fourth straight win for S. Thomas’ who went up a place to No.2 in the points table this week. “St. Anthony’s played a gallant game in the first half. It was nice to see such a fight from them but they failed to resist in the second half as we went on to score 52 points at the end,” said S. Thomas’ coach Jeewan Gunathilleke. S. Thomas’ will play against Mahanama and Gunathilleke was not ready to treat their opponents lightly though they are at the bottom of the table. “It’s all about points. We will go flat out with our regular fifteen players. We are not ready to take any risks against any team in a tournament game,” he added. Their opponents last week, the Anthonians who are at No.9 have come up as a strong unit and their coach Priyantha Gunaratne was happy to see his side doing better against the Thomians. “We accept the defeat. They came back very strong in the second half where we lacked endurance to defend against them. Compared to the first half, I thought we played a poor game in the latter stages. But overall we played well against a team like S. Thomas’,” Gunaratne said. He was certain that St. Anthony’s can record a win against Dharmaraja in the coming week where the two hometown teams will battle for supremacy. “We don’t have any injuries. That’s good news. We will not change any of our usual playing patterns and will definitely look for a win with a few slight changes,” he added.
Bottom-seeded Mahanama went down fighting 58-17 against Trinity at Longdon Place last weekend. Though the winning margin was big Trinity coach Anil Jayasinghe was a bit disappointed the way his boys performed. “We had more opportunities to score but failed to do so. We didn’t play hard enough and our players were ineffective against a team like Mahanama,” Jayasinghe said. But he was certain that in the coming week Trinity who are up a place at No.5 can make a comeback in the second leg of the Bradby Shield. “For us Bradby is more important than any other game. We know that we conceded the first leg to Royal though it was in our control. But we will make sure not to repeat the same mistakes again. We have a few playmakers who didn’t play in the first leg. They will be given an opportunity in the second leg. And we will not treat the 10 point deficit as a big threat. It’s a matter of two tries and we can achieve it. We certainly can bounce back to retain the Shield,” he added.
The coach of losing Mahanama, Sampath Samarasinghe was happy with the performance of his boys though they lost against Trinity. “We could have score more if not for our own mistakes. Our aim was to limit them to a score between 20 to 30 points but we did a lot of mistakes. I am happy the way our boys played. They have improved a lot since the beginning of the tournament,” Samarasinghe said. He was certain that Mahanama can produce the same show against S. Thomas’ this weekend. “S. Thomas’ have got a strong combination of forwards and three-quarters. We will look at more scoring opportunities and play a hard game against them,” he said.
In the Segment ‘B’ Wesley continues to lead the points table with an unbeaten record after three matches followed by Prince of Wales’ who won three out of four games. In Segment ‘C’ CWW Kannangara MV maintain the lead after remaining unbeaten after four matches while St. Benedict’s who are also unbeaten after five games are at No.2.