Isipathana favourites to retain league title

By Shamseer Jaleel

Defending Singer League Under 20 Division I Champions Isipathana will confront unbeaten Royal College in their final league game this year, which will be played at the Royal Sports Complex on 20 June. 

Isipathana, led by national youth player Number 8 Omalka Gunaratne, fared remarkably well this season. Gunaratne himself has been omnipresent, quick to the loose ball and in attack at least two to three opposing players are needed to bring him down. 

Gunaratne is also a likely candidate for the Sri Lanka Youth team leader role, which will be filled soon after the knockout tournament later this month. The main worry for the Havelock Town lads is their kicking, which has been average throughout this season. The players within their ranks to look out for are Chathura Dilshan, Nisal Deshaka and lightning-fast winger Dilan Gallage.

Royal are playing some good rugby even though they have had several close calls this season. The closest of these came against traditional rivals Trinity in the first leg of the Bradby Shield, with the Royalists edging them out by a single point. 

They also had a close call against St. Joseph’s College, winning by just three points. Their skipper and centre Banuka Gamage has led the team well, with solid support coming from number 8 Supun Warunakulasuriya. 

Winger Shabith Feroze too possesses some lightning pace and is a player to look out for in the Royal camp. 

The match will essentially be a battle between the Isipathana three-quarters and Royal’s forwards. The winner of this game will walk away with the 2015 Singer League title. The encounter will be refereed by Aruna Rankothge.

Third-placed Trinity, led by Isuru Rangala, will be down in Colombo for their last league encounter this season against the Joes at the CR&FC rugby grounds next Saturday. 

Trinity started off this season well, winning against Science College, S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia and Kingswood College. They played well in the first leg of the Bradby, suffering a narrow defeat to Royal, however they lost their focus after they were beaten by the Peterites after leading 20-0 before half time. 

Centre Sachithra Dissnayake, second-rower Rahul Karunathilake, fullback Saranga Gunatilake and winger Ayesha Edirisinghe are the players to watch out for in the Lions camp. 

Gunatilke is the highest point-scorer in school rugby this season, already passing the 100-mark after missing out on two matches due to injury. The Joes will be heavily dependent on their skipper and number 8 Tariq Salley, forward Stephan Gregory and fullback Kurumbulapitiya. St. Joseph’s have been playing some superb attacking rugby and are tough opponents to bring down. The outcome of this game could change both teams’ rankings in a big way ahead of the knockout tournament. The game will be refereed by Dinka Peiris.

The Peterites will host the Science outfit at Bambalapitiya and this is slated to be a close affair. At present, St. Peter’s are recovering from their shock defeat to the Thomians last weekend. Science are one of the most dangerous sides in the school league this year and are strongly favoured to pull this one off. The game will be controlled by referee Priyantha Gunaratne.

The final game will see both S. Thomas’ College and Kingswood battling it out to avoid the wooden spoon, with the last-placed team being kicked out of the Milo knockout tournament, which will be conducted soon after the league tournament. This encounter will be worked off on 20 June at Havelock Park under the watchful gaze of referee Dharmapala Nimal.