Trinity hold the edge over Thomians

By Shamseer Jaleel

Two unbeaten teams Trinity and S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia will lock horns in one of the key Singer League 2016 Under 20 rugby encounters which will be worked off at the Trinity College rugby stadium in Pallekelle on 23 April. This key match for week four will be played for the Cannon R. S. De Saram trophy.

Trinity, led by lanky second rower and national youth player Rahul Karunathilake, will have a slight edge playing at home. Trinity as a unit improved considerably in their three games played so far settling as a unit. They found it tough in the opener against Wesley in a close win (7-6) and then improved against Joes winning it 40-14. In their last game they travelled down to Colombo for the very first time this season scoring a record 65 to nothing win over the DS outfit which is the highest for this season.

Thomians too started the season with much confidence pocketing out the Sevens after a lapse of 22 long years. The Thomians beat Joes in the Lady Jayathilake trophy and thrashed DS before bringing the defending league champions Royal’s  unbeaten run to an end with a magnificent 21-15 win. With this win they regained the Michael Gunaratne trophy after a lapse of three years. The Thomians have won all the trophies which they were involved in this season so far. This series between Trinity and Thomians, two leading brother schools started way back in 1978.

Royal will be at full strength and raring to go before the Bradby Shield encounter  when they take on Joes. Led by Nikila Gunadheera Royal got some good players who could be match winners for the Reid Avenue outfit. Players such as Mohamed Nabeel, Ovin Askey, Shabith Feroze and Mahima Gamage should be marked well by the Joes if not they will be in deep trouble.

Wesley will be out for their second win this season and keep their chances alive to move forward in round 2 Cup segment when they lock horns with last placed DS outfit. Wesley will heavily depend on their skipper Zayan Sabbar, Omar Kuthubdeen and Avantha Lee. Lee’s kicking boot will play a major role in this game. They lost two games within close margins to Royal (14-17) and Trinity (6-7) but got the better of the Joes in their last outing.

Isipathan, one of the strongest contenders for the Singer league, will be out for their fourth win when they meet the wounded Peterites who lost their way by losing to Science mid way this season. Isipathanam coached by former Sri Lanka Sevens star Nilfer Ibrahim, should have things their own way in this encounter. Kushanl Indunil will lead the Pathana outfit who will have Chamod Fernando, Randy Silva and Gyana Wickremaratne, the key players in the Havelock Town lads. While the Peterites coached by Colin Dinesh will have Sandesh Jayawickrema to lead the outfit. The Bambalapitiya school beat the Antonians and Kingswood but were edged out by the Science in a tense battle.

The “Dark Horse” of the Singer League Science College will confront the last placed Kingswoodians who are yet to get to their peak. Science too are unbeaten having won all three games to date and should have a cakewalk here.

Both Rajans and Antonians will lock horns at the Bogambara Stadium on 22 April. This encounter should be a close affair with Rajans holding the edge with one win while the Antonians are yet to pocket a game.

Fixture list – 22 April: Wesley College vs. D.S. Senanayake College (CR&FC), Kingswood College vs. Science College (Bogambara), St. Peter’s College vs. Isipathana College (Havelock Park); 23 April: St. Joseph’s College vs. Royal College (CR&FC), Trinity College vs. S. Thomas’ College (Pallekele), Dharmaraja College vs. St. Anthony’s College (Bogambara).