Dark Horses destined to overhaul the elites

Bamba sprinters combined with their fancy footwork are lethal against any side

STC’s unblemished and consistent discipline sets the precedent in schools rugby

Dialog Schools Rugby League 2025 – Week 2 Tactical Forecast

Although this is yet the second week into the League, it consists of 3 tight fixtures that are guaranteed to thrill from the first long whistle to the last, with high tendencies to go down to the wire, whilst two of them having the potential to overthrow the Top Dogs of the 2025 League.

St. Anthony’s vs St. Peter’s at Nittawela on 14 June:

Although the general expectations would be for the Brigade to have an easy run in this outing, it may not turn out to be that easy owing to a few factors.

• Peter’s exhilarating penalty count that may not be addressed by this encounter
• Peter’s poor Ball handling in the last game resulting in 12 unforced handling errors
• The fatigue of travelling with the above baggage to Kandy to play their first outstation game for the season

There is no doubt that the Bamba sprinters combined with their fancy footwork are lethal against any side, and they’d probably even airlift owing to the reduced gravity in Kandy; however, Anthony’s have strengthened their defence with some gruesome tackling as exhibited last weekend, and this was more in line with the preparation for this particular encounter as specifically orchestrated by Coach Saliya. Unlike DS, the Peterites are more likely to be held in tackles, hence timely offloads shall be crucial if they prefer to whisk with the Ball. In other words, defence would be much tighter in this encounter than what it was against Ananda for the SPC three quarters.

As the hosts are primarily equipped to play fast open rugby, the visitors are bound to make a ton of tackles throughout the game, and their endurance would be tested. In fact, this would be the case for both sides, and the fans are in for a treat to find out if the Eagles can match the speed of the Brigade.

Though the Petes prefer to play running rugby, they would be better off using their Pack to ‘pick ‘n drive’, at least in the second half, or in case their preferred style of play doesn’t yield sufficient brownie points. As SACK’s Maul and ‘pick ‘n drive’ defences are quite fragile, and SPC’s are strong and highly penetrative (amusingly so early on in the season), this could be a viable and decisive tactic, if the push comes to a shove for the Peterites.

S. Thomas’ vs Zahira at Big Club Ground on 14 June:

This is the first of the games worked out this weekend with the likelihood for an upset caused by the newly remoulded Zahira unit, who executed their rugby prowess with the mindset of professionals last weekend. If they could keep up the same game while playing away from home at a mentally disorienting landscape of highs and lows, then we are in for a treat even better than the previous week at the same venue. Although that was a close game, the Thomians were seldom under pressure or put to the test, until the last minute. In this match-up however, the home team shall be thoroughly tested and put under pressure by the visiting team.

If the Thomians are to continue their form with the Ball from last weekend, then we are certainly set for the first upset of the season. However, if they could go back to their pristine Ball handling during the Knockouts against Trinity, then we are in for an unpredictable tug-of-war that could swing either way. In addition, STC’s unblemished and consistent discipline that sets the precedent in schools rugby, may be the only major factor that could differentiate the two sides on paper. Zahira conceded 13 penalties last weekend, while Thora faltered only thrice. So, Zahira’s only downfall could be owing to this shortcoming, unless they could curtail their infringements to at least 8 or lower, as otherwise their back-to-back penalties could only spell disaster to their otherwise impeccable game. 

While the lighter Zahirian Forwards did exceptionally well against their Rajan counterparts, we are yet to see how this mini-battle would unfold, and who would prevail over who, which may also help slide the tide either way. Zahira will constantly look to find touch inside the Thomian half, and would prefer to camp inside it. Also watch out for the timely, immaculate cross kicks effected by the visitors, executed only at the appropriate moments to earn them a few Tries, and stun the home team and their supporters.

Kingswood vs Isipathana at Bogambara on 15 June:

This weekend’s battle of epic proportions shall be kicked off at the lusty Green Hills, with the Green Machine travelling up for their first game away from Colombo. Kingswood playing their very first home game this season is expected to have a definite advantage, as they would be cozily set in an environment to produce their best performance, and in front of their very own home crowd.

Isipathana Rugby Edition 2025, shall be put under a concentrated Maroon acid test, before they could move on to the Cup Segment in the second round of the League to face off the other group leaders. This encounter may be the ultimate test for the Greens within this group, as Kingswood boasts a balanced Backs and Forwards game, enabled by the perfected physical attributes of their squadron, and the associated annihilating skills infused by their legendary Head Coach Castro.

Following a dismal Ball handling outing on the weekend prior, that deprived them of quite a number of Try scoring opportunities, rather close to the opposition’s line of prestige, the Kingswoodians are bound to work on this major setback, in order to minimise or even eliminate their handling errors while attacking with ‘pick ‘n drives’. They have already curtailed their infringements to 10 in their last game, but it could help them further if they can shed a few more, such as ‘high tackles’, as it poses the danger of losing a player for 10 minutes, which would pave the way for the much-needed space, although slim, for the hasty Green Panthers to sneak through. Apart from these, there aren’t any other major shortcomings in Kingswood’s game, and that makes them somewhat lethal.

As for Pathana, they had a slightly subpar outing last weekend in comparison to their usual standards, because they infringed too many times quite unnecessarily in the first half, which allowed Mahanama to attack and cross their line of prestige a few times. The other uncharacteristic mistake from the Green Camp was that they spilled the giant white Bean on 4 occasions when they were tackled while attacking inside the opposition’s grid. Maybe some glue made out of starch ought to do the trick this time? In addition, Pathana must brush and polish their place kicking to a radiant shine before this game, as every single point may count when it comes to the final tally, as the last long whistle sounds. As for the pluses, it is the Pathana jumpers who will most likely either turnover, or persuade erroneous throws, whenever Kingwood gets a lineout inside Pathana’s 22, almost every single time. This will prevent Kingswood Mauls from forming within attacking range, and thereby neutralise one of their main weapons of mass destruction.

D.S. Senanayake vs Wesley at CR & FC on 15 June:

This fixture would entail the best-in-class brawl between two factions that are highly skilled in their Forwards game. Although Wesley might have the edge on weight, DS could still conquer them with their in-build strength and refined techniques, both in Mauls and ‘pick & drives’. Thus, it would be an interesting contest to find out who comes out tougher in this department.

Meanwhile, both teams are quite fluent in their Backs game as well, carefully planned and perfected with the vision to compete in the Cup Segment among the well-balanced top sides. Their Ball handling is quite remarkable as well. Consequently, both sides have taken each other quite seriously, and are in preparation for this game with mutual respect, as if it’s their final obstacle.

DS gave away a few ‘jackals’ and 5 ‘holding on’ penalties in their last game, as they opted for ‘Hans’ solo like breaks that ended up at the hands of more than a few gleeful defenders. DS could halve their infringements count if they could adopt an attacking play that moves the Ball forward with adequate support following closely. If they could accomplish this, then they would have a massive 10-15 penalty deficit between them and Wesley, that could grant them abundant attacking opportunities to win this game, further aided by Wesley’s tendency to cough up back-to-back penalties while being pinned to their front yard without the Ball. If DS proceeds with the same style of attacking gameplay, then they would reduce the penalty deficit to favour Wesley, and might also not score enough Tries to win the game easily.

Footnote:

Though we love to, unfortunately we are unable to preview all 9 games to be played each weekend due to time limitations, and therefore are compelled to accommodate only around 4 forecasts each week.

 

(The analyst can be reached at: [email protected].)