Kings of Rugby set out to redeem their Kingdom

On the second week of continuing drama, the Kings of Rugby, alongside their Green Army shall venture on an uphill task, making their way up the Hills, with an unbending attitude to regain the Rugby Monarchy that has momentarily evaded their grasp. Back in Colombo, and resembling the last stages of Test Cricket, we have three teams patiently waiting at the Slips cordon anticipating the Greens to edge the Lions off, while all of them have their own games to win this weekend, at the heated-up Cup Segment of the Dialog Schools Rugby League 2025.

Kingswood

Ananda College

Kingswood vs Ananda at Bogambara on 25 July:

From an analytical perspective, although Kingswood possesses superior and refined rugby skills in most departments than Ananda, their negligence in playing the game by the rules has simply destroyed them this season, and this encounter shall be no different. The difference in this encounter is due to the constant effort put in by the Ananda coaching camp in striving to keep their offenses count low, that has lowered their average to a mediocre 10 per game, whereas its 16 for the hosts. Moreover, the extreme pitfalls lie in conceding consecutive penalties in quick successions, that usually results in the opposition teams scoring Tries, is something that Kingswood seems to have mastered without being even taught.

However, the hosts will win some in order to excite their home crowd, especially with their pick and drives that has been their strong suit since their first game this season. Ananda’s inadequacy to defend strong pick and drive onslaughts effectively, could affect them thoroughly in this game.

Kingswood’s Ball handling has added to their misery and also to their loss of possessions, with close to 30 unforced errors in the last three games, which happens to be double the sum of Ananda’s. In addition, their kicking performance is well behind the visitors’ as well.

While most of the other skills being more or less comparable, it seems important that the Randles Camp works on its basic rugby skills before this game, in order to make it an even contest.

Trinity

Isipathana

Trinity vs Isipathana at Trinity Rugby Stadium on 26 July:

Within just a fortnight after being drowned by the sea, Pathana Rugby bounced back to challenge the best of the best in schools’ rugby, in a penultimate showdown kicked off in the misty Hills at Pallekele. Following the aftermath of the Knockout Final earlier this year, this encounter is guaranteed to give the Trinity Camp a few sleepless nights before the game for sure. From the outlook, it seems cloudy with a chance of Leo all the way; however, since we all know what the green magic could unleash unto its oppositions as portrayed last weekend, it makes sense to do a sanity check in comparison of skills to find out where each side stands, based on their last three outings.

Both teams have committed exactly 43 offenses which makes attacking opportunities even-stevens for both sides; however Pathana has committed at least 32 of those in their half, while Trinity has been quite smart and tactical in deliberately keeping it down to 16, which means that Pathana is expected to concede twice the number of penalties as Trinity in their half, offering the latter plenty of leverage to complete their attacks and return with points. This shall be a gigantic edge over the visitors, who are already fatigued by travelling away for this encounter to maul at the Lions’ Den.

Isipathana’s Ball handling has been considerably far pristine than of Trinity’s with six unforced errors that caused change in possession, whereas Trinity is guilty of 13, and it’s a known fact what the Green Machine is capable of with every instance of Ball possession, especially in the last quarter of the game. Nevertheless, both teams exhibited comparable Ball handling last weekend, hence the control of their nerves shall determine who would carry the big Pill without the spill on the big day.

When it comes to the performance at the set pieces and turnovers, the following Table provides a glimpse. Duly note that inaccurate lineout throws directed towards the opposition are not considered as turnovers in this analysis, but are categorised under ‘Lineout Lost’. A turnover must be contested and won in this case.

It’s pretty much clear from the above stats that Pathana shall rule the jumping game, while Trinity will dominate the others. While this grants Pathana abundant chances to attack with their Mauls, Trinity’s Maul defence happens to be one of the best this season, hence would be a ‘must watch’ contest within the contest in this encounter.

Although most sides may not realise, full-out clearance kicks are mostly self-destructive against opponents who possess strong Mauls, and is synonymous to conceding penalties inside one’s 22. Trinity has 2 against them whereas Pathana has 4, which means that the latter could be pressurised into faltering in their clearance kicks, which the charging Lions are very much capable of. However, retaining possession at the proceeding lineout would be an uphill task for the hilltop Boys.

It may come as a surprise to the readers, but Pathana seems to have excelled in accurately slotting-in Conversions between the giant chopsticks following a Try from difficult angles than the renowned Trinity outfit. The fact that Shan Althaf took a break from his kicking duties in those matches may have caused this disparity. When it comes to finding the farthest touches during open play, Trinity hits the jackpot in this skill.

Although the Greens have effective infiltration abilities using ‘pick and drive’ as well as ‘pick and go’, Trinity is far better in defending the former than the latter, which the visitors may opt to use instead. Finally coming to the Lions’ ultimate weapon of scoring Tries directly off their Mauls, they have a massive lead of 5 against a solitary Try from the Greens, which means that Trinity is able to complete their attacks solely with their Rolling Mauls, while Pathana has been unable to, having to resort to either pick and drives / gos or simply having to work the Ball.

Royal College

Wesley College

Royal vs Wesley at Royal Sports Complex on 26 July:

The league returns to the fan-favourite venue of the contemporary era of schools rugby, due to its spectacular spectator experience owing to the close proximity to the playing field combined with the elevation of the view, mimicking the classic Colosseums that are ideal to witness battles of epic proportions. This encounter holds the potential for such a grand confrontation, with all the well-balanced elements and features required for a ravaging collision clasping the ball instead of melee weapons, as in ancient Roman times. However, turning this from “potential” to “reality” is entirely in the hands of the hosts, as the general schools’ rugby enthusiasts pray that the Royal Tuskers take on the mighty Double Blue Thunder with their full potential, in order to induce spine-tingling chills, while hoping the Trinity camp turns a blind eye towards this fixture.

The colossal Forwards

Though the lighter Pathana Pack found a way to counter and overcome the might of the Wesley Pack, Royal can take them on full force on all aspects of the Forwards game, that would ensure that all the chirpy chips will be sold out in the absence of popped corns at the park. Sparks may dazzle, even during sheer daylight as the two Titans collide in Rucks and Mauls in phases. Who shall win these mini battles would be anyone’s guess. As Lewke has kept his Mauls under tight wraps thus far, he is expected to continue to do so in this game as well, while he shall be determined to go full out with their threatening pick and drives upgraded with refined finishing techniques, that would be too hard for the tall Wesley Forwards to defend. Therefore, Royal may not have the need to unveil any more concealed melee weapons than what they already have.

The brisk Backs

Clearly, Reid Avenue possesses the better Backline skills, although it has been avoiding the limelight so far, like how the Vampires of Transylvania in Romania shun daylight. Nevertheless, the skills could be matched evenly to provide a satisfying clash of wits and speed for the otherwise insatiable Patrons.

Stats down the garbage chutes

As the Tuskers keep shying behind a royal masquerade, most statistics are irrelevant and could be misleading; however, there are some that may be valid, and are more accurate from their last game against Peter’s. For consistency, its compared only with Wesley’s last game against Pathana.

S. Thomas College

St. Peters College

S. Thomas’ vs St. Peter’s at Big Club Ground on 26 July:

The two teams that succumbed last weekend shall be looking forward to redeem their self-respect and confidence, while also facing each other after three long years for the Archibald Perera Memorial Trophy. Both teams have their dire weaknesses that each could exploit to command the edge over the other.

The Forwards’ fortune

The Brigade Forwards seem visibly stronger than the Thomians, yet the end result of the push-of-war might go either way. Consequently, while it’s certain that the Peterites will use their Mauls to attack the Thomians, whether the latter would be brave enough to return the favour, is questionable. This is because the Brigade’s Maul defence is decent, although not perfect. Decent because they are quite fluent in sacking Mauls, and if that fails, then in making sure that the Ball never comes out of the Maul. However, they do concede penalties for ‘collapsing’ quite frequently as well, hence not a 100% perfect defence. The Peterite jumpers shall hold their ground, not interrupting the visitors’ lineouts, hence there is nothing stopping the Thomian Mauls from forming, other than their own blemishes.

SPC’s pick ‘n drives are threateningly potent, and could plough through most defences of the top tier Packs. Conversely STC’s defence has proven quite volatile in this area, which the Brigade shall gleefully capitalise on to score at least 3 Tries, which turns out to be their strongest edge over the hosts. They are likely to commence their attacks with Mauls, and then finish them off with pick and drives. Nevertheless, the visitors’ defence against this skill is not as superior as their infiltrating capabilities, as they haven’t been able to defend against the might of Wesley and Royal Forwards earlier. Although the corresponding Thomian skills may not be directly comparable to the two successful teams, at least it offers some hope, that the SPC defence can be breached.

The backline breaks

Although the Brigade three quarters still sport a few fast runners, their evasive capability has diminished considerably, which has been the key strength of Peter’s Rugby during the past two years. Consequently, they are not menacing as they used to be, and are defendable by all means. The defending competence of the Thora Backline, along with streamlined tackling, has been improved gradually over time, that should be reasonably adequate against the speedsters. On the contrary, this would be the first time in the League the Peterites would face the type of rugby STC plays, and how they react to it would be crucial to the progress of the game.

Pete’s daymare

Peter’s game has been solid as a Rock during the former half, and then has derailed in the latter due to their penalty count doubling in that half in their last 3 games. In addition, two thirds of their penalties have been conceded inside their half in those outings, which means that each opponent received around 10 penalties inside Peter’s half, which has allowed them to either come very close to beating them, or being successful in surpassing them. Therefore, the Thomians may be in for an abundant of penalty offerings that may help them continue their intimidating onslaughts up until the 70th minute.

SPC might not convert most of their Tries, even the easy ones, as they have been unsuccessful in finding and training a kicking specialist from within their Under-19 Squad. This would persuade them to either go for touch or scrum down, whenever penalties are offered within kicking distance. Deciding to attempt a kick at goal will only fill the hearts of the Thomian fraternity with profound joy.

Zahira College

St, Joseph's College

Zahira vs St. Joseph’s at Zahira Ground on 26 July:

An evenly contested intense game of rugby is poised to swing the pendulum fast enough to generate adequate electricity to power an electronic Scoreboard, at yet another home game at Zahira College. Both teams are presently in the dominating mood that usually results in ignoring the laws of the game, and their stats also reflecting just that, with an average of 13 offenses per game, with Joes’ Ball handling being a tad better than their opponents.

Both teams love to attack with their Forwards, offering their shoulders as the fore of their battering rams, and have been quite successful as well. However, Joes have excelled in finishing off with strong carries using their pick and drives, while the Zahirian three quarters have been agonising their opponents, while mesmerising the Spectators with their electrifying running rugby. The table below shows a glimpse of Tries scored by both teams in their last 3 outings, highlighting the forte of each side.

Though most offensives begin with Mauls following a penalty, they often continue with other forms of attacks once the Mauls become immobilised. The above depicts Tries scored using the relevant final moves. Though both teams show equal standings in their Maul offensives, one has to retain lineouts in order to launch Maul attacks, but Joes have failed miserably in this area making them far less potent than their counterparts. 

In the kicking department, Zahira shows stronger results than their neighbours, again from the last 3 outings.

However, the million-dollar question that no outsider, enthusiast, fan, or even an expert analyst can answer is, whether the Josephians would take their luxury Bus, or simply walk across the road to Zahira for this fixture?

Footnote:

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

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