Minnows kick League off to a flying start

Zahira outclassed Rajans 56-19

Pathana prevailed against Mahanama menace 34-19

DSS overpower SACK 26-19

Although thoroughly anticipated, the three Dark Horses viz. Kingswood, Ananda and Mahanama, still rattled and baffled the crème of the prime Division to surprise and captivate the attention and hearts of all the schools' rugby followers. Unfortunately, we also saw that two schools viz. Joes and Rajans have slid down from their previous performances at the Knockouts. Fortunately, with many other schools improving sharply such as, Zahira, DSS, Antho and Vidyartha, we are in for an astounding season of rugby that is guaranteed to thrill us, and knock us out of our chairs each and every weekend. So, forget the weekend holidays, and stay locked inside your respective Cities for the next two months of unparalleled, top notch rugby actions to be presented by our very own Sri Lankan coaching units, who are the sole creators and directors of this marvel Rugby.

Zahira hosting Dharmaraja – 6 June:

Following the subpar ‘Segment B’ performance at the pre-quarter finals, and an erratic tactical gameplan at the semi-finals that costed them the chance to play in the Knockout Final, Zahira College Maradana turned up with an absolute peach of an ace game to fluster and flatten the Rajans in the latter half. This is exactly what was initially expected from the new coaching crew at Zahira, that had sufficient potential to upskill and rejuvenate Zahira Rugby.

On the contrary, the Rajans seemed a totally different outfit from the one that raised many eyebrows at the Knockouts that showcased aggressive attacking, and excellent support play skills combined with orderly game continuity. All of these were lost completely, possibly owing to the sudden change of their Head Coach from Dinesh Gamage to Sanjaya Amunugama in April. Unfortunately, it was apparent that the Players and Rajans Rugby were at the receiving end, by the abrupt overhaul of the game approach by distinct thinking Hats.

 To add to their misery, although Rajans packed a heavier Pack than their opponents, their inferior Maul binding technique barred them from generating sufficient power to hold off the lighter Zahirians from scoring Maul Tries on many occasions. Rajans kicked from their territory to relieve pressure, but failed to find touch on many occasions, which the hosts wisely used to run the Ball and score an array of Tries. It was continuously observed in the second half that the visitors’ defence was consistently dense on one quarter of the Field, possibly to cover and defend marked fast runners, but their drift defence was not fast enough to cover the overlaps on the far side, whenever the visitors decided to move play to the other extreme. Other errors such as, a full-out clearance kick, a failed restart kick, a lost lineout, a crooked throw, a lineout that got turned over, and a fistful of handling errors, were all meticulously capitalised by Zahira to launch their counter offensives. Unfortunately, Rajans also suffered in the tackling department later on in the game, where many missed tackles cost them a truckload of Tries.

 It was as if the Zahirians from the Knockouts were melted, poured into a Cast, and then remoulded into this remarkable bunch, who seem to have been playing Rugby together for so many years, that they had this implicit mutual understanding on the chosen counter-attacking ploy for every diverse move made by Rajans, was simply incredible! They were extremely calm, cool and amazingly confident at every execution of their skills, as if they have been doing it all their lives. The cross-kicks that were executed in the second half that earned them a few Tries were near-world class in the sense how effortlessly and casually they were carried out. Zahira also excelled in their touch kicking, both during open play and penalty opportunities, that gained them miles of ground to assist with their offensives. Accomplishing 3 touch kicks during open play with each of them gaining over 35 meters is a noteworthy achievement in schools' rugby.

 All-in-all, the intrinsic rugby knowledge and rugby instincts combined with hand-in-glove-like collaborative psychic team understanding, coupled with breathtaking executions, especially to dynamic attacking tactics by the opposition, officially elevates Zahira Rugby to a work of art, and to the Dark Horses category of the 2025 Schools Rugby League.

Result: Zahira outclassed Rajans 56-19 

St. Anthony’s hosting D.S. Senanayake – 6 June:

After rather disappointing showings at the Knockouts, it was such a relieving and pleasing evening in the Hills to see both schools playing some meticulously organized, high quality Rugby, and it was even more satisfying to realise that these were just schoolboys playing at such high standards, thanks to the tireless efforts of both coaching units.

 The type of attacking rugby both sides played didn’t return adequate points for them because their defences had been steeply improved. Although this may disappoint Fans who enjoy high scoring running rugby, the fact remains that the quality of rugby has been uplifted. After being overrun by Trinity in April, Anthony’s has steeply enhanced their tackling execution and technique to a near-solid level; however, the stronger DS Ball carriers with even stronger leg drives were only slowed down, but not completely halted on some occasions. Additional strength and power have to be built into the young Eagles overall, because they were also unable to defend most of the Maul offensives launched by DS, consisting of definitive binding techniques combined with rock-solid leg drives. This vulnerability showed during Antho’s pick ‘n drive defending as well. With gigantic physics forming the Wesley and Ananda Forwards in the same Group, SACK has to work on this pretty swiftly, and within two weeks to avoid an overrun by the opposition Forwards.

 Although both teams tackled equally well, it was DS’ tackling that caused the Beans to spill, taking the forced knock-on count of the Antonians to 5. This could be another decisive factor that swung the Pendulum, when comparing statistics of both teams.

Result: DSS overpower SACK 26-19

S. Thomas’ hosting Kingswood - 7 June:

As forecasted in the Part II of our Season Teaser Article, Mount Lavinia was surged with heavy Avalanche from the Maroon Hill that wallowed and nearly swallowed the Thomians completely, as they were left holding on to the mere edge of the Cliff for their survival.

As anticipated, Kingswood came down from the Hill to the Mount with all Cylinders blazing from the kick-off, pressurising the hosts to commit errors, with which they scored their first Try within the very first minute, and shook up the unsuspecting home crowd. They were also in a much better position to play attacking rugby this time around with their penalty count being cut down by 40% since their last outing, that permitted them to attack frequently inside the Thomian 22. 

 However, Pick ‘n Drive onslaughts, being one of the trump cards held by the precisely conditioned, and perfectly shaped Kingswood Forwards this season, were continuously self-destructed by unwarranted knock-ons. The Maroon Forwards possessed the ability to easily infiltrate the Thora defence due to their superior form factor, force and skills, but they reliably knocked the Ball forward, almost every time they were quite close to the opposition’s Try Line. Owing to this sole reason we could safely conclude that Kingwood lost this game on their own, instead of the Thomians stealing it from them. Precision Ball handling in extreme humid and wet conditions should be mastered, if Kingswood is to utilise the power of their Pack to return productive proceeds.

 One of the other highlights of the game was that the hosts gave away only 3 miserly penalties, but the last one being an extreme foul play, earned them a yellow card and cost them a penalty Try at the dying moments of the game. The Thomians’ Ball handling was substandard for the level of rugby they strive to achieve, and fails the expectations of the general schools’ rugby enthusiasts who anticipate more from them. Some of these unforced errors facilitated the visitors to score Tries, while depriving the hosts from scoring a few of their own, which drew them a few steps back from being the top contenders for the League Title.

Result:  Thora survives at the edge of the Avalanche 29-28 

St. Peter’s hosting Ananda - 7 June:

The initial heavy Cavalry of the Dark Horse set its course to the home of Bamba Brigade to their maiden battle of the League in front of totally unsuspecting spectators, coaching crew and the Brigade themselves. A team that is placed at the rock bottom of the Table, as being the second new entrant into the top Division, and brawling against the defending League Champions meant that a points difference of 50 may have been expected by the masses at full time. However, those who have read our Season Teaser Part 2 would have not been surprised by Ananda’s performance in this game or the result.

 Ananda landed a dozen Obelixes from the mythical Land of Gaul, in order to take the battle to the Roman Rugby Empire, and reveal to the naive patrons who the supposed minnows really are. They portrayed this with the supernatural power of their Pack, combined with undefendable Maul offensives that perplexed the hosts, effective tackling to the best of their ability but limited by their speed, impeccable game discipline without receiving any Cards, and immaculate Stats unmatched even by most top Division sides. Head and Forwards Coach Amila Chathuranga, take a bow!

The Brigade, that has set its standards as one of the cleverest and most skilful Maul defenders in the upper Division during the past few years, struggled to cope, let alone neutralise the Ananda Mauls, choking 3 penalties for “Collapsing the Maul” whilst conceding 2 Maul Tries. In addition, their game discipline and Ball handling were pathetic, handing Ananda abundant Ball possession and full freedom to attack throughout the game.

Nevertheless, the defending Champions survived both, the onslaughts and the battle, thanks to the magical infiltration capabilities of their three quarters, and some extremely solid defence technique and skills exhibited against heavy ‘Pick and Drive’ poundings, that came at them continuously like battering Rams, quite close to their Fortress Walls.

 Although the new entrants executed a sensible and an outstanding game plan, making sure that they DO NOT kick directly into the Hands of the fleeing Peterites, they revealed some shortcomings that should be corrected soon. One too many Ananda defenders tackling a single Ball Carrier, often created the spaces required for the SPC sprinters to zip through. This issue compounded, or further contributed to their already-slow drift defence, that was unable to cover the overlaps close to the touchlines. Finally, Ananda’s defence against ‘Pick and Go’ attacks close to their Goal Line was seen to be quite fragile and requires sheer improvements.

Result:  Pete’s flash through narrow Ananda gaps 38-22

Isipathana hosting Mahanama – 8 June:

The second squadron of the Dark Horse galloped sturdily into the Den of the Panthers with the secret mission to tame them. Their successful mission completion was delayed due to their ineffective tactical play at the beginning, but they eventually threatened, tamed, and terrified the Panthers. Although highly-tensed, the intrinsic guts and “never say die” attitude, got the Greens out of the rut as usual.

 Although many rugby enthusiasts may have not seen Mahanama in action before, they were a much-refined bunch, and their rugby in better shape than most average upper Division teams, since last season itself. Hence, one could only expect the expertise of Head Coach Devinda Pathiranage, an old boy of Isipathana, to transform this squad into a deadly hunting outfit in the subsequent year of 2025.

 Nevertheless, Mahanama’s initial tactic to keep kicking the Ball straight into the hands of Isipathana was thoroughly disappointing, and made one wonder if they were so confident about their defence, even when it was scattered like lost Sheep all over the playing Field. It was just a matter of time before this silly gameplay earned Pathana their second Try. Mahanama’s second cardinal mistake occurred when the Ball that was kicked by Pathana into the in-goal area of Mahanama, was touched down by the defender, instead of letting it roll away out of the playing area. The proceeding goal line kick, which is usually a vulnerable place to kick from, granted the hosts the opportunity to run the Ball through the open Field, up to the front door of the visitors, and score consequently.

 The newcomers kept their foul play to just 3 in the first half, but added 10 more in the second with half of them being ‘line offside’, which made them more vulnerable to attack, further assisted by swallowing 2 yellow cards that made Pathana’s comeback easier. What made them suddenly forget the offside line / rule is a mystery to be solved by their coaching unit. Mahanama’s Ball handling was a tad below par, as they knocked on 8 in the whole game without being persuaded. However, their lineouts were in total disarray, even when Pathana did not contest to disrupt during most of the first half. 2 crooked throws, 4 lost due to own follies and another 4 turned over by the green jumpers in the decisive half, completely annihilated Mahanama’s jumping game, and many probabilities of attacking with the Maul.

Although Isipathana excelled in Ball handling with just 2 unforced errors, the 4 that were forced during Mahanama tackles made them look ordinary, because they occurred at critical junctures when attacking in front of the visitors’ front Porch. Incidentally, their first unforced knock-on earned the visitors a Try as well. While Isipathana controlled their infringements count to less than 10 in the whole game, they committed 9 fouls in the first half that made them sitting ducks for the newbies to carry out target practices on their new hunting ground, and made the game more interesting for the ticketed spectators who were assembled at Havelock Park.

Result: Pathana prevailed against Mahanama menace 34-19 

Footnote:

Though we love to, unfortunately we are unable to analyse all 9 games played during the weekends due to time limitations, and therefore compelled to accommodate only around 5 reviews each week.