President’s Trophy ignites into Quarter Finals

 Following a mellow outing last weekend, the Green Machine is expected to come back strong with their full vigour against Wesley on Sunday

Royal is quite unlikely to continue with their semi-dismal form as they meet DS on Sunday

Trinity look much stronger in every highlighted aspect, and should have an easy game against the Thomians tomorrow

Trinity vs S. Thomas’ at Havelock Park on 3 May:

This is the most eagerly anticipated game to be worked out on Saturday, but the Lions should be able to bag this one relatively easily due to some core issues in the Thomian defence that cannot be corrected overnight.

The attacking game:

When it comes to attacking, both teams follow a similar philosophy of ‘attack before being attacked.’ They also follow similar styles of attack that are rapid and extremely fluid, supported by super quick Balls that don’t give the opposition much time to think, let alone react. However, the Thomians may not be as successful as the previous weekend in their attacks due to a few factors.

•  Open spaces will not be available by default (unlike in the Science game where the defence formation always had gaps in them), hence STC would have to work harder to create these spaces in order to break through.
• STC is highly unlikely to receive stray kicks that they can run with as they did earlier.
• The goal line defence of Trinity would be much stronger than of Science for STC’s comparatively weaker (in comparison to last year) pick ‘n drives to breach.
• Having Ball possession may not guarantee territory gain for STC, as Trinity’s rush defence usually gains them territory when oppositions attempt to run the Ball.

 The defending game:

Trinity’s defence is top notch due to the following:

• Their Rush Defence chokes and pushes back opponents, forcing them to make mistakes in their own grid since last season, and it’s quite evident from the 9 penalties out of the 14, that were given inside SACK’s half.
•  Opposition Ball carriers are well covered and marked without indecisions.
• Their tackles are crisp, precise and hard, and they proved this by forcing five knock-ons in their last outing.

STC’s defence is feeble in the following aspects:

•  Defence formation scatters at times while under attack
•  Tacklers are indecisive at crucial pressure situations
•  Their Tacklers buy dummies like hot Lava Cakes
• Goal line defence is extremely fragile

Based on the above facts, Trinity looks much stronger in every highlighted aspect, and should have an easy game against the Thomians. However, the Thomians can devise counter tactics to minimise the huge gap between the two sides.

The strategy of the underdogs:

•  Thomians should play the territory game by finding touch and keeping the game on Trinity’s half
•  Kicking deep inside the playing area would be suicidal, unless it’s an ‘up and under’.
•  As Trinity’s hooking is weak (two crooked throws in the last game), STC has odds to turnover possession during the throws by contesting
•  9 out of the 11 penalties were conceded on Trinity’s half in their last game, and therefore STC should keep play in the opposition half and put pressure on Trinity to milk mistakes.
•  If they are able to improve their pick ‘n drives over the week (as this is one of Anuranga’s strengths in coaching), then they can attempt a patient closed game worked out in phases, from inside Trinity’s 22 for which Trinity may not have a concrete defence tactic.
• If Anuranga has done his homework right for this season, STC would be skilled to use short punts, preferably over the defenders’ heads, in order to overcome Trinity’s super-quick rush defence. If this can be accomplished and executed perfectly at the appropriate locations, then unlimited Try scoring opportunities will be on offer for STC, which would also place the Lions on their back loin and scatter them.

The last tactic would be the trump card that could fully unsettle Trinity’s defence to flip the results, but it has to be well rehearsed, and would be challenging to master within a week.

St. Peter’s vs Zahira at Royal Sports Complex on 3 May:

Sadly, SPC has withdrawn from the Knockout Tournament due to some crucial internal matters that need to be investigated and verified. Therefore, Zahira College will get a lucky entry into the semi-final.

Isipathana vs Wesley at Royal Sports Complex on 4 May:

Wesley College shall be putting on their best game faces in trying to oust Isipathana College from the tournament. They beat a strong DS side and almost overcame the brilliant brigade in the semi-final at the knockouts last season. Although their rugby skills and tactics are expected to be at the peak, their emotional control of the game has always been susceptible. As exposed in our last review, Wesley would have no choice but to keep their penalty count to under 10 in order to be able to execute their ‘A Game’.

Following a mellow outing last weekend, the Green Machine is expected to come back strong with their full vigour, to see if they can hold off the Double Blue Thunder. Nonetheless, they would have to steeply improve their Ball handling skills in order to give themselves a decent chance in this game. Hope the Pathans have also worked on their touch kicking that was in total disarray last weekend, where they overcooked at least four touch kicks following penalties.

Wesley would be skilled in getting those extra two points after most Tries, but may not always opt to go for three points, which would be a smart approach if they wish to be ahead of their opponents at full time. They shall be also hungry like the wolves to poach the Ball at all breakdowns, expecting to savour turnovers, and then launch counterattacks, when the opposition will be most vulnerable.

Royal vs D.S. Senanayake at Havelock Park on 4 May:

Forecasting this encounter can be quite tricky, as both these schools are in the process of switching to top gears, thus the recent performances may have become null and void by now. DSS was a completely different side in the second half of the previous game, and Royal is quite unlikely to continue with their semi-dismal form after their first outing where they were almost ousted from the KO Tourney. Therefore, this forecast assumes that both teams play at a higher level (although not at peak) than last weekend.

Considering that Royal almost lost the last game due to their poor Ball handling, we can be rest assured that it will be corrected this time around, limiting to approximately five unforced errors. However, DS is sure to add a few forced knock-ons to Royal’s tally of unforced errors, whereas Royal is unlikely to return the favour. In addition, DS is likely to spoil some of Royal’s lineout throws, thereby regaining possession, which shall add a few more turnovers for DS.

 Nevertheless, DS stands the high risk of crumbling under pressure, as they gave away 7 penalties (out of 11) inside their own territory while being under attack last weekend, with 4 of them being ‘offside.’ If Royal can take the game to DS territory and play a phased game, then they will be able to return with points almost every time, owing to ‘offside line’ and ‘not rolling away’ offenses.

On the contrary, DS can play the kicking game for territory, as Royal showed signs of slight weakness in their touch kicking during open play, kicking a couple of them beyond the touchlines. If DS can put pressure on the Ball catchers and clearers to kick them fully out, and then throw the Ball in, then they can repeat what they successfully executed against the Rajans.

 All in all, this encounter looks balanced at the moment, unless Royal suddenly manages to bring in their ‘A Game’ on Sunday.

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