Schools Rugby 2026 haven for dejected cricket fans

• Sneak Peek into Schools Rugby 2026 – Part I

A message to our cricket fans:

We invite all the Sri Lankan Cricket loving fans to embrace Rugby, as we strongly believe that it is the most exciting and entertaining sport above all. All the excitement is packed within 2 hours, which leaves the rest of your time to do productive work or rest. There’s no doubt that all who enjoy action movies, cannot resist Rugby, and once you embrace it, Cricket will become #2 or #3 in your list. 

Rugby consists of a multitude of varied skills and execution, combined with strategies that makes each match so unpredictable. It could be a very complicated game to spectate, and a nightmare to officiate, due to hundreds of rules of engagement corresponding to each and every skillset. But you do not have to be hesitant, as we can provide you with an intro to rugby that comes quite close to the “Rugby for Dummies” book series. Please send a message to the email address provided at the end of this article, if you wish to join the Webinar that we are planning to conduct, that introduces the very basics of rugby to novice followers.

 Prelude:

The red hot, one-of-a-kind season of Clubs rugby comes to an end, with CH and Havies joining forces with CR to rewrite the twisted tale of the one-legged Clubs’ Rugby, that has been daunting the Sri Lankan rugby scene for decades. The strengthening and elevation of rugby standards by 6 club teams, and their associated coaching crew, is expected to cascade into the schools’ arena as well, making it the most intense and competitive season for the entry into the top-tier Super Round stage since the pandemic.

Solely dominated by the superpowers of schools’ rugby, viz. Royal, St. Peter’s and Isipathana during the post-pandemic period, the rat race to secure one of the six premium spots to compete for the Cup would be overwhelming this year. Patrons can be assured that ALL of the following teams, in addition to the above 3, would not only vie to grab a spot, but would also be well equipped with competitive skill sets to achieve it; Trinity, Wesley, S. Thomas’, Kingswood, Zahira, Ananda and St. Anthony’s would make it a 10-team dogfight to supremacy, where not only every bonus point, but also every Try scored might make the difference at the final standoff, as a few ties could be expected this season.

As the schools’ season commences on the week following the conclusion of the clubs’ season, in conjunction with the aftermath of O/L exams, not all schools are expected to be in full-form in order to compete effectively at the Knockouts, especially some of the teams whose coaches were engaged with the clubs. This was observed last season, and unfortunately would still continue with some teams this season as well. Nevertheless, all teams are expected to reach adequate form, by at least the second week of the league.

 League Champions: Trinity College

Trinity College Kandy’s sights are tightly set on a hat-trick of League titles, and they may not be prepared to settle for anything less until 2027. Although the Lions went thundering from the very first charge last season, the lapse of a solitary spark at a crucial moment in time, grabbed the Knockout title from their grasp. It is quite unlikely that they would make the same mistakes again at this President’s Trophy, thus are expected to continue their heightened standards from the league prior. Though long they've missed the sight of her, now she's theirs to hold so near; for their hearts may not forget, they’d caress her for another year.

 League Runners-up: Wesley College

Wesley College didn’t end up as runners-up last season by accident, but owing to meticulous, long-term skills development and tactical planning, combined with the hard work put in by Head Coach Henry Terence and the passionate Wesley squad. Although their ultimate aim was to bag the triple crown, they fell short on strategy and temperament, only in the second half at the quarter final game against the Green Machine last year. A fair reason for this could be Terence’s coaching engagement with Kandy SC, leading to his inability to offer his focused attention due to the sheer distance between the two locations. As he is back in Colombo coaching CH this time, expect the Double Blue Thunder to deliver earth tremoring action, while they vigorously chase after each and every coveted title this season.

 3 Royal College

It was accurately predicted that Royal College would not be interested in pursuing the Knockout or League title last year, but fans of the fraternity could rejoice this year, as they are very likely to make a run for the League title this time around, although they might not quite be ready for the Knockouts. One of their core strengths that is to be showcased this season is their impeccable defence, that is tailor-made to counter Trinity’s infiltration capabilities, which should make it a nightmare for the rest of the schools to overcome this season. Stay tuned for the Royal Tuskers to make a run, back to its glory days in rugby, beyond Bradby this year.

 4 S. Thomas' College

Having being unable to reach the top two positions in the League last year due to primitive defensive efforts, and while 2026 marks 10 years since they last held the most prestigious Michael Gunaratne Trophy in their palms, the deep and insatiable yearning for “my precious” intensified so strong, that the Thomian fraternity decided to elevate their rugby to international standards, by bringing in Head Coach Tristan Healy from New Zealand. He shall be supported by an ensemble of star-studded local talents such as, CR’s Backs Coach Lasintha De Costa, CR’s Trainer Vishvamithra Jayasinghe, and Sri Lanka’s very own “Flash”, Srinath Sooriyabandara, which makes one wonder, if so many cooks are destined to spoil the Thora soup, or would manage to perfect the mythological Thomian rugby brew of the century?

 5 St. Peter’s College

Upon enduring a series of unfortunate setbacks, St. Peter’s College turn to one of their very own, viz. Rajeev Perera, hoping to take Peterite rugby back to its roots, and it’s founder’s values. Being regarded as one of the best Forwards coaches in the Island, he now finds himself at the crossroads to prove himself as an effective Head Coach in schools rugby. He shall be ably supported by another rugby genius, Amila Chathuranga a.k.a. “Kandy”, as Rajeev relinquishes his Forwards coaching duties to the former Science and Ananda Head Coach. While the only reasonable expectation is to see the new coaching outfit utilise 2026 to lay the foundation and steady the ship, a strong comeback is not completely off the cards either.

 6 Isipathana College

The Kings of Knockout Rugby were resilient and patient enough to wait for the slimmest window of opportunities to clutch the Knockout title honours from a determined young Trinity bunch in ’25, but failed to maintain their top form from then onwards. In order to revive and refurbish the Green Machine to a point that it would be able to consistently run on top form throughout the long season, the very grand master who knows the nuts and bolts of the green engine by heart, was summoned to lubricate the Green Machine with his special green oil. The reunion of the devotees of fast, open rugby combined with the facilitator of the flamboyant wide, running game is all set to produce the original and untainted brand of Pathana rugby, that hasn’t been witnessed after 2017.

 7 D.S. Senanayake College

Though Donz navigated their worst season in terms of performance since their entry into the top Division, they managed to bag the Plate last season by beating a high-riding and strong Josephian outfit. It is still quite puzzling as to why they failed to deliver effective performances consistently last season, which is seldom found to be a characteristic of their Head Coach Asela Deshapriya. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that he will do the necessary rectifications to bring DS rugby back where it belongs; at the top six, but perhaps not before the league.

 8 St. Joseph’s College

Despite getting off to a dazzling start at the pre-quarter final at the Knockouts, Joes lost their way, producing inconsistent performances during most part of last season, due to a few unfortunate mishaps. However, they did bounce back with some breathtaking postseason performances, defeating St. Peter’s and S. Thomas’ at their annual Trophy fixtures. Consisting of a very young side this season as a result of many seniors leaving the squad, their expectation is to lay a solid foundation to build a turbulent side in 2027.

 9 Kingswood College

The resurrected phoenix of Randles Hill is expected to return further redefined, and tightly focused with a well laid out plan to join the top six, and to be in contention for the Cup. Any team that spills the oval pill will pay with points, while any team that cannot sustain its energy or competitiveness in the last 10 minutes may have to forfeit their winning game, regardless of the fat lead they’d command. Not only Kingswoodians, but even neutrals can bring popped corns to every Kingswood game in order to relish a good majority of the finer rugby elements, ploys and skills on display, that are not necessarily exercised by other teams. Expect Kingswood College to deliver explosive performances resulting in quite a few major upsets this season.

 10 Zahira College

Although Zahira College entered last season with enviable attacking skills, both in the Backs and Forwards departments, they lacked focus, discipline and strategy that deprived them of many a victory. Their attacks seemed random and incoherent on some aspects, although the team performed well in improvised onslaughts. Dhanushka Botheju who is arguably the best Forwards coach in Sri Lanka, joins the mediocre success of Head Coach Radhika Hettiarachchi to elevate Zahira rugby to the next level this season, who are expected to deliver high-octane, spectacular rugby, combined with a few surprise upsets this season. 

*The other 8 teams shall be covered in part 2 in April.

 A note to the Coaches, MiC and Rugby Advisories

We hope to witness a season of clean rugby that underlines its 5 core values. Teach your teams to play hard, but to also play fair. What you teach them now, will turn out to be life lessons that they will carry beyond the rugby playing fields. Let acts such as biting, squeezing vitals, punching, kicking, stamping and eye gorging, be stains of the past. Please do not harm the reputation of your respective schools, nor their founders’ values by taking shortcuts, or failing to live up to the 5 values of rugby. Let us rally around to build a future generation that is ambitious and optimistic, but yet fair and empathetic. Constant or serious violations of the rugby code shall be highlighted in this column, with the intention to safeguard Sri Lanka’s future generations. Enjoy this smashing season with mutual respect!

 

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