Unbeaten S. Thomas’ College kept their perfect record alive by defeating another unbeaten side, Isipathana College, in a gripping week-five clash of the Dialog Schools ‘A’ Division Rugby League Tournament yesterday.
The inaugural Rizvy Suhayb Memorial Trophy was up for grabs in this much-anticipated battle, which the Thomians won 36 points (four goals, one try, one penalty) to 24 (three goals, one penalty) at their home grounds in Mount Lavinia after leading 21-14 at half time.
The game exploded into life from the kick-off, with both the teams showing high pace, solid defence and smart tactical kicking.
S. Thomas’ drew first blood in the sixth minute when their centre Seneshka Liyanage sliced through the Isipathana defence to score under the posts. Reliable winger Mayanka Dias made no mistake with the conversion to give the home team a 7-0 lead.
But Isipathana hit back immediately. Just two minutes later, their clever fly half Avishka Hiran side-stepped a couple of defenders and dived over mid-right. Hiran himself converted to level the scores seven-all in the eighth minute.
The Thomians suffered a setback in the ninth minute when their full back Udan Bulathsinhalage was shown a yellow card for a high tackle, reducing the home team to 14 men.
Isipathana took advantage and their full back Nimantha Sandeepa finished a fine move on the left wing, touching down near the corner flag after chasing a chip kick. Avishka Hiran added the extras to give Isipathana a 14-7 lead in the 15th minute.
The see-saw battle continued as Thomian prop forward Vishwa Ariyawansa powered his way over the line in the 23rd minute. Mayanka Dias converted once again to make it 14-all.
Just three minutes later, Thomian flanker Tieshiya Aluwihare spotted a gap and charged through to score. With another accurate conversion from Dias, the home team regained the lead at 21-14 by the 26th minute.
After the break, the Thomians struck again. A smart move initiated by Bulathsinhalage saw hooker Eyan Pereira collect a pass from Number 8 McKyle Karunaratne and crash over under the posts. Dias made it four out of four with his conversion, extending the lead to 28-14 in the 40th minute.
However, Isipathana were not done. Fly half Avishka Hiran, who had a superb game, scored his second try in the 44th minute and converted it himself to cut the deficit to 21-28.
In the 56th minute, Hiran slotted over a penalty to make it 24-28, keeping his team within one converted try.
But the Thomians had other ideas. Even with 14 men after another yellow card in the 59th minute, flanker Aluwihare crossed for his second try in the 61st minute, though the conversion was missed. The score moved to 33-24.
A late penalty conversion for S. Thomas’ sealed the result at 36-24 in the closing stages.
Referee: Ishanka Abeykoon.
