S. Thomas’ College produced one of their finest performances in recent times as they brought down the unbeaten Isipathana College 36-24 in their Inter-Schools Under-19 League Rugby Tournament encounter played at Mount Lavinia.
The Thomians played a fantastic game to upset the reigning knock-out champions while collecting their points from five tries, four conversions and one penalty.
S. Thomas’ also had the satisfaction of overcoming Isipathana after a lapse of 16 years and went on to lift the inaugural Rizvy Suhayb Memorial Trophy.
Thomian rugby fans at the match played at Mount Lavinia
Meanwhile, Trinity College cleared a massive psychological barrier when they defeated the traditional rivals Royal College 36-12 in another League Tournament fixture played at the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy.
In a dress rehearsal for the coveted Bradby Shield first leg encounter, Trinity went on to record a morale boosting win with the help of six tries and two conversions while Royal managed only four penalties.
The defending League champions St. Peter’s College bounced back into recognition with a hard-fought 24-17 win over a determined D. S. Senanayake outfit in an exciting match played at Bambalapitiya.
Even then, the Peterites had to survive a strong second-half rally from D. S. Senanayake, who threatened and did all the hard work in the second half after trailing 0-19 at the break.
Wesley College ended the first round with a strong performance as they outplayed the giant-killers Ananda College 43-11 in another League Tournament match played at Havelock Park.
The Wesleyites also kept their unbeaten record while running down seven tries during a fine-all-round performance as the Anandians were pushed to the Plate segment of the tournament.
Meanwhile, Thurstan College put up a stunning performance to beat the more fancied Vidyartha College outfit 31-24 in an exciting League Tournament match played at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo.
The Thurstanites, who were promoted to the Division 1 last season, were trailing 5-21 at half time before they staged a magnificent fightback to snatch a dramatic victory in the end. St. Joseph’s College came out with their best effort this season to hammer Sri Sumangala College, Wariyapola 67-7 in their League Tournament match played at Longden Place. St. Anthony’s College had the satisfaction of recording their first win for the current season when they defeated Science College 28-24 in a thrilling League Tournament match played at Mount Lavinia.
Meanwhile, Zahira College hammered Mahanama College 58-17 at Maradana while Kingswood College had the better of their hometown rivals Dharmaraja College 27-17 at the Nittawela Stadium in Kandy.
