Royal College went through some anxious moments before pulling off a thrilling 27-24 victory over the defending champions St. Peter’s College in a high-profile Inter-Schools Under-19 League Rugby Tournament Cup Championship fixture played at Bambalapitiya.
The Peterites scored back-to-back tries in a do-or-die battle to snatch the game in the dying moments, but Royal held their nerve under tremendous pressure and went on to regain the B. C. Anghie Memorial Trophy in style.
Trinity College dished out some superb fast open rugby to bring down their rivals S. Thomas’ College 36-19 in another Cup Championship encounter played for the Canon R. S. De Saram Shield at Mount Lavinia.
The Trinitians led from the start to the finish and were very much the dominant team as they underlined their superiority by scoring three goals and three tries and conceding only two goals and one try to their opponents.
Isipathana College brought an end to Wesley’s unbeaten run as they pulled off an exciting 21-17 victory in their Cup Championship match played at Havelock Park.
The reigning knock-out champions came under tremendous pressure initially and they were trailing 5-10 at half time before they built up momentum in the second half to turn the contest in their favour.
D. S. Senanayake College retained the R. I. T. Alles Memorial Trophy as they cruised to a convincing 41-35 victory over Zahira College in a high scoring Plate Championship match played at Maradana.
D. S. Senanayake built up a commanding 22-7 lead at the break, and they never looked back from there onwards and went on to add the finishing touches with six tries, four conversions and one penalty.
St. Joseph’s College survived a tough second half from their opponents Kingswood College before recording a hard-fought 33-22 victory in their Plate Championship match played at the Bogambara Stadium in Kandy.
The Joes were trailing by a solitary point (21-22) shortly after the break, but they rallied around beautifully and scored two decisive tries during the latter stages to seal the contest in their favour.
Ananda College recovered from an early setback to snatch a comfortable 36-17 victory over Sri Sumangala College in another Plate Championship match played at Rajagiriya.
The Anandians conceded two early tries to their opponents and were under pressure, but they soon settled down and built up momentum before securing an easy win with five tries, four conversions and one penalty.
Meanwhile, in the Bowl Championship. St. Anthony’s College rallied around magnificently to beat their hometown rivals Dharmaraja College 36-17 at the Nittawela Stadium in Kandy.
In addition, Science College recorded a morale boost 28-16 victory over Vidyartha College at Mount Lavinia while Thurstan College produced a fine all-round performance to hold the favourites Mahanama College to a thrilling 19-19 draw at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo.
