Royal Under-19 Rugby Squad
Royal College and S. Thomas’ College will revive their rivalry once again when they clash in the annual Inter-Schools Under-19 rugby encounter for the Michael Gunaratne Memorial Trophy at Mount Lavinia on August 2.
In fact, Royal are hoping to retain the trophy for a record seventh year in-a-row while the Thomians are determined to notch up their first win in the series since 2016 having triumphed 21-15 at the Royal Sports Complex, thanks to a brilliant performance from Naveen Henakankanamge.
Royal have maintained a clear dominance over their rivals in the recent past and they have a proud track record of having won 18 out of the last 21 matches in the Royal-Thomian series.
Last year too it was heartbreak for the Thomians as they surrendered to their opponents ultimately 20-26 after having dominated the initial stages where they were able to build up a healthy 17-12 lead at half time. However, in the second half, S. Thomas’ managed to put over only a solitary penalty as Royal powered their way with back-to-back tries that helped them to add the finishing touches in a spectacular manner.
Royal delivered another ruthless performance in 2018 on their home grounds where they hammered the Thomians 55-0 while also notching up the highest score in the series.
That performance erased their previous best effort in 2015 where they cruised to a resounding 52-0 win at Havelock Park.
The Michael Gunaratne Memorial Trophy rugby series between Royal and S. Thomas’ commenced in 1962. Overall both schools have played in 67 matches with Royal leading the tally with 41 wins to their opponents 20 while six encounters have ended in a draw. Meanwhile, the Thomians have the opportunity to create a piece of history and complete a unique double of winning the Battle of the Blues cricket encounter as well as the rugby encounter over their opponents in the same year.
The last time S. Thomas’ clinched the double (cricket and rugby) at the Royal-Thomian was in 2005 at Havelock Park when under Namal Rajapakse they won the rugby encounter and won the Battle of the Blues Big Match under Videsh Balasubramaniam.
Royal achieved the rare double in style in 2023 under Randul Senanayake (rugby) and Dasis Manchanayake (cricket). In fact Royal have clinched the double on four occasions (1969, 1983, 2006 and 2023) while S. Thomas’ clinched the double twice (1964 and 2005).
Recent Royal-Thomian match-results: 2024: Royal won 26-20 at Royal Sports Complex, 2023: Royal won 26-6 at Mount Lavinia, 2022: Royal won 20-8 at Royal Sports Complex, 2020: No match, 2021: No match, 2019: Royal won 17-10 at Mount Lavinia, 2018: Royal won 55-0 at Royal Sports Complex, 2017: Royal won 31-14 at Mount Lavinia, 2016: S. Thomas’ won 21-15 at Royal Sports Complex, 2015: Royal won 52-0 at Havelock Park. 2014: Royal won 36-17 at Royal Sports Complex, 2013: S. Thomas’ won 29-20 at Havelock Park.
(Pix courtesy thepapare.com)
