S. Thomas’ College staged a dramatic second-half comeback to defeat St. Peter’s College by 28 points (four goals) to 26 points (three goals, one try) and retain the Archibald Perera Memorial Trophy in their Second Round Cup Championship clash of the Dialog Schools ‘A’ Division League Rugby Tournament, played at Mount Lavinia yesterday.
In a thrilling game played under sunny skies, the scores were locked at 14-all at half time but the Thomians produced a composed and scientific second half performance to seal a hard-fought two-point victory.
It was St. Peter’s who started strongly, as centre Senuk Dimsara crossed the line after receiving two crisp passes from Skipper Vishenk Silva and a forward. The conversion was made with ease, giving the home side a 7-0 lead in just the sixth minute.
Prop forward Januth Ratnayake then barged over in the 19th minute followed by a successful conversion from winger Jeo Rajith, extending the Peterite lead to 14-0.
But the Thomians responded quickly. In the 23rd minute, fly half Udan Bulathsinhalage touched down after collecting a pass from winger Mayanka Dias, who added the extras to make it 7-14.
Soon after, powerful centre Chanuth Eheliyagoda broke through the Peterite defence and scored with Dias making no mistake again with the conversion, levelling the scores 14-14 at the break.
After the restart, the Thomians took control. They scored an early converted try to move ahead 21-14. Six minutes later, winger Mayanka Dias sprinted past several defenders to score a bonus-point try, stretching the lead.
In the 51st minute, Bulathsinhalage struck again with a dazzling solo effort and Dias slotted in the easy conversion to make it 28-14.
The Peterites suffered a blow in the 56th minute when speedster Revon Perera was shown a red card, reducing them to 14 players. Still, they fought back bravely. Shenuka Perera scored twice in the closing stages – once unconverted and once converted – but time ran out for the visiting team.
Despite a strong rearguard, St. Peter’s fell just short as the Thomians held on for a narrow 28-26 win, reclaiming the Archibald Perera Trophy in a pulsating contest.
Referee: Jeewaka Fonseka
(Pic: Sulochana Gamage)
