S. Thomas' College Vs Kingswood College - 2009 (STC - 14 : KWC - NIL)
played on
Saturday, the 27th June 2009 at Bogambara Grounds, Kandy.
Thomians inflict
second defeat on Kingswood -
http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2009/06/28/spo13.asp
by S. M. Jiffrey ABDEEN- Kandy Sports
Corr.
St. Thomas' College,
Mount Lavinia made sure of securing the runner-up berth in the
Schools Rugby tournament when they beat Kingswood College by 14
points (2 goals) to nil in their school under 20 `A' Division rugby
tournament match played at the Bogambara stadium in Kandy. At half
time there was no scoring.
Match started late and
midway there was a further 15 minute delay for the change of jerseys
by the Kingswoodians.
Most part of the match
was played in heavy rain and the wet grounds conditions was not
conducive to open rugby. There were puddles of water which made
conditions muddy. To make matters worse the lines on the ground were
not visible which made the referee's and touch judges tasks
difficult.
The Thomian had a chance
of opening their account early when a penalty was awarded to them,
but winger Arjun Manoharan's kick was off target. These after play
was confined to the forwards which resulted in a barren first half.
There was hardly any move of role with the three-quarter getting
very little of the ball.
The referee A. Rankothge
ran into problems as both teams were wearing dark blue jersies and
there was difficulty in identifying the players. Play was stopped
for 10 minutes or more after the short break Kingswoodian being the
home team were requested to change their jersies. The Thomian
forwards exerted tremendous pressure in the second half resulting in
a series of scores. On one occasion their forwards rushed so hard
that they were over the goal line but a quick clearance by
Kingswoods full back Rajitha Sansoni saw play being driven away.
In the 10th minute the
Thomians launched another attack on Kingswood's defence and this
time the Thomian No 8 Rajidra Gunasekera went on mid right. Winger
Arjun Monoharan added the extra points
Ten minutes later came
the last try of the match the Kingswoodian were pressing hard to
score and were within the Thomian 22. But full back Jeremy Fernando
intercepted a pass and made a daring run and covered 20 metres
before sending a pass to centre Anuradha Wilwara who made a
scorching 70 metre run to come around and touch down under the
posts. Arjun Manohara added the extra ppoints.A. Rankothge refereed.
Second half rally gives Thomians
win -
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/090628/Sports/sp208.html
Held to no score at half time, the
Thomians performed their customary second half rally to defeat
Kingswood by 14 points (2 goals) to nil in a mud-larkers contest at
Bogambara yesterday.
Predictably, the Thomians played with their forwards and despite
plenty of good ball coming their way, could not find their way over
the line. Kingswood defended stoutly and even launched some
counter-attacks.
The Thomians attacked from the start of the second half and
dominated it despite the entry to the fray of inspirational Roshan
Weeraratne. The Thomians used the rolling maul well and suddenly
number eight Rajindra Gunasekera squeezed his way over. Manoharan
was on target.
The winners had the scent of blood in their nostrils and
unsurprisingly they scored again.
Kingswood were on the attack and ten yards from the goal line
Thomian full back Jeremy Fernando, who had an outstanding game, got
the ball and waltzed his way about 30 yards.
His pass was collected by centre Anuruddha Wilwara who out-smarted
two defenders and ran around 70 yards to touch down. Manoharan added
the extra points.
Kingswood’s full back Ranjith Sansoni relieved pressure time and
again with his booming kicks.
Referee: Aruna Rankothge. - AK
Thomians thrash
Kingswood despite ‘jersey change -
http://www.island.lk/2009/06/28/sports9.html
by Rukshan Razak
S. Thomas’ College,
Mount Lavinia, proved themselves to be better ‘mud larkers’ as they
recorded a roaring 14-0 win over defending champions Kingswood
College, Kandy, while breaking a 14-year hoodoo in a match where the
home team displayed a fine sense of sportsmanship by changing their
jerseys midway due to a difficulty in distinguishing the players at
Bogamabara Stadium in Kandy yesterday.
The Thomians took home
the honours after 1995, winning under Hans Willimora who defeated
Kingswood under Nalaka Weerakkody and since then it has been
Kingswood all the way which makes this win for the Thomians an
significant one.
This inter-school
rugby encounter that had to be played in wet and slippery
conditions, due to heavy rains experienced in Kandy, while not
losing the quality of rugby, did transform into one of the finest
games and both teams should be complemented for that.
It was the robust
forwards of S. Thomas’ who did much of the hard work for their three
quarters to deliver the results and they were far ahead of their
opponents in set pieces while the home team dominated in the loose.
The winners scored their points off two goals while depriving the
home team of any breakthroughs.
Both teams that got
into the field with identical jersey coulors, saw a scoreless 1st
half where the two teams had their chances but solid defence
prevented both side from scoring.
The last ten minutes
of the 1st half that lowered the excitement due to heavy showers,
led to a situation where the referee Aruna Rankothge found it
difficult to differentiate the players of the two sides due to their
identically coloured jerseys while transforming them into mud-coated
outfits, and prior to the resumption, the referee requested the
teams to wear different colours and the players of Kingswood were
gracious enough to adhere to that request.
They returned to the
field with jerseys of their junior team which the senior lads found
a bit small. Yet their attempt to keep the game moving should be
viewed with appreciation. The Kingswood captain, Roshan Weeraratne,
who was short of a jersey of a different colour, was offered one
which was worn by their coach Nilufer Ibrahim in an act which
emanated a great quality of sportsmanship.
The 2nd half that got
off to a late start, saw the control of the game fluctuating to
either side and finally it was the Thomians who succeeded to
penetrate the rival defence. This was possible as a result of a
number eight break from a wheeling scrum, ten meters away from the
score-line. It was R.S.P. Gunasekara who went over to draw first
blood in the 10th minute of this half and winger Arjun Manoharan was
there to place Mount Lavinia lads on top by 7-0.
Subsequently, the
Randle Hills lads made a valiant attempt off the efforts of their
full back, Rajitha Sansoni but after covering a good 40m, the ball
almost popped up off his hands and, gaining advantage of this flaw,
the Thomians worked their three quarters where their winger
Manoharan offloaded to the 1st centre Wickramasinghe and then to
Anuruddha Wilvara who dashed well over 70m before touching down near
the post in the 23rd minute of play. Manoharan put over to make it
14-0.
Afterwards, the home
team made some brave efforts to cut through but poor handling missed
them at least two good chances of scoring, out of which one was
almost on the try line. Yet the visitors should be commended for
their rigid defence that prevented the host from making any
breakthroughs in the dying stages of the match.
