Wesley the team of the week , St Peters and Isipathana pushed to the wall , whilst St Thomas almost slipped whilst in Kandy it was even Steven’s.
By Brian Thomas Reporting exclusively for SriLankasports.Com Edited by Christopher Jordashe.
St Peters 38 Ananda 22
Christopher Jordashe, our mentor had already stated that Ananda College from Maradana, who beat St Benedicts in the finals of the Presidents knock-out Premier championship, will be a threat to top contenders in the A division league.
We failed to report his views based on the fact that Ananda will be dealt with a different script in the A division league to that of B division standards.
Yesterday, we realised what Jordashe meant about Ananda College seemed a reality. The Defending champions St Peters was put to test by underdogs Ananda College , as Martis and his boys spent 70 minutes of uncertainty in their own backyard to state the least.
Scoreline 38 points to 22 at the long whistle after the lemons break being taken on 28 points to 19 in favour of the Bamba brigade , does not script the exact story.
It was pleasing to note that Ananda College was quick to the breakdowns. Forwards seem hard working, and the three-quarter runs straight and hard. These are good signs. Maradana lads are good in defence spoilt many dangerous moves by the Peterites.
No doubt, St. Peters looked the better team, but due to the long layoff from the park and the controversy, before the Presidents knock-out tournament must have got them off colour and they looked rusty in their rolling maul efforts, and their speedy three-quarters kept running into traffic. Ananda, on the other hand, was unlucky, not to add at least one more try in the second half, but credit to Peterites’ defence that stood rock solid.
St Thomas’s 29 Kingswood 28.
At Mount Lavinia, sadly, the Thomians made life difficult for themselves by losing concentration during the run of play.
Upfront off the kick-off, Kingswood scored in the 2nd minute. The culprit creating the opportunity for the visitors was none other than Wickramasuriya as he fumbled with a high ball collection from kick off, knocked on and gave Kingswood a 5 meter scrum with a Loose head opportunity.
Fresh legs for Kingswood with the game just 2 minutes on the clock , and their forwards kept pushing with their pick and drive against the heavy Thomian forwards to score by the right flank for a converted try as the visitors drew first blood with an early 7 points lead.
Thomian forwards then rallied around and used the aimless kicking by the Kingswood lads who not only gave away possession but were guilty of multiple infringements.
Thomians, through their heavy forwards, scored two converted tries and camped inside the red jerseys danger zone for almost 18 minutes on the trott.
Just before the lemons trumpet, Kingswood scored through a breakdown during the run of play that caught the Thomians napping. Hence, the breather was even Steven’s on 14 points each .
A try saving tackle by Bulathsinghala at the end of the first half was notable.
The second half showed clearly the Thomian grit. St Thomas outplayed Kingswood, taking full advantage of butter fingured ball handling , having no game plan with aimless kicking. The home team once again used their heavy forwards to score two more tries , converted one , Bulathsinghala with his golden boot converted a penalty as well, and the Thomians led 29 points to 14 as the game in favour of the home team looked done and dusted with 5 minutes on the clock.
People talk of the uncertainty in cricket, but yesterday at big clubs, the venue of the school by the sea, we saw Kingswood getting an upsurge in their adrenaline against the run of play they hacked two breakdown opportunities offered by St Thomas’ and Kingswood scored twice and the final score read 29 points to 28 in favour of the home team. Critics can state that the Thomians were saved by the bell , but I felt the come back by Kingswood fwas far too late, and the better side on the day won.
Vidyartha 24 St Joseph’s 24
Very competitive game at Nittawala , Josephians had a slender lead of 7 points to 5 at the breather.
The second half was a pendulum swinger as no quarters asked, no quarters given as the game was pretty scrapy in the first but turned out a flashy open contest that tied the game to a 24 all draw. Big question: Will this result have a toll in the points table of group 3 ?
Wesley 63 Science 15.
It is a one-sided game in which Wesley proved to be very hot favourites to join the super sixes if they can keep the momentum in tact for the rest of their games in group 1. Lemons were shared with the score on 35 points to 10 , hence, analysing Wesley’s performance in the second half proved they seem very consistent in their game plan and execution.
Isipathana 34 Mahanama 19.
If Isipathana envisaged a field day, the park like what Wesley , Royal, and Trinity enjoyed over the weekend, the Green Machine was in for a shock. They led 14 points to 12 at Lemons, and in the 48th minute, Mahanama led 19 points to 14, and the body language of Isipathana looked wandering to state the least .
Mahanama lost the plot in the line outs , losing 80 % of their throws , with infringements and two yellow cards, also adding to their loss.
A one-sided game was what the polls indicated at Havelock Park, the backyard of the Green Machine, but Mahanama proved we are here to play and not to participate.
The boys from Colpetty were excellent in defense by spoiling many green machine moves . In attack, Mahanama scored through individual brilliance, but Isipathana, using their expertise and experience, get over the line with a lot to think of in the remainder of their games period.
Lesson learnt no team will be easy period.Our team of the week is Wesley, followed by Royal and Trinity.
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