Scrum and Engage Script by Brian Thomas
Edited by Christopher Jordashe, reporting for SriLankaSports.com
What excitement at Bambalapitiya today as the pendulum swung a shade too late for the hosts, as Royal won by 27 points to 24 after being led by 14 points to 8 at the breather.
The first half belonged to St. Peter’s, despite the home team having a negative kick-off, which referee Abeykoon had to call back to center, with Royal given the loosehead, due to the Peterites’ center kick falling 10 metres short. Some may consider this a bad omen? We would soon find out.
Royal took advantage of the loosehead scrum, and Idris Farook kicked deep into the Peterites’ territory and forced a 5-meter lineout as early as the 4th minute. The Peterites were guilty of an early infringement, and Royal made their intentions clear by forcing a 5-meter lineout, as opposed to opting for the golden boot of Idris Farook to tee off at the post.
The rolling maul worked effectively at last for the Royalists. Guess at last, coach Lewke would have breathed a sigh of relief, as Royal drew first blood through their forwards for an unconverted try.
Royal 5 St. Peter’s 0
St. Peter’s slammed right back with a fantastic move by burly forward Janith Ratnayaka, who muscled his way through 3 Royal defenders and slipped a backhand pass for Peterites forward Revan Perera to score, as Royal’s fringe defence lacked mobility. Try was converted.
Royal 5 St. Peter’s 7
St. Peter’s missed another scoring opportunity due to an unforced error. With the whitewash line staring at them, the reliable Peterites three-quarter line butterfingered an opportunity, and the loosehead scrum gave Royal an opportunity to camp in Peter’s territory, thanks to the boot of Nadun Pathirana.
Peterites infringed again. This time, the tackler was penalised, but surprisingly, Royal opted to tee off instead of going for a lineout. Idris Farook, as expected, got the penalty over and the pendulum swung.
Royal 8 St. Peter’s 7
Intermediate dehydration was taken in the 20th minute, after which we saw the Peterites’ brand of rugby of yesteryear.
The Bamba brigade played attacking rugby, and Royal was pushed against the wall. Senuk Dinsara showed his running prowess — the fullback brushed past 4 hapless Royal defenders with a show-and-go skill level, whilst the three-quarters were set in motion for Peterites to take a 14 points to 8 lead at the breather, since this brilliant try was scored under the post.
Royal 8 St. Peter’s 14
Royal was guilty in defence; to add salt to the wound, playmaker Sithumina was sin-binned for a high tackle just 40 seconds before lemons.
Half-time: St. Peter’s 14 Royal 8
The lemons would have tasted sour for the Reid Avenue boys, as they had to play with 14 men on the park for the first ten minutes after the breather — and that too against the Peterites’ strong three-quarter line — as Royal had to live with only 7 men in the forwards to defend.
Royal played it smart in the second half, marking time until they had Sithumina back after his sin-bin break.
Peterites sadly looked a bit jaded, as Royal spread the ball by getting their back three in motion, attacking the Peterites’ fringes whilst working the line for skipper Samarasinghe to score mid-left — their go-to flank — and Idris Farook gleefully added a couple of points for his skipper’s try, and Royal were back in the hunt with a 15 points to 14 lead.
Royal 15 St. Peter’s 14
The pendulum swung in favour of Royal again. Royal looked a team with intent and purpose in the second half. Peterites looked jaded, as Royal extended their lead through a ruck, with fresh legs of Imtikar Nazir scoring, as Royal grew in confidence to now lead by 22 points to 14.
Royal secured possession yet again due to St. Peter’s kicking aimlessly under pressure. They knew that the home team was now under pressure, and the Reid Avenue boys worked their three-quarter line again off a breakdown for skipper Samarasinghe to score his second try.
Royal took an unassailable lead of 27 points to 14, with the home team crowd tongue-tied at Royal’s display in the second half.
Royal learnt a lesson today — that it is not over till it’s over.
With 10 minutes on the clock, the Peterites hit back. They found access into Royal territory off a breakdown, and scored a try through the individual brilliance of scrum-half Jamal Wahab, and the crowds erupted as St. Peter’s moved to 19 points to 27 — a lead they had conceded to Royal.
By this time, the referee kept vigil on his watch, and in the run of play, the Bamba brigade scored another try by the corner flag, exposing Royal’s lack of defence in the fringes yet again.
Sadly, the Peterites lacked a good placekicker, and this was a contributing factor to their loss by 27 points to 24.
Finally, the inability to field a reliable placekicker cost them dearly.
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