Thomians surprisingly lost Lady Jayatilleka’s shield, simply not knowing how to win and fail to finish for a 3rd time in the last minute.
Scrum and engage with Christopher Jordashe on SriLanka sports.com
Script writer: Brian Thomas
Let’s first check that pendulum on the clock as cup segment team St Thomas’ undone by plate runners up St Joseph’s in a game that swung to and fro .
What’s up St Thomas ? Defence is the key factor that they keep themselves in the lost list period.Defence in rugby is crucial because it’s directly linked to winning..
Before we dig deep into this game , the Thomians this year have a slip between the cup and the lip more often than not. The only team that was far superior to them was their own brother school,Trinity. The rest of the games they lost due to sheer unforced errors. Aimless kicking at crucial times was another key aspect to losing vital encounters.
This was a high scoring game 40 points to 36 with individual brilliance to that of cohesive rugby.
STC 5 SJC 00
Thomians showed early signs when they gained territorial advantage. However, the first opportunity for the Thomians was off a 30-meter scrum, which saw the talent of wing three-quarter Avishka Perera, who made a burst ran almost 15 meters un touched set up a maul , Thomians changed direction for Mayanka Dias to score by the corner flag.
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In the 16th minute, the Thomian defence faltering off a breakdown helped the Josephians to take the lead through a pick and drive for under the post try by Arshen Kumar.
SJC 14 STC 5
The Thomians this season have been wanting with their line kicking, another mis kick into the waiting hands of Hemish Gamage who did the hard yards , as the Thomian defence faltering and the try was under the post.
SJC 14 STC 12
It was in the 29th minute, and the Pendulum had a swing , the Josephians could not handle a forwards rush by the Thomians off a breakdown and Liyana Gunawardena Thomian half back scored mid left for a converted try.
Thomians take half time on 19 points to 14.
Just a couple of minutes to Lemons, it was an individual brilliance of the solid rock forward, namely Mickel Karunaratne. From a deep kick off the middle, the Thomians forward rush paid dividends when the burley Karunaratne took 3 Josephians on his shoulder to touch down mid left. Mayanka ensured the additional 2 points as the home team took Lemons with joy.
The turnaround saw early signs of the Thomians back into their aimless kicking mode . The Pendulum had another swing , a 22-meter driving maul, saw Hemish Gamage touch down under the post for a converted try to lead by 21 points to 19.
STC 26 SJC 21
In the 39th minute, it was an incredible individual brilliance by Avishka Perera, the Thomian wing three-quarter saw a 45 meter brilliant run , Avishka Perera show cased his brilliance in beating at least 5 defenders as he swerved and changed direction during his speedy run , to score under the post as the Pendulum swung towards the Thomians 26 points to 21 in favour of the Thomians.
SJC 28 STC 26
This game had its own unique agenda. This time the Thomians yet again faltering in defence, they let the Maradana lads into the lead by not tickling. Himesh Gamage the player of the match using his heavy shoulders pushed 4 Thomians defenders to score under the post in a pick and drive maul , to take back the lead.
Thomians now trailing by 2 points , with still 20 minutes on the clock , executed another individual brilliance, this time through Bulathsinghala. He beat the entire line defence of the visitors in a sudden burst , brushed off a few defenders to touch down by the corner flag, and the cherry was added to the icing by Mayanka Dias to get the home team back on track to lead by 33 points to 28
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The Thomians were still in the woods, the body language spelt it. The Josephians used their forwards, as the Thomian defence blundered. The Josephians skipper barged through a 5 meter scrum to take the lead back with a converted try.
STC 36 SJC 35
The game was almost done and dusted, as Mayanka Dias got a golden opportunity to put his team ahead , with a Penalty.
The 70th minute try by never say die by the Josephians.
This final push was yet again due to an unforced error by the Thomian forwards Jason Gnanadas. He knocked on a vital pass , which gave the Josephians entry into the Thomian white wash line through a scrum. The winning try looked held in but the TMO , surprisingly awarded it in favour of the visitors
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