By Brian Thomas.
The win predictor indicated a 60 to 40 % win in favour of Isipathana, but the tide almost overturned that prediction as Royal proved to Isipathana a game is not won until the final whistle is blown.
When Christopher Jodashe kicked my question to touch with the win predictor indication, he was absolutely gospel when he stated that Royal as underdogs are very unpredictable.
The Reid Avenue boys made a muddle in the middle of the first 20 minutes to let Isipathana touch down with three converted tries.
Isipathana not only took advantage of playing with the breeze but also their opponents’ poor defence in missing tackles, making a hash of line outs , isolating their players when the opportunities came their way to gain possession and secure territorial advantage.They made an effort to run on the short sights a few times but lacked finish in the first half.
They lost fly half Farook with a blue card injury. Did it prove futile as he was a key player ?
They were restricted with his play making skills and the benefits of his right boot. However, these unfortunate injuries to players on the field will be taken advantage of by a good opposition in any contested rugby game.
What were the Royal forwards doing , caught napping in defence ? They made forced errors to let loose , Shakib Zumri to push his way through their defence in the 10th minute and open the flood gates for a converted try.
The breeze helped Isipathana full back Sanjeepa with a deep kick into the Royal 5 meter danger zone , which went a begging with Isipathana getting the line out in their favour as the Royal defender had a fumble with the aid of the breeze in favour of the kicker.
Sadly, Royal could not stop the bulky ball carrier Nevad Mevanka Isipathana 2nd row forward from touching down for another converted try due to a lack of defence by their forwards.
Forced errors in breakdowns can be costly. Royal was even penalised for the prerequisite 10 meter rule for a penalty in their own backyard as the green shirts, using a forwards rush, by taking a quick tap with the white wash in sight to scored, try number three yet again through Nevid Mevanka , to lead by 21 points to nil. full back, Sanjeepa converted his third kick at goal.
Royal lacked possession and territorial disadvantage due to psychological thinking factors of being led by 21 points to nil in a do or die match , but Royals Yohan Pathirana, who joined the Royal line in a three quater move sent his winger Jayasuriya to score by the corner flag , just before the breather to register a consolation un converted try as Lemons were enjoyed by Isipathana with a 21 to 5 points lead making them to sit on an Ivory chair during the breather.
The second half started with a bang for the green machine as they are marketed for their rugby skills and dominance. They extended their lead by 3 points , as Royal kept making mistakes by being penalised in front of their goal post , as Isipathana looked pretty with a 24 to 5 points lead in the second half.
Sitting on an Ivory chair and taking things for granted almost cost Isipathana the game.
Royal showed a right royal grit when they secured the much needed possession with their forwards going shoulder to shoulder and feeding their three quarters with ball to touch down twice after the turnaround.
Lack of concentration , or is it lack of fitness, could be both because suddenly Isipathana was under the pump defending and flat footed as Royal pounced on them with the scoreboard reading 24 to 17.
Royal fans would have felt the absence of fly half Farook at this juncture because the Reid Avenue boys made in roads again for a third try with Isipathana forwards looking tired and their legs not pumping.
Yohan Pathirana, the Royal full back, had the ball in hand , but guess a brain fade let his boot over kick a possible cross kick attempt to his wing three quarter but only succeeding in over cooked it , as referee Alexander blew the final whistle and Isipathana breathed a sigh of relief instead of a celebration that they are in the finals against Trinity.
Lesson learnt a game is still active until the last bell calls. Guess Royal must have used the Trinity Motto in motion ” Respice Finem,” meaning look to the end, because they almost got their.
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