Trinity-Isipatana clash on July 7

Ranjeeva Seneviratne
RUGBY: One of the most looked forward to confrontations in the schools rugby calendar - the encounter between Trinity College, Kandy and Isipatana College, Colombo will take place in Pallekelle Rugby Stadium on July 7 (Saturday).
The Trinity-Isipatana encounters have always produced rugby of a very high standard and this year another enthralling encounter is on the cards. With the two teams being evenly balanced a close tussle for supremacy can be expected.
The Trinity-Isipatana rugby series began in 1981 with Ravi Bandaranayake's Trinitians winning the inaugural match by 9 points to 3 at Nittawela while in the following year Isipatana emerged victorious by 7-3 at Longden Place with skipper Dilroy Fernando scoring the match winning try.
This trend continued with Trinity winning in Kandy and Isipatana emerging triumphant in Colombo till 1996 when Bandula Mallikarachchi's Isipatanians broke the Kandy hoodoo with a 20-13 win at Bogambara. Five years later in 2001 Tisal Jayawardena's Trinitians ended the Colombo jinx with a stunning 6-3 win at the Sugathadasa Stadium.
The series tally stands at 12 wins to Isipatana and nine to Trinity with three games ending in draws-1990 (4-all), 1992 (13-all) and 1993 (five-all). In 1991 a friendly match was played between the two schools as Isipatana did not play competitive rugby. While in the year 2000, the match was not played due to a dispute between the two schools regarding the venue.
The Trinitians won last year's match at Bogambara by 17 points to 11 while Isipatana emerged triumphant in 2005 by edging out Trinity 6-5 at Havelock Park. The biggest win in the series was registered by Anuranga Walpola's Isipatanians when they beat Trinity by the staggering margin of 43 points to 8 at Pallekelle while Trinity's highest was recorded two years later when the 'Lions' led by Dhammika Senarath scored a resounding 25-7 win at the Bogambara Stadium.