Kingswood in stunning win over Isipatana

Former champions Kingswood College Kandy produced a superb second half rally to beat a powerful Isipatana outfit by 22 points to 15 points in a thrilling Singer inter school Under 20 division one league rugby tournament match worked off at Havelock Park yesterday.

The Kingswoodians who were trailing 12-15 at half time came back magnificently and turned the game in their favour while collecting their points from two goals, one try and one penalty.

Isipatana responded with one goal, one penalty try and one penalty.

Isipatana took the lead with a penalty try but came under severe pressure thereafter from the visitors who scored twice to snatch the initiative. First it was centre three quarter Mohamed Fazlin who touched near the corner flag with fullback Rajindra Sansoni adding the extra points.

Few minutes later Sansoni produced a beautiful piece of work to score their second try of the match while adding the finishing touches to a splendid three quarter move.

However Isipatana staged a good recovery and kept their hopes alive while scoring their only try of the match and also putting over a penalty shortly before half time.

Winger Umayanga Sooriyabandara did the honours with a superb dummy and fly half Prashan Attanayake responded with a neat 25 metre penalty as Isipatana went into half time with a slender 15-12 lead.

In the second half Kingswood College changed their tactics and launched a series of attacking moves through their third row which really put a lot of pressure on their opponents.

As a result winger Prabath Jayatilleke was able to slice through the Isipatana defence and score probably the match winning try, few minutes before the final whistle. Oshan Perera made no mistake with the conversion and almost immediately he followed up with a crucial penalty that completely sealed the game in their favour.

Thomians edge out Antonians

S. Thomas’ College went through some real anxious moments before recording a hard fought 15 points to 12 points victory over St. Anthony’s College in their Singer inter school Under 20 division one league rugby tournament match worked off at Mount Lavinia yesterday.

The Thomians collected their points from one goal, one try and one penalty after the scores were level 12 all at half time. The Antonians responded with one goal and one penalty.

Royal in 12-0 win

The defending champions Royal College pulled off a convincing 12 points to nil victory over Wesley College in their Singer inter school Under 20 division one league rugby tournament match worked off at the Royal Sports Complex yesterday.

Even then Royal were given a tough time by their opponents as they managed to score only one goal and one try after they had taken a close 5 nil lead at half time.

DailyNews May 1st, 2010

Isipatana out to redeem lost prestige

Isipatana College with a star studded line up are in search of their past glory as they look to redeem their lost prestige in the current inter- school rugby season.

They have retained virtually the same team that performed last year and with 13 coloursmen in their ranks they could be considered as strong contenders for the Singer Division One League title.

The Isipatana College First XV rugby pool for 2010. Pctures by Mahinda Vithanachchi

Last year of course their efforts ended in vain as they were pushed into the fifth place in the final points table after having recorded only five victories. Even then they were able to conclude the season on a positive note by emerging runners-up at the President’s Trophy knock out tournament.
Isipatana came very close to creating an upset as they went down fighting 19-22 in the final against S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia. Before that they had the better of Dharmaraja College, Kandy (27-21) in the quarter-finals and Wesley College (28-0) in the semi-finals respectively.
In the league tournament last year their finest moment probably came when they outplayed Kingswood College Kandy 25-19 in a key fixture at the Bogambara Stadium. Their success certainly had a great amount of significance as they were performing away from home and it also shattered Kingswood’s hopes of retaining the title for the second successive year.
In addition they defeated St. Peter’s College (22-12), Dharmaraja College Kandy (21-6), St. Joseph’s College and Mahanama College (39-10). But their hopes were
shattered following two major setbacks where they lost to St. Anthony’s College (10-12) and Trinity College, Kandy (15-27) respectively.
Isipatana College could look back at the past with a great amount of pride having produced as many as 53 national players since they started playing rugby in 1963. This is a fantastic achievement for a school which still does not own a playground of their own. As a result Isipatana are forced to depend heavily on their neighbouring Havelocks Sports Club which has been very supportive in providing the grounds free of charge for practices.

Ashan Chaturanga (captain)

Despite all these setbacks Isipatana College have continued to prosper and more importantly they have been feeding the national squad with some outstanding ruggerites.

In fact during the last couple of years the Sri Lanka team has been studded with five Isipatanians namely Dinesh Chaturanga, Srinath Sooriyabandara, Sajith Saranga, Reza Mubarak and Vishwamithra Jayasinghe. This is in addition to the number of youth players they have been feeding to the Sri Lanka Under 19 squad.
Isipatana of course suffered a shock defeat at the hands of St. Peter’s College by 8-27 in their opening match of the tournament at Havelock Park during the weekend.
But that will not be the end of their campaign and they will be even more determined to display their prowess in the remaining matches of the tournament.
In fact Isipatana will face two tough opponents during the next two weeks when they confront Kingswood College, Kandy and S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia respectively.
This will be followed by two traditional games against Royal College on May 29 and Trinity College, Kandy on June 5 respectively.
The Isipatana College First XV Rugby Pool for 2010
Prop forwards: Heshana Sudharaka, Dhanushka Sooriyarachchi
Hooker: Prasad Madushanka, Isuru Fernando, Marlon Hevavitharana, Nipuna Devinda
Second rowers: M. Gayashan, Rukshan Jalil, Muksheed Kuthdoos
Flankers: Sajid Suhayb, Deshanth Subashana, Ashan Kovinda, Kuvendra Dharmadasa
Number eight: Tharindu Anuruddha, Udaya Kumar, Nigel Nadeesha, P. Wickremasinghe, J. Deen
Scrum halves: Shenal de Costa, Mohamed Rizwan
Fly half: Prasad Devinda
Centres: Ashan Chaturanga (captain), Yuresh Fonseka, Mohamed Ali, Nikalanka Promoda, Uditha Shenal
Wingers: Umayanga Sooriyabandara, Prashan Attanayake, Chanaka Kumara, Sumedha Srimal
Full back: Malik Jumath, Shenal Dias
Coach: Shamly Navaz
The tournament fixtures:
April 30: v Kingswood College, Kandy at Havelock Park
May 8: v S. Thomas’ College at Mount Lavinia
May 12: v Wesley College at Longden Place
May 22: v St. Anthony’s College at Havelock Park
May 29: v Royal College at Longden Place
June 5: v Trinity College Kandy at Longden Place
June 12: v Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa at Havelock Park
June 19: v Dharmaraja College, Kandy at Bogambara

DailyNews - April 27th, 2010 - By Chris Dhambarage

Schools rugby kicks off on April 24

The 2010 Singer inter school Under 20 division one league rugby tournament will kick off on April 24 with ten teams vying for top honours. The tournament will conclude on June 19 with a total of 45 matches to be worked off across several venues in Colombo and Kandy.
The defending champions Royal College captained by centre Duminda Attygalle will launch their campaign for the title with a home match against Prince of Wales College Moratuwa at the Royal College Sports Complex in Reid Avenue.
However the key match for the first week will be the clash between two former league champions Isipatana College and St. Peter’s College which will be worked off at Havelock Park.
The Peterites of course have already made their presence felt in the current season having clinched the Western Province and the All Island Seven-a-Side tournaments respectively. In contrast Isipatana skipped the All Island tournament with the intention of preparing for the more important league tournament.
Isipatana have been training for the new season since October last year and very recently they had a highly successful training session up in Diyatalawa under the guidance of coach Shamly Navaz.
Isipatana will be captained by speedy centre three quarter Ashan Gallage and the side is further boosted with the inclusion of 13 top coloursmen. The other senior players in the lineup are vice captain and number eight Tharindu Siriwardena, flankers Deshanth Subashana, Sajid Suhayb, second row forward Muksheed Kuthdoose, prop forward Dhanushka Suriyarachchi, scrum half Mohamed Rizwan, fly half Prasad Devinda, centre Mohamed Ali, wingers Yuresh Fonseka, Prashan Attanayake and full back Malik Jamath.
St. Peter’s College who defeated Trinity College in the final to win the sevens title will be led by dynamic fly half Keith Gurusinghe and will have the services of several other coloursmen including number eight Shenal Dias, prop forward Steve Nelson, scrum half Rizwan Meedin, centres Bhanuka Nanayakkara, Dhanushka Ranjan and fly half Anish Fernando.
Meanwhile one of the important matches in the schools rugby calendar the clash between arch rivals Isipatana College and Trinity College Kandy will be worked off on June 5 at the CR and FC grounds in Longden Place.
Before that Isipatana College will lock horns with Royal College for the Major Milroy Fernando memorial trophy in their annual inter school rugby encounter which is scheduled for May 29 at Longden Place.
The defending champions Royal College will have two tough games during the latter stages of the tournament where they will take on the traditional rivals Trinity College Kandy in the first leg of the Bradby Shield on June 12 on their home grounds followed by another important game against S. Thomas’ College on June 19 at Mount Lavinia.
St. Peter’s College will have another tough game in their second outing for the season where they will be up against Trinity College Kandy on May 30 at the Pallekelle Stadium.
In addition the Royal - St. Peter’s clash which is also a much looked after contest in the schools rugby calendar is scheduled for May 22 at the Royal Sports Complex.
The schedule
April 24: Royal v Prince of Wales at Royal Sports Complex, S. Thomas’ v Wesley at Mount Lavinia, Kingswood v St. Anthony’s at Bogambara, Trinity v Dharmaraja at Pallekelle, Isipatana v St. Peter’s at Havelock Park
April 29: Wesley v Royal at Longden Place
April 30: Prince of Wales v Dharmaraja at Royal Sports Complex, S. Thomas’ v St. Anthony’s at Mount Lavinia, Trinity v St. Peter’s at Pallekelle, Isipatana v Kingswood at Havelock Park
May 7: Wesley v St. Anthony’s at Royal Sports Complex, Kingswood v Trinity at Bogambara
May 8: S. Thomas’ v Isipatana at Mount Lavinia, Royal v Dharmaraja at Royal Sports Complex
May 9: Prince of Wales v St. Peter’s at Royal Sports Complex
May 12: Isipatana v Wesley at Longden Place
May 15: Royal v St. Anthony’s at Royal Sports Complex, S. Thomas’ v Trinity at Mount Lavinia
May 16: Prince of Wales v Kingswood Royal Sports Complex
May 21: Wesley v Trinity at Royal Sports Complex
May 22: Royal v St. Peter’s at Royal Sports Complex, Isipatana v St. Anthony’s at Havelock Park, Dharmaraja v Kingswood at Bogambara
May 23: Prince of Wales v S. Thomas’ at Royal Sports Complex
May 29: Isipatana v Royal at Longden Place, St. Peter’s v Kingswood at Bambalapitiya, St. Anthony’s v Trinity at Nittawela, Dharmaraja v S. Thomas’ at Bogambara, Wesley v Prince of Wales at Royal Sports Complex
June 4: St. Anthony’s v Prince of Wales at Nittawela, Dharmaraja v Wesley at Bogambara
June 5: Kingswood v Royal at Bogambara, Isipatana v Trinity at Longden Place, S. Thomas’ v St. Peter’s at Mount Lavinia
June 12: Royal v Trinity at Royal Sports Complex, S. Thomas’ v Kingswood at Mount Lavinia, Isipatana v Prince of Wales at Havelock Park, St. Peter’s v Wesley at Bambalapitiya, St. Anthony’s v Dharmaraja at Nittwela
June 18: Dharmaraja v Isipatana at Bogambara
June 19: St. Anthony’s v St. Peter’s at Nittawela, Kingswood v Wesley at Bogambara, Trinity v Prince of Wales at Pallekelle, S. Thomas’ v Royal at Royal Complex.

DailyNews - April 16th 2010

Isipatana - strong contender for League Title

Isipatana College with no less than 12 coloursmen in their ranks will be a strong contender for the schools under 20 division one league rugby title this year.
"This year we field a formidable outfit and our aim is to clinch the division one league title which has eluded us for several years," said the Chairman of Isipatana rugby, Hassan Singhawansa.
"We have a powerful set of forwards and a speedy set of three quarters and our aim is to win the league title and make amends for our disappointing display last year, said Singhawansa.
Isipatana finished fifth in last year's league and went down fighting to S. Thomas by 21-22 in the Milo knock-out final.
This year the lads from Havelock Town will be led by centre Ashan Gallage and will have the services of seasoned campaigners deputy skipper Tharindu Siriwardena (No. 8), flankers Deshanth Subashana, Sajid Suhayb, lock forward Muksheed Kuthdoos, prop Danushka Suriyarachchi, scrum half Mohamed Rizwan, fly half Prasad Devinda, centre Mohamed Ali, wingers Yuresh Fonseka and Prashan Attanayake and full back Malik Jamath.
The Isipatanians are training hard under the watchful eyes of their coaches Shamly Nawaz and Sajith Mallikarachchi with Tavou Alailima as the fitness trainer. But the Isipatanians will face a strong challenge from St. Peter's and S. Thomas.
The Peterites who won the Rugby Sevens title by overcoming Trinity in the final will be led by fly half Keith Gurusinghe and will have the services of coloursmen No. 8 Shenal Dias, prop forward Steve Nelson, scrum half Rizwan Meedin, centres Bhanuka Nanayakkara and Danushka Ranjan and fly half Anish Fernando.
The Peterites will clash with Isipatana in the curtain-raiser of the tournament at Havelock Park on April 24.
The star studded Thomian outfit led by No. 8 Rajindra Gunasekera will take on last year's division two champions Wesley College at Mount Lavinia on the same day.
The Thomians who will have the services of 12 senior players will have outstanding ruggerites of the calibre of Anuruddha Wilwara, Jeremy Fernando, Shehan Muthutantri and last year's skipper Shaveen Kapuwatte.
Trinity led by hooker Damith Dissanayake will lock horns with Dharmaraja at Pallekelle on April 24 while on the same day home town rivals Kingswood and St. Anthony's will clash at Nittawela.
Last year's champions Royal led by centre Duminda Attygalle will play host to Prince of Wales at the Royal Sports Complex on April 24.

DailyNews, April 12th 2010

Isipatana-Peterite clash in curtain-raiser

Isipatana College led by centre Ashan Galage will confront St. Peter's College, Colombo in the curtain-raiser of the schools under 19 division one rugby tournament at Havelock Park on April 24.
The Peterites who won the Rugby Sevens title will be led by fly half Rizwan Meedin and will also have the services of players of the calibre of Rizwan Meedin, Bhanuka Nanayakkara, Danushka Ranjan and Sri Lanka Youth player Shenal Dias.
The Peterites who lost last year's match by 10-22 will go all out to avenge the defeat by overcoming Isipatana in this year's game.
On the same day the strong S. Thomas College, Mount Lavinia led by No. 8 Rajindra Gunasekera will play host to Wesley College at Mount Lavinia.
The Thomians who field a star studded team including 12 coloursmen will go out favourites against Wesley who have been promoted into Division One this year.

Dailynews - April 10th 2010.