Establishment of Isipathana College Past Rugby Players Association

Establishment of the inaugural Isipathana College Past Rugby Players Association (ICPRPA), coming under the Isipathana College Old Boys’ Association, took place on 24th June,2011. The meeting was chaired by the Principal, Mr. A. C. Perera, and the objectives of the formation of such ICPRPA was for the purpose of establishing strong fellowship amongst the past rugby players of Isipathana College and also with a view to support to continue maintaining of the dominance of Isipathana College to be a leading rugby playing school in the years ahead too. Isipathana College within the last four decades has the distinction of producing a proud record of 54 rugby players to represent the nation team. Further several outstanding personalities of Isipathana College old boys have made invaluable contributions towards the ‘National Rugby Administration’ of Sri Lanka in the past few decades.

( Picture shows the establishment of the inaugural Isipathana College Past Rugby Players Association (ICPRPA) in progress. )



The Inaugural Committee of the Isipathana College Past Rugby Players Association (ICPRPA)



Patron: A. C. Perera – Principal & President of Isipathana College OBA



President: Ana Saranapala



Vice Presidents:



1. Sriyantha Rajakaruna

2. Group Capt. Nalin de Silva

3. Dilroy Fernando

4. Hisham Abdeen

5. Commd. H. K. Sisira

6. Saman Manchanayake – Chairman of Rugby OBA ExCo (Ex officio basis)

Secretary: Anura Serasingha

Treasurer: Nimal Luxshman



Committee:



1. Dayalu Perera

2. M. D. Ifthikar

3. Sajith Mallikaarachchi

4. Shiam Siddik

5. Shamly Nawaz

6. Viraj Prasantha

7. Wing Comd. Sanjaya Fernando

8. Nizam Jamaldeen

9. Selvin Salley

10. Hassan Sinhawansa


http://www.isipathanaonline.info/

Selection committee cuts junior squad down to 28

The Sri Lanka rugby selection committee cut down the junior rugby squad down to a 28 man squad yesterday after having their final selections at the Sugathadasa Stadium. However the squad of 28 is yet to confirmed and is awaiting ratification by the sports minister.

ThePapare conducted the final trial in form of the All star rugby encounter in which the new selection committee headed by Chandrashan Perera chose a squad of 35 players. An interesting inclusion amongst the final 28 players is St. Peters College fly half Dulaj Perera who was not in the initial squad of 35 players. ThePapare earlier mentioned that Dulaj Perera was a player who should be included in the final selection due to his obvious skills displayed in the schools rugby league tournament. His inclusion however has come in the expense of Royal College fly half Arshad Jamaldeen who is also the highest point’s scorer of the season.

The ARFU u-20 Asian championship which is supposed to be worked off on the 26th of June will feature 4 of the top teams in Asia which will include Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Sri Lanka who will be playing this tournament as a JWRT qualifier.

DATE- MATCH- TIME
26th June- Japan vs. Sri Lanka- 1800 hrs
26th June- Hong Kong vs. Thailand- 1939 hrs
29th June- Hong Kong vs. Sri Lanka- 1800 hrs
29th June- Japan vs. Thailand- 1930 hrs
2nd July- Thailand vs. Sri Lanka- 1730 hrs
2nd July- Japan vs. Hong Kong- 1900 hrs


Below is the squad of 28 which is yet to be ratified by the sports ministry

Props – Heshan Kalhara (KCK), Timira Galapaththige (TCK), Hafeez Adahan (TC), Kokila Hiran (WC),Nipuna Devinda (IC)

Hookers – Murad Ramzeen (TCK), Isuru Alwis (SPC) Prasad Madushanka (IC)

2nd Rows – Sachinthaka Perera (TCK), Randika Alwis (TCK)

Flankers – Jason Dissanayake (Vidyartha), Savinda Unamboowa (TCK), Sean Foster (TCK), Sajid Suhaib (IC)

Number 8 – Sanka Rajaguru (SACK), Shehan Pathirana (RC)

Scrum halves – Sanjaya Somasiri (TCK), Banuka Nanayakkara (SPC)

Fly halves – Devinda Prasad (IC)

Centers – Kanil Seneviratne (TCK), Dilshan Chathuranga (TCK), Danushka Ranjan (SPC), Shamal Chathuranga (IC), Oshan Perera (KCK)

Wing three’s – Lavanga Perera (KCK), Shashan Mohomed (TCK), Sandun Herath (SPC), Mekalanda Praboda (IC)

Full back – Dulaj Perera (SPC)

www.thepapare.com

Sri Lanka under 20 Squad announced

The Sri Lanka under 20 team is scheduled to play the ARFU Asian Championship in Hong Kong later this month. The team will be coached by Ellis Meachen, C.P. Abeygunawadene and Nihal ‘Viper’ Gunaratne.

The Sri Lanka Selection panel which has been rushed into selecting a squad selected a 35 man pool after ThePapare All star encounter last Thursday. After training together for a few days the pool was cut down to 28 on Sunday’s trial. The squad then played the final trial at CR&FC and the squad was cut down to the final 24.

Earlier today Murad Ramzeen was surprisingly appointed as the captain of the side over the expected Shehan Pathirana and Sankha Rajaguru. Shehan Pathirana will play the role of deputy skipper.


The squad that is scheduled to leave for Hong Kong on Thursday is;

Props- Hafeez Adahan (Thurstan), Heshan Kalahara (KCK), Thimira Galapaththige (TCK), Kokila Kiran (WC)

Hookers- Murad Ramzeen (TCK), Isuru Alwis (SPC)

Locks- S I Perera (TCK), Jason Dissanayake (VC), Randhika Alwis (TCK),

Flankers- Sajid Suhaib(IC), Savinda Unamboowa (TCK), Shehan Pathirana (Royal)

No 8- Sanka Rajaguru (SACK)

Half Backs- Banuka Nayayakkara (SPC), ) Sanjaya Somasiri (TCK)

Fly Half- Dulaj Perera (SPC),

Centers- Dhanushka Ranjan (SPC), ) Dilshan Chathuranga (TCK), Oshan Perera (KCK)

Wingers- Sandun Herath (SPC), Mekalanka Praboda (IC) Lavanga Perera (KCK) Sashan Mohammed (TCK)

Full Back- Devinda Prasad (IC)

The four stand by players’ are- Nipuna Devinda (IC), Sean Foster (TCK), Kanil Seneviratne (TCK) and Prasad Madushanka (IC)

Sri Lanka will face off against Japan in their first match on the 26th of June.

http://www.thepapare.com/

Close call for captaincy

With the ARFU under 20 Asian championship around the corner, the newly appointed selection committee is yet to name the captain of the side who will lead the young tuskers on tour. The Sri Lankan team which is supposed to take flight to Hong Kong on the 23rd of this month (Thursday) still has not confirmed the final squad.

There are three ‘top contenders’ for captaincy namely, Sanka Rajaguru (SACK), Shehan Pathirana (RC) and Devinda Prasad (IC), while Banuka Nanayakkara (SPC) and Murad Ramzeen (TCK) also represented Sri Lanka last year. Sanka Rajaguru was named as skipper of Kandy Reds by coach Nihal ‘Viper’ Guneratne while he led the Reds in the 1st and 3rd chucker of the All star rugby encounter while Murad Ramzeen led the team in the 2nd chucker. However there was only one captain named by the Colombo Blues coach C. P Abeygoonewardene for the All star encounter which was Royal College skipper Shehan ‘Lema’ Pathirana.

It was an interesting sight to see that it was Devinda Prasad from Isipathana who led the Colombo Blues on to the field from the changing rooms before the selection clash held last week after their coach named Pathirana as the captain prior to the game. Prasad who turned up for the junior national team in the previous year played a vital role in Sri Lanka’s performance therefore was treated as the most senior player even during their practice sessions leading up to the all star encounter. ThePapare crew who were in close quarters when the Colombo Blue were at training perceived that Prasad was the top candidate for the job and would have gotten captaincy over Shehan Pathirana due his leadership shown at the training sessions. Having said that, Shehan Pathirana is a consummate leader who has led an average Royal College side to the glimpse of a league championship, winning all their matches in the league and remain as the only unbeaten side of the league.

On the other hand Sanka ‘Raju’ Rajaguru the other contender for the title has been in the national squad from 2009 and is regarded as an inspirational leader. The bulky number eight from Katugastota who started playing in the front row showed what he was capable of at the all star game playing at number eight and might be the surprise package skipper for the national team considering his experience in the national arena.

It is learnt that the junior national team will be training on three occasions tomorrow (20th June) at the Sugathadasa Stadium while also playing a practice game against the CR&FC in the evening. The selection committee who has handed in their final 28 for ratification from the sports ministry will have a tough job in their hands choosing the right candidate for captaincy.

The five man selection team headed by Chandrashan Perera who were appointed the day of the All stars encounter named a 35 man squad the same day and reduced it to a 28 man squad on the 19th of June. The five members who are all former national players are regarded highly in the rugby circles. Sri Lanka faces an acid test in their opener against the top nation in Asian rugby, Japan on the 26th of June.

www.thepapare.com

Pathana second half rally demolishes SPC fortunes

Scintillating second half rally saw Isipathana College thrashing determined St Peter’s College at Bambalapitiya this evening. Both sides displayed some good fast rugby but Isipathana College proved that they can adjust themselves and dominated in the second half.

Half Time Score 15-11 SPC Leading

Full Time Score 42-29 IC Won

St Peter’s College once again proved that they have got one of the weakest packs this season as almost every scrum was destroyed by Isipathana College. In the line outs too St Peter’s could not do better as they fumbled all the time. Isipathana College showed their superiority in scrums, rucks & mauls where St Peter’s College showed much talent in the line.

IC opened scoring in the 5th minute with try at the far right and the conversion went astray. In the 14the minute SPC scored a brilliant try to level the scores 05-05.

Then IC was awarded a penalty and they took up the lead 08-05. Immediately after that we saw a superb try by Dulaj Perera which took SPC in to the lead at10-08.

Few minute later IC converted a penalty to come in the lead 11-10, but it lived very short as Banuka Nanayakkara scored a brilliant try to take SPC to a half time lead of 15-11.

After the turnaround it was all the way for Pathana who scored 2 tries and 2 goals just in the space of 17 minutes to take them to a unassailable lead 35-15.

However SPC managed to score a goal to reduce the gap 35-22 but IC had not finished as they scored yet another goal to take them up to a 42-22 lead. In the dying stages of the game SPC scored another goal to make the final score 42-29.

At Full time Scores were 42 (3 goals/3 tries/2 penalties) to – 29 (2 goal /3 tries)

Referee D. Nimal had good match under his control.

Junior Rugby

Under 12

Isipathan won 21-12

Under 16

St Peter’s won 24-15

Isipathana determined to win schools league title

Isipathana are determined to clinch the Under-20 inter-school league rugby title this year after a lapse of 10 years. Having made a reputation for fast running rugby from its inception Isipathana has a well balanced team with a mobile and heavy set of forwards to assist their speedy three-quarters.
“I have a strong feeling that Isipathana could reach the top of the table when the season ends. This also means that we will be league champions after a decade. With no other tournaments at sight in the near future, we are totally focused with that goal,” stated Viraj Prasanna, the Isipathana coach.

Viraj Prasanna (Coach)

Prasad Devinda (Captain)

In addition to their strengths which are the formidable three-quarter line, Isipathana also have retained the services of almost thirteen senior players from last season. The newcomers to the side also have made their presence felt with great ambiance at the same time challenging their senior team mates for positions. These facts were well proven when coach Prasanna combined the experience and talent to record two good wins against Dharmaraja 37-15 and St. Anthony’s 31-3. However in their third match against Royal, Isipathana were put under pressure and succumbed to a slender defeat by one point. The game ended in favour of Royal at 11-10.

“The defeat at the hands of Royal does not mean Isipathana played bad rugby. We were really good but could not make the finishing touches. But when compared to the first two games where we recorded wins, the performance was far ahead. It’s really a good indication. We are improving after every game and going with our strengths to achieve what’s in our minds,” Prasanna added.
With their one-point calamity against Royal firmly placed in their minds, Isipathana went on to approach each game with a positive frame of mind. They were not ready to underestimate their opponents and went on to win the two games with great confidence. They beat giant killers Science by 23-17 after surviving tremendous pressure and a week later put a full-stop to avenging St. Joseph’s at 29-23. They crushed Wesley by 46-3 two weeks ago and last weekend carried on with their tremendous form with an emphatic 77-3 win over S. Thomas’.

“I really was not ready to take the risk of giving overambitious targets to our players. I knew that they are potentially talented players with born ability. My job as the coach is to give them the correct guidance and built their characters as sportsmen. In addition, my style of approaching into things was taking a step at a time. This gave the players that target which is to focus and win the match on that particular week. This has worked quite well for us thus far,” Prasanna who is also a product of Isipathana added.
Unlike recent years, this season Isipathana has made drastic changes to on field preparations and approach. This includes two separate huddles, one for the forwards and the other for the three-quarters before the first whistle and at the time of half time. This follows with a single huddle before the team takes the field. Prasanna who is a neat spotter of loose play said that during play he prefers to give the skipper total control of the game.

Isipathana rugby squad

“With these huddles I intend to give them a quick briefing about the way they should take the game on. I prefer to make it a very small briefing as players naturally don’t keep everything in their heads, especially when they are nervous before and in-between a game. Days before the match we discuss our game plan which could fit the opponents. On the big day I give the captain the freedom to lead his team. Clauses that failed to materialize then would be discussed through a friendly team chat. After each game the players tend to do very little mistakes,” he revealed.

Isipathana last won the schools league championship in 2001 under the captaincy of Ranga Perera but during this phase they were able to emerge as runners-up in 2007. Additionally they have emerged as runners-up in the Presidents Trophy knockout championship for three successive years since 2007. With last year’s season also proving to be a mix of fortunes, they are ambitious to go for the gold after a decade. With six matches ahead for them Prasanna was highly confident that Isipathana can reach their target without a doubt.

“The season has still got six weeks of rugby ahead. I know it’s premature to assume things but with our strategy of approach by the end of the season thing could favour our aim,” Prasanna said.
Isipathana rugby squad:

Prop forwards: Nipuna Devinda, Thusitha Mithraratne, Chanuka Dissanayake
Hookers: Manaka Siriwardena, Prasad Madushanka
Locks: Vasula Wimalaweera, Ganidu Lakshan, Senal Deelaka, Arun Kumar
Flankers: Kumendra Dharmadasa, Ashan Kavinda, Hasitha Udyoga
No.8: Sajith Shuaib
Scrumhalf: Kavindu de Costa
Fly half: Hirantha Perera, Prashan Attanayake
Centres: Prasad Devinda (Captain), Ashan Gallage, Shamal Chaturanga
Wingers: Mekalanka Pramoda, Shenal Dias, Umayanga Sooriyabandara, Uditha Tharanatha
Full back: Shanaka Kumara, Malik Jumad

The SundayTimes

June 5th, 2011

Peterite-Isipatana in grudge battle

The Singer inter-school Under 20 Division One League tournament will reach its climax when the reigning champions St. Peter’s College take on Isipatana College in a key fixture at Bambalapitiya on June 11 (Saturday).

Both teams are in contention for the richest prize in the schools rugby scene this season along with the table leaders and the unbeaten Royal College team. St. Peter’s and Isipatana have the identical record in the tournament with seven victories from eight outings.

The Peterites suffered their only defeat this year against Trinity College Kandy (10-34) on their home grounds while Isipatana went down fighting 11-10 against Royal.

Despite the two defeats both St. Peter’s and Isipatana have made steady progress and have kept their hopes alive of winning the league championship. In fact both teams will take the field with confidence having recorded victories in their previous outings.

Isipatana of course had the satisfaction of overcoming Trinity College Kandy 23-18 at the Pallekele Stadium while St. Peter’s College recorded a huge 59-7 triumph against S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia.

The Peterites have scored the most number of tries in the tournament 57 and 27 conversions with a tally of 359 points to their credit. This is mainly because they have been able to register some big victories in the tournament.

In fact they started off with a bang defeating Science College (48-7), Thurstan (61-6), Dharmaraja (54-5) Wesley (62-7) and St. Anthony’s (42-10). After their shock defeat against Trinity, the Peterites again recovered to beat their traditional rivals St. Joseph’s (23-17) and S. Thomas’ (59-7).

In contrast Isipatana had a quiet start to their campaign where they defeated Dharamaraja (37-15) and St. Anthony’s (31-3) before losing to Royal by a solitary point 10-11.

However Isipatana bounced back in style and continued with their winning ways while overcoming Science College (23-17), St. Joseph’s (29-23), Wesley (46-3), S. Thomas’ (77-3) and Trinity (23-18).

Meanwhile Wesley College will be looking to register their second win for the season when they take on Thurstan College in another Singer Division One League tournament match at Longden Place on Saturday.

In addition Science College will travel up to Kandy for the second successive week to play against St. Anthony’s College at the Nittawela Stadium while Dharmaraja College will meet St. Joseph’s College at the Bogambara Stadium with both matches on Saturday.

DailyNews
June 08th, 2011

Isipatana in superb win over Trinity

Isipatana College produced a magnificent performance to beat Trinity College 23-18 in a key Singer inter-school Under 20 Division One League tournament fixture worked off at the Pallekele Stadium.

Isipatana’s success had a great amount of significance as they had the better of their arch rivals after a lapse of three years. In addition they had the satisfaction of overcoming their opponents away from home which was another creditable achievement.

In a thrilling game that swung either way from the kick off both teams scored three tries each but Isipatana committed the least number of mistakes and held their nerves before registering a memorable victory at the end.

There were early signs that this match would turn into a blockbuster with both teams scoring a try and a penalty in the first half. However Isipatana stepped up the gas in the second quarter with their backline coming into their own through a series of threatening moves.

Skipper and dynamic centre three quarter Prasad Devinda led from the front while full back Shanaka Kumara also played a major role in their success while putting over a crucial penalty and a match winning drop goal.

This victory would give Isipatana a tremendous morale booster ahead of their crunch game against the defending champions St. Peter’s College this weekend at Bambalapitya.

However for Trinity College their third defeat this season have put them out of contention for the League title but more importantly it will be a huge setback ahead of their Bradby Shield second leg against the traditional rivals Royal College in Colombo on Saturday.

DailyNews

Tuesday, 7 June 2011