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

2011 All Island Sevens

St. Peters College won the 2011 All island sevens tournament beating Kingswood College today in the final. S. Thomas’ College won the plate segment while Royal Panadura walked away with the bowl.
Cup finals – Peters win 6th consecutive trophy, remains ‘UNBEATEN’ (24-15)
St. Peters College the defending sevens champions came out with another superlative performance to beat a tough Kingswood side in the cup finals. St. Peters who won the Carlton schools sevens tournament back in 2009 never looked back since then, winning the western province and all island sevens tournaments, the interschool 2010 league and knock out tournaments and now the 2011 all-island sevens tournament.
Danushka Ranjan, Skipper Banuka Nanayakkara, Rizi Meedin, Dulaj Perera and winger Sandun Herath were the stand out performers for the Petes. St. Peters after an unbeaten season last year proved to be the team to beat from the outset. Kingswood College who had a good run up to the finals beating Trinity in the semi finals did not have the fire power to stop the marauding Petes from scoring. Lavanga and Oshan Perera were brilliant in attack but lacked support from the rest of the players.
Plate final – Thomian three-quarters pilot win (26-00)
The Thomian Three-quarters played their part in bringing them the Plate, in the interschool all island rugby tournament. Shevan Kapuwatte, Hashaka Senanayake, Danoj de Silva, and skipper Randika Pieris took the game the Lumbini players and walked away with a comfortable win against Lumbini. The Thomians having a disappointing run in the initial stages of the tournament rallied their troops to finish on top of the plate category.
Bowl Final – Royal Panadura take away the bronze (19-00)
Royal Panadura who displayed brilliant rugby from the start of the tournament were the ominous favourites going in to the second day in the bowl category. Their speedy three-quarters were no match to the Nalanda lads as they dished out typical sevens rugby at the Royal sports complex. The only chink in their armory was consistency but it was good enough to take away the bowl for the 2011 season.
Cup quarters review
SPC vs. IC - St. Peters College after dominating proceedings went on to clean sweep their opponants on day two after facing Isipathana College in their quarter finals. It was always expected to be a close tussle and St. Peters held their nerve to come out victors scoring 12 points to seven.
WC vs. Mahanama – Wesley who had an average start to the lsland tournament gave in a hearty performance to come out victorious by 31 points to nil. Mahanama did not have the right combination going in to the match and was knocked out during the early hours of the tournament.
KCK vs. POW – The Kingswood team completely dominated proceedings against the minnows from Moratuwa, pilling up 26-0 at the end of full time.
TCK vs. DC – Trintiy who have been tagged as one of the favourites this season had a tough time against the Rajans winning by just 7-0.

Plate quarter finals
Vidyartha 21 vs. Thurstan 07
Lumbini 33 vs. St. Aloysius 00
St. Sylvesters 24 vs. Royal 00
S. Thomas’ 26 vs. Ananda 07

Cup semi finals
St. Peters 31 vs. Wesley 05
Kingswood 14 vs. Trinity 05

Plate semi finals
Lumbini 24 vs. Vidyartha 12
S. Thomas’ 22 vs. St. Sylvesters 12

Trinity, Peters, Isipathana and Kingswood dictate terms on day one (All Island 7's)

March 5th, 2011

The all-island rugby football sevens tournament which is organized by the Sri Lanka schools rugby football association got underway today with Trinity, Peters, Isipathana and Kingswood taking major honors at the end of day one.

Trinity College and St. Peters in particular had some big performances against some of the mediocre teams with both teams accumulating 84 points in two matches played during the group stages. Kingswood on the other hand recorded the highest score for the day when they beat Zahira College 52 points to nil. Isipathana College who were probably the best sevens team in display, showcased their usual brilliance beating Lalith Athulathmudali and Vidyartha by 40 and 38 respectively while also maintaining a clean sheet in defense.

Prince of Wales College was the brave minnows as they stood tall ending up at the cup quarters beating the likes of Maliyadeva and Royal College Colombo which fielded a junior team. Dharmaraja the dark horse in the cup segment used their heavy players to good effect beating S.Thomas’ College Mt, and D.S Senanayake in the first round.

Day two will start with a cracker match with St. Peters College taking on Isipathana College in the first cup quarters at 8.20 am.

Results

TEAM
POINTS
TEAM
POINTS

St. Peters
43
Nalanda
-

Isipathana
40
Lalith Athulathmudali
-

St. Anthony’s
-
St.Aloysius
w/o

Wesley
36
St.Johns
-

Kingswood
24
Zahira
-

Royal
26
Maliyadeva
-

S.Thomas’
15
D.S Senanayake
10

Trinity
43
Royal College Panadura
-




Thurstan
17
Nalanda
05

Vudyartha
12
Lalith Athulathmudali
07

Mahanama
43
St.Aloysius
-

Lumbini
36
St.Johns
-

Zahira
15
St.Sylvesters
24

POW
22
Maliyadeva
05

Dharmaraja
17
D.S Senanayake
-

Ananda
19
Royal College Panadura
12




St. Peters
40
Thurstan
-

Isipathana
38
Vudyartha
-

St.Anthonys
-
Mahanama
w/o

Wesley
07
Lumbini
-

Kingswood
52
Zahira
-

Royal
05
POW
10

S.Thomas’
-
Dharmaraja
29

Trinity
40
Ananda
00



Day two schedule

CUP QUARTERS

• St. Peters vs. Isipathana
• Mahanama vs. Wesley
• Kingswood vs. Prince of Wales
• Dharmaraja vs. Trinity

PLATE QUARTERS

• Thurstan vs. Vidyartha
• St. Aloysius vs. Lumbini
• St. Sylvesters vs. Royal
• S.Thomas’ vs. Ananda

BOWL QUARTERS

• Nalanda vs. Lalith Athulathmudali
• St. Johns (Walk over)
• Zahira vs. Mahanama
• D.S Senanayake vs. Royal Panadura


www.thepapare.com

Tharindu among the best

At 15 he was in contention for a place in the senior squad and a couple of seasons later he had the distinction of representing the First XV 'sevens' team.

After many years of hard work and commitment Tharindu Siriwardena has emerged as one of the top number eight player in the current inter schools rugby scene.


Tharindu Siriwardena. Picture by Mahinda Vithanachchi

His latest heroics came last week when he spearheaded Isipatana College to a memorable 30-24 triumph against the arch rivals S. Thomas' College Mount Lavinia in a key inter school fixture.

This was a fantastic effort considering the fact that the team had earlier suffered two demoralizing defeats at the hands of St. Peter's College and Kingswood College Kandy respectively.

As a result Isipatana were faced with a must win situation and their chances of winning the title was quietly slipping away from their hands. But Tharindu Siriwardena grabbed the opportunity to produce his best performance this season with a great amount of courage and determination.

The skill level and the tactical play that he employed in this vital game certainly had a huge impact in the final outcome as Isipatana bounced back into recognition with a morale boosting victory.

They were almost down and out after the opening two fixtures in which they did not play to their potential where they hacked the forwards too much throughout the game.

But a change in their game plan transformed the entire Isipatana outfit into a formidable one which brought them the desired results at the end. Four tries even before half time and that was the kind of attitude that the lads from Havelock Park adapted to pull off a splendid victory despite the heavy odds against them.

Tharindu Siriwardena was in the thick of every move and he performed that role quite exceptionally while making some vital decisions when his side was under tremendous pressure.

He was able to plan out a superb strategy in the first half that helped them to build up a 30-12 lead and then organized a solid defence during the latter stages when the Thomians had launched a fierce late rally.

But Siriwardena as the pack leader and playmaker held his nerve and motivated his teammates that eventually helped them to come out of a tough situation. This was of course not the first time that he had performed a similar role having served the Isipatana First XV team for the past three years.

In fact his best outing was last year where he mastered one of the finest victories in schools rugby to beat a powerful Kingswood College team at the Bogambara Stadium in Kandy. Another effort that would always be in his memory is the try that he scored in the 2008 President's Trophy knock out tournament final against St. Peter's College. Even then Isipatana had to be content with the runners up position on that occasion.

Siriwardena of course started his rugby career as a centre three quarter under the guidance of his first coach A. C. Tennekoon. Thereafter he switched positions and joined the front row as a prop forward while representing the College Under 15 team.

He also had a liking to hockey and was the vice captain of the College under 13 and 15 teams. He was an all round sportsman at the beginning and played a major role in the junior basketball and cricket teams as well. But as time passed he settled with his favourite sport rugby and soon became one of the star players in the First XV team.

He also had the distinction of captaining the under 13, under 15 and under 18 teams respectively. In fact he was able to represent the First XV team at 17 years and from there onwards he went on to make vast strides in the schools rugby scene by playing in his favourite Number Eight position.

Siriwardena said that he obtains a great amount of satisfaction by playing in the third row which is one of the key positions in the lineup. No wonder his favourite ruggerite is the New Zealand skipper and flanker Richey Macko for his powerful tackling and well disciplined play.

Siriwardena has now reached his pinnacle in schools rugby and is hoping to make this season a memorable one by winning the rest of the matches in the Singer division one league tournament.

Siriwardena later came under the guidance of Sajith Mallikarachchi, Bimal Perera and Shamly Nawaz.

In fact he is privileged to be coached and guided by a former Isipatanian Shamly Navaz who himself as a number eight player has rendered all the assistance and the knowledge to become a top ruggerite.

Nawaz believe that Siriwardena is certainly a future Sri Lankan star and has already shown signs of taking the game into the next level.

He is a good lose player with the forwards and his leadership qualities are also quite excellent.

The Isipatana coach was really impressed with the kind of performance which he produced in the must win game against S. Thomas' College at Mount Lavinia.

He said that Siriwardena led the way by making some good decisions at vital stages of the game and was able to motivate his teammates during tough situations.

Nawaz was proud to state that young Siriwardena is now playing even better than he performed some time back after having absorbed all the experience and the knowledge during the last two seasons.

Nawaz said that he first came across Siriwardena during the 2008 inter school season and since then he has been able to make a tremendous improvement both physically and mentally.

Daily News, May 14th 2010

Isipathana record season’s second win

Isipatana College cruised to their second successive victory this season as they trounced Wesley College by a convincing margin of 35 points to 15 points in their Singer inter school under 20 Division I League rugby tournament match worked off at Longden Place, yesterday.

Isipatana collected their points from two goals, three tries and two penalties after having built up a commanding 28-10 lead at half time. The Wesleyans responded with three unconverted tries.

DailyNews, May 13th 2010

Isipatana bring down Thomians

Isipatana College have produced the ingredients of success for the first time in the current inter school rugby season. Last week they brought down the high riding S. Thoma’s College team with a stunning performance at Mount Lavinia.
This was a tremendous effort from Isipatana who went into this important game at the back drop some uncertainly having suffered two shock defeats at the hands of St. Peter’s College and Kingswood College Kandy respectively. But in a dramatic turn of events the lads from Havelock Park produced a different game plan as they went on to avenge their last years 12-28 defeat against the same opponents.
Despite performing away from home Isipatana got off to a flying start as they began to dictate terms against the more superior and heavy Thomian forwards. In fact Isipatana rattled up all their points in the first half and were able to build up a commanding 30 points to 7 points lead at half time.
This was clearly a completely different Isipatana outfit compared to their previous two matches, as they planted four early tries that turned out to be crucial at the end. In fact the early setback was certainly causing great concern in the Thomian camp as they began to regroup and stage a comeback in the second half.
The home team was able to reduce the deficit to a solitary try at the end after a great fight back and that was a creditable performance considering their position at half time.
Nevertheless Isipatana will take it because they have now kept their hopes alive of making some progress during the rest of the tournament.
Trinity v Kingswood
Trinity College Kandy pulled off a thrilling 21 points to 20 points victory over their home town rivals Kingswood College in another Singer inter school under 20 division one league rugby tournament match played at the Bogambara Stadium.
The Trinitians despite going in as the underdogs displayed a great amount of courage and determination to snatch a memorable win under tremendous pressure. They made their intentions clear from the kick off and took an early lead from which point they were able to consolidate their position.
However Trinity College had to survive a fierce late rally from Kingswood who made a great comeback during the latter stages of the game. In fact they almost turned this game in their favour following a spectacular try from skipper Rajitha Sansoni during the dying moments of the game.
However Sansoni crucial conversion went astray and with that Trinity College was able to pull off the game through a single point margin.
Royal v Dharmaraja
The defending champions Royal College cruised to their third successive victory as they trounced Dharmaraja College Kandy by 27 points to five points in another Singer inter school under 20 division one league rugby tournament match worked off at the Royal Sports Complex.
Royal are of course yet to face any stiff opposition this season having earlier played two of the weak opponents of the tournament Prince of Wales College Moratuwa and Wesley College respectively.
This time too they sailed through quite smoothly while scoring five tries that also helped them to collect the extra bonus point which could be decisive at the end. The major concern probably was the fact that they could convert only one of the tries which prevented them from winning the game by a much bigger margin.
St. Peter’s v Prince of Wales
St. Peter’s College playing like a champion side thrashed Prince of Wales College Moratuwa by a mammoth 164 points to nil in a completely lopsided Singer inter school under 20 division one league tournament match worked off at Havelock Park.
The Peterites never showed any mercy to their opponents who were making their A division debut, as they ran down as many as 26 tries out of which 17 were converted.
St. Peter’s College raced to a huge 80 points to nil lead at half time following a dazzling performance from their dynamic centre three quarter Dhanushka Ranjan who ended up with eight tries to his credit.
In addition winger Sandun Herath also grabbed the opportunity to make an impact as he touched down on six occasions.
Wesley v St. Anthony’s
St. Anthony’s College bounced back in style with a morale boosting 51 points to 12 points victory over Wesley College in their Singer inter school under 20 division one league tournament match played at Havelock Park.
The Antonians after two unsuccessful attempts finally got their act together well as they completely outplayed their opponents by running down seven tries during a magnificent performance. They were of course restricted to a certain extent initially but cut loose in the second half as they ran circles around the Wesley defence while conceding only a couple of tries.

DailyNews, May 11th 2010