"GREENS" fail yet again... ( Isipathana 10 -- St.Peters 27 )

For the 3rd consecutive year isipathana got off to a horrible or rather dreadful start when they went down to a well knit St.peters outfit 27points (2 goals,2 tries,1 penalty) to 10 ( 1 goal,1 penalty) in their opening match of the singer A division schools rugby league worked off at Havelock park.

The home side was led by no.08 Tharindu Siriwardane as skipper Ashan Gallage was unavailable due to injury.And scrum half M Rizwan and center M Ali whom also did not feature in this game ,always played in patches and they simply couldn’t cope with the speed and power of the SPC back division.

It was isipathana who took the lead as early as the first minute when Prasad Devinda booted over 22 meter penalty. However the peterites then launched wave after wave of attacks and it seemed it was just a matter of time for them to score however pathana just managed to halt them thanks to some last ditch tackeles which were made in utter desperation. SPC then came into level terms when their fly half Dulaj Perera who made his debut for St.peters after crossing over from wesley puting over and easy penalty. 10 minutes later St.peters took the lead after some scrappy defending from the pathana line.Full back Shenal Dias was caught in two minds and decide to kick a ball which was coming at him but kicked it directly at the SPC wing who wiggled his way score mid right.Dulaj missed the conversion.Isipathana then came back strongly and were trying hard to score. But then came a moment of which every pathana supporter felt disgusted of.SPC were awarded a scrum in their own 22. And center Dhanushka Ranjan ran right through the pathana 3 quarter line and sprinted nearly 100 yards to score under the posts.Dulaj made the easy conversion and SPC went into half time with 15-3 lead.

After the resumption pathana seemed to have organized their strategies but gave away possession very cheaply and when they did the peterites came rampaging thus gaining hard and valuable yards for their side.then came a moment of controversy when the peterite back division made a forward pass and the ball fell into the hands of the pathana wing umayanga sooriyabandara who was through but referee Irshad cader called back the play and then awarded a scrum to the home side much to the amazement of every1.SPC then scored yet again when powerful second rower shenal dias sneaked through the defence to score and scrum half Rizwan Meedin made no mistake with the conversion. 10 minutes later SPC seemed to have given the killer blow when another try was scored by their winger by now all hope was lost with the score board reading 27-03 in favor of SPC. pathana did get a concolation try when no.08 Tharindu Siriwardane barged over for a try under the posts with Devinda prasad making a quick conversion.with the game almost over the greens however did come back strongly but it was just too late as the final whistle was blown.

For SPC Shenal Diasz,skipper keith Gurusinghe, centers Bhanuka Nanayakkara and Dhanushka Ranjan were outstanding punching gapin holes in the pathana defense. For the greens they will have to improve in almost every component of the game if they are to prove anything this season. They missed a lot of tackles and seemed to be lacking the stamina. And three quarters seemed poor in defense and slow in attack. It will be interesting to see how the greens will come back in their next game against a strong kingswood side whom also will feature a strong three quarter line up.

Below are the scores of the other matches 

Anthony’s vs. Kingswood – Kingswood won 23-10

Trinity vs. Dharmaraja – Trinity won 44-05

Royal vs. POW – Royal won 35-06

Former manager speaks out ahead of season opener.

  

The Isipathana vs St.Peters match which will kick start the 2010 inter school rugby season is less than a week away and ahead of our key opening fixture ***** KINGS OF RUGBY***** got a hold of one of our former managers of the 1^st XV Mr.Dushan Wickramsinghe about his views and thoughts on the upcoming blockbuster match.

·        What do you think of the pathana side this year?

   “Along with the proper guidance I think its one of the strongest. I have worked with these set of lads when they were in their U-14,s. They seem to have a very good team spirit and understanding”.

·        What do you think of the other sides?

  “Well in general all the sides especially peters seem to be good. And don’t rule out Royal, Thora, Trinity and kingswood.They seem to be formidable as well”.

  

·        What would you expect on this match? (IC vs SPC)

    “St.Peters after their 22-12 loss to us last year will certainly come out all guns blazing for revenge and hence it won’t be easy. I think the game will depend on who will be able to hold their nerve under pressure”.

·        SPC has a good back division. Any comments?

      “Yes they do have some hard runners mainly their centers and wingers. But on the other hand I think we have quality players of our own who could counter this threat. But overall I think the scales will slightly be in favor of the peterites”.

·         Any thoughts on tactics and key points?

      “ well there will be some great individual battles like Shenal vs Muqsith, D. Ranjan vs Ashan and Keith vs Devinda and these would have a major impact on the outcome of the game”.

·        Who do you think will win?

   “Well Isipathana”.

Isipathana vs St.Peters 24^th April 18, 2010 @ Havelock park.

Kick off at 4.15pm

BE THERE TO SUPPORT THE GREENS !!!

CONFIDENT PATHANA RARING TO GO !!!

Isipathana College will come in for the 2010 season with most of their senior players remaining from last year and all of them have been hard at training.

 

They were led by Niroshan Fernando last year and they managed to finish fifth in the league. This year the lads from Isipathana will be led by explosive center Ashan Gallage who will be playing at second inside. The vice captain will be number 8 Thairindu Siriwardena who is tipped to be one of their key players. They will be going in to the season with 12 colorsmen which will surely be an advantage to them. The Pathanians have put in great emphasis on the XV a-side game as they did not take part in the sevens tournament and they are all out to win the league this year.

Captain Ashan will be a vital cog in the Pathana line up and he will be leading the backs this time. His agility, speed and knowledge of the game will strengthen the middle giving the much needed penetration for Pathana. Ashan is very reliable when it comes to attack and defense giving some crunching tackles mid field. Backs will be toughened by star fly half Prasad Devinda who adds a lot of flair to the line. His ability to hit gaps at top speed will be a sight to watch and he will certainly cause a lot of trouble to the opposition. He played a major role last year and was seen as one of their play makers. He will look to continue his super performance on to the coming season. The other play maker to look out for will be scrum half Mohamed Rizwan. He is a genius in creating gaps and will play a major role being the link man in the side. The other three quarters will be Prsahan Attanayake who will be playing both full back and fly, Mohamed Ali playing at center, Uresh Fonseka the speedster on the wing and Maalik Jumadh who will be moved to either full back or wing. When it comes to backs, Isipathana has a number of talented options and they will be sure to fire during game time.

The forwards have a lot of capable players in their ranks and they will be led this year by bulky number 8 Tharindu Siriwardena. His experience will assist the forwards to gain the much needed edge over the opposition. Dynamic wing forward Deshan Subashanarachchi has a crucial role to play this year and looks geared up for the challenge. Pack will also have the services of Danusha Sooriyarachchi who will be playing prop, Prasad playing at Hooker, Isum Fernando who will make up the front row. The main jumper for the Greens will be Mukshid Jaleel while the blind side flank will be taken up by gritty Sajid Suaid. The main strength for Pathana when talking about the forwards is their mobility, and their ability to retain possession. This will prove to be a great advantage complimenting the fast brand of Rugby they play.

The boys from Isipathana Mawatha will be coached by one of the solid third row forwards seen in the recent past, Shamlie Navaz. He captained the Isipthana team in the year 1998 and was one of the few players to have captained the Sri Lanka under 19 national side for two consecutive years (1997/98). He then went on to represent CR&FC and was also seen representing the country. He brings in a lot of experience in to the side and is seen as a coach who feeds in a lot of knowledge in to the young lads. The backs will be coached by another Pathana legend, Sajith Mallikarachchi who captained both the Kandy SC as well as the national side a few years back. His immense  game sense will help the backs greatly. The training staff consists of Sanju, Kumara and Ransinghe while they have two doctors on board with them – Dr. Wijesinghe and Dr. Jayawardena. The overall physical trainer for them will be Talaou Alilimma. One of the main strengths behind Isipathana’s success in the recent past has been also due to their great backing given by the old boys. The Rugby committee is headed by Hassan Nauzeer Sinhawansa has backed the boys along the way and are happy with the current situation of the team.

Isipathana College will go against St.Peters College which is tipped to be one of the thriller games in week one. And they are confident of putting in a solid performance against the Petes on the 24^th; the match will be played at Havelock grounds.