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.