Defending champions Royal College will face their moment of truth when they confront unbeaten St. Joseph’s College in a vital Inter-Schools Under-20 ‘A’ Division League Rugby Tournament match at Havelock Park today.
This clash between the two top teams of Group-1 should produce some fascinating rugby as both schools are vying for a place in the Cup Championship Super Round.
Even then, St. Joseph’s seemed to have the advantage with two games in hand while Royal in contrast are facing a must-win situation as this will be their last fixture of the preliminary round.
Both teams of course, will take the field brimming with confidence as Royal are fresh after an emphatic 20-8 win against their traditional rivals S. Thomas’ College while the Josephians also enjoyed a splendid 20-15 victory over Trinity away from home.
Before that, St. Joseph’s had the better of Kingswood (34-3) and S. Thomas’ (30-28) while Royal recorded easy victories against St. Anthony’s (22-12), Kingswood (53-0) before going down to Trinity by a mere solitary point (20-21) on their home grounds.
The two teams last met in the 2019 season and that match also turned out to be a real cracker as Royal went on to snatch a bruising 24-17 win in the league decider and retain the title for the third successive year.
However, this time Royal are under pressure and their chances of becoming the first team to win the ‘A’ Division League title for four years in-a-row will entirely depend on the outcome of today’s encounter.
The contest could certainly turn out to be a battle between the Royal forwards and St. Joseph’s three quarters as both teams look to play to their potential to emerge victorious.
No doubt, Royal will have a slight advantage in the lineouts and scrums but the Joes, with a good all-round side have made vast strides this season and can turn the game in their favour.