Cream of schoolboy ruggerites on show in under 20 Super Round
The cream of Sri Lanka’s schoolboy rugby will be on display when the Inter-Schools Under-20 ‘A’ Division League Rugby Tournament Super Round stage begins on Saturday.
The defending champions Royal College will take on Wesley College in the opening fixture on Saturday at Longden Place while the former champions Isipathana College will face St. Joseph’s College at Havelock Park on Sunday.
All four teams seem to have a chance of lifting the title after a gruelling league phase where they finished among the top two in their respective Groups. Even then, Isipathana were quite extraordinary as they ended the league stage as the only unbeaten side of the tournament after having recorded five back-to-back victories against Science College (18-9), Wesley (10-0),
St. Peter’s College (29-17), Dharmaraja College (26-12) and Vidyartha College (25-23) respectively.
But this time it will be a real test for Isipathana as they will be put under tremendous pressure by a rejuvenated St. Joseph’s outfit as the two teams will go head on for the first time this season.
The Josephians are set to field their full side for this vital game after having missed out four of their regulars during the last league stage match against St. Anthony’s College last week.
St. Joseph’s will also welcome the return of their Head Coach Nilfer Ibrahim, who was on national duty last week with the Sri Lanka Sevens Rugby Team at the 22nd Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
Meanwhile, Royal will face an acid test when they confront the unpredictable Wesley outfit in what could turn out to be another exciting encounter. No doubt, Royal will have a slight edge over their rivals following some outstanding rugby this season where they had the better of St. Anthony’s (22-12), Kingswood (53-0), S. Thomas’ (20-8) and St. Joseph’s (17-3) respectively.
Despite their superior line-up, Royal will be still under pressure as they are chasing a unique fourth successive ‘A’ Division league title. In contrast, Wesley will look to keep the momentum and stick to the basics of the game as they have done throughout this season with three good
victories under their belt. But more than any other game, their performance in the important clash against St. Peter’s was really heartening where they held their nerves to force a 17-17 draw away from home.
Royal and Wesley last met during the 2019 season and on that occasion the former survived a fierce late charge before recording a thrilling 24-19 victory at the Royal Sports Complex.