Late Second Half Rally Helps Peters Hold S.Thomas To 31 All Draw
- match report courtesy of
Written by Sankha DLT
Saturday, 05 June 2010 19:38


S.Thomas’ College came out all guns blazing in their interschool game against the Peterites when they nearly toppled the table leaders St.Peters at the STC ground Mount Lavinia. The Peterites coming in to the game were tagged as the clear favourites after some convincing wins right throughout the season.


Full time score – 31 all

Half time score – 16-10 to Peters

Coming in to the game the Pete’s were with their heads held high after a superb win last week against the Kings at Bambalapitiya. The Thomians on the other hand had the opportunity to play against a lesser opponent in the form of Dharmaraja.

The stage was set and it was always going to be an epic battle, but none like what was witnessed today. It was breathtaking vintage rugby from both teams which saw the spectators at the edge of their seats. The euphoria from one camp to another swindled like a ping pong ball from side to side right throughout the game.

The Thomians meant business from the start and scored the first points in the game through a Devin Jayasinghe penalty just a minute into the game. They came back again to the Peters half and this time scored a vital five pointer through Hirusha Jayathileka who went over the line with the help of his fellow forwards through a forwards rush. Devin Jayasinghe fired over the conversion to make it 10 nil in favour of the home team. The Peterites at this stage were still recovering from the early burst by the Thomians and took some time to settle in. The surprise package for the Peterites was the cricket turf in the middle of the ground which gave the likes of Dhanushka Ranjan, Banuka Nanayakkara and co a torrid time. In other words the Thomians used the home condition’s well to bottle up the flamboyant Pete’s three-quarters.

Petes struck back with vengeance and this time it was the speedster himself, Sandun Herath. Herath touched down on the far left to reduce the lead within five points. Dulaj Perera who did not have the best of games with the boot missed the conversion. Thora leading 10-05.

Pete’s hit back immediately through two Dulaj Perera penalties which saw them edge over the Thomians by just one point. In the dying stages of the first half saw Sandun Herath going over for his second try of the game to make it 16-10 at the short whistle with Perera slicing it through the uprights.

Thora came in to the second half and looked to string the phase’s right along with play maker Sudharashana Muththuthanthri going haywire in the middle. He was brilliant in attack and took almost three defenders to get him down. Muthu’s Partner in crime, Anjula de Silva too gave in a good hand together with Dinuk Amarasinghe, skipper Rajindra Gunasekara and Hirusha Jayathileka.

The Thomians then came up with two stunner tries through Anrudda Wilwara to take the lead in the second half 24 points to 16. Wilwara was on song from the start of the match but was sin binned for tackling Lakith Perera in the air during the first half of the match. Final try for the Thomians was scored by prop forward Minshin Chin who barged his way over. Devin Jayasinghe who had a hundred percent record slotted over all three tries. He had an exceptional game in both attack and defense and also proved to be quite a vital player with the boot.

It was then time for the Pete’s to retaliate. The Peterites who were down and out for most part of the match awakened during the last fifteen minutes of the game which saw the Thomian defense shattered. The Peterites lead by skipper Keith Gurusinghe played with a lot of heart and a lot of character during the latter part of the game. They scored two tries in quick succession and reduced the lead to just five points. Steve Nelson together with Shenal Dias had an exceptional game in the loose and proved to be a headache for the Thomians. The three quarters, Banuka Nanayakkara, Sandun Herath and Lakith Perera put in those hard yards and made some gritty runs through the middle.

It was the most tensed part of the game and what looked to be a Thomian victory was taken out of their grasp by a brilliant Dulaj Perera try. Dulaj who was not on target with the boot proved to be the key finisher to keep their unbeaten tag intact. He evaded almost three defenders to score on the far right to equal the scores. The kick would determine a win for the Pete’s but it was not to be, as they had to settle for a draw as Dulaj’s kick went astray and with that the final whistle was blown by Dilroy Fernando.

Junior Game score

Under 18 – Peters won 10-05

Under 16 – Peters won 05-00