DSS, St. Anthony’s to vie for Alles Cup

By M. Shamil Amit

D. S. Senanayake College, Colombo (DSS) and St. Anthony’s College, Katugastota have opened a new chapter in rugby when they battle for the inaugural R. I. T. Alles Cup on June 6 at Nittawela.

The Alles Cup honours the legacy of the late R. I. T. Alles, the founding Principal of D. S. Senanayake, who was also a distinguished old boy of St. Anthony’s. 

D. S. Senanayake was established in 1967 and under his guidance rugby at the school began in 1976.

Sampath Weragoda, Principal of D. S. Senanayake emphasised that the Alles Cup is not just about honouring a founder. “It is about celebrating what he stood for, in a belief of producing all-round individuals whilst using sport as a platform to shape up future leaders,” he said. He further said that the success of this vision is evident in the way the sport has evolved within the school, with several D. S. Senanayake players representing Sri Lanka at national level.

Rev. Fr. Joseph Michael, Sports Coordinator of St. Anthony’s stressed that the new chapter is something special as the fixture is more than a rugby match. 

“It’s a celebration of two prominent schools in the island, underlining a shared commitment to discipline, teamwork, leadership and camaraderie,’ he said thanking the Antonian Rugby Board for their support in hosting the inaugural Alles Cup.

D. S. Senanayake will be celebrating their 50th Anniversary in 2026 and has seen a resurgence, which includes their triple championship win in 2022 and the return to the Division ‘A’ in 2023. 

They have produced two national players in Jayantha Rajaratne and Dipnua Seneviratne.

St. Anthony’s on the other hand has a rich tradition in rugby dating back to 1856 and their significant growth saw them clinching the schools’ rugby league title in 2001. 

They have produced a host of players to the national side of the calibre of Priyantha Ekanayake, Pradeep Liyanage, Dhanushka Dayan, Imran Bisthamin, Leroy Fonseka, Nihal ‘Viper’ Gunaratne, Dinuk Amarasinghe and Samuel Maduwantha to name a few.

The main match will be preceded by the junior games in the age group of Under-12, Under-14 and the Under-16 encounter will be contested for the Madura Wickramaratne Trophy in honour of a distinguished old boy of D. S. Senanayake.