Dialog Schools Rugby League Cup segment Wesley have edge over Royal, Thomians favoured over Peterites

By M. Shamil Amit

The Dialog Schools Rugby League tournament is at the tail-end and the second week of the round two matches for the Cup title will have two matches down for decision in Colombo today with S. Thomas’ College confronting St Peter’s College at Mount Lavinia and Wesley College locking horns with Royal College at the Royal Sports Complex.

Royal vs Wesley

This game should be a closely contested affair due to the fact that Royal led by centre Amika Samarasinghe will be moving into the game with confidence and be aiming to continue their winning streak while Wesley will be without their star Number Eight Sandul Gammanpila who was a non-starter in their previous match against Isipathana College due to ill health. In Gammanpila’s absence Abdul Haadhi will continue to lead Wesley.

Wesley is lying in the second slot with six points while Royal too have six points and are in fourth position.

Though Royal came out 27-24 winners in the match against St Peter’s College Wesley was unfortunate to lose due to a try being disallowed in the dying stages of the match and missed out with a close four point defeat (21-17).

Wesley possess a well-knit outfit and have been successful in both defense and attack which saw them end their round robin campaign with an unbeaten record to take the top spot in their group. 

Wesley have in their ranks talented players in the likes of fly-half Kaizer Lye, Nelith Hapugalle, Prathana Rodrigo, Hashim Thabeeth, Naham Hemachandra, Kaveesha Dilhara and Abdul Haadhi the reliable place kicker.

Royal on the other hand having recorded four wins had their unbeaten record tarnished by a heavy defeat against traditional rivals Trinity College and it did not deter them from making a comeback to record the close win against St Peter’s.

Royal apart from skipper Samarasinghe will bank on Idris Farouk, Dasis Pathirana, Yuvan Pathirana, Shashtika, Didula Jayasuriya, Senuja Ranasinghe, Abdul Amaan, Althaf Amaan, Naqeeb Mohamed, Naqeeb Mohamed and Inthisham Naqeer to deliver the goods.

S. Thomas’ vs St Peter’s

The two teams will be coming into the field after their defeats last week with the aim of returning to winning ways. The Thomians led by scrum half Venuka Wickramasuriya are lying in the third spot as against the Peterrites led by Vishenka Silva who are in the sixth and last position.

Apart from the league encounter the two sides will also battle it out in their traditional Archibald Perera Memorial Trophy. From the 62 matches played between the two sides the Thomians are way ahead with 34 wins to 24 by the Peterites with four matches drawn.

The Peterites will also be looking to break their 11 year old hoodoo with their last win being in 2014 at Havelock Park. The Thomians are the holders of the trophy having last recorded their win in 2022 at Bambalapitiya.

Thomians ended their round robin campaign with five wins from five before their defeat to Trinity while the Peterites secured four wins out of five with a  defeat to Wesley in the first round and Royal last week in the second round.

So looking back on the two teams’ performances the Thomians look to have the edge and the Peterites the defending league champions are left with a tough task of confronting the high riding opponents who have played with much confidence this season.

The Thomians apart from skipper Wickramasuriya will be pinning their hopes on fly-half Udan Bulathsinghalage, No 8 McKyle Karunaratne, Senesha Liyanagunawardena, Teishya Aluwihara and Arith Cooray who all have been the backbone of their wins.

The Peterites on the other hand will be hoping that skipper Silva, who has not been at his best, gets back into rhythm while much is expected from fly half Emith Jayaweera, scrum half Jamal Wahab, Shenuka Perera, Revon Perera and Janith Ratnayake among others to do the needful.

So with the Thomians being the holders of the trophy and the Peterites seeking to break the 11 year hoodoo an interesting tussle is on the cards.

Meanwhile a crucial match of the Dialog Plate segment between St Joseph’s College, a strong contender for the title and Zahira College will kick off at 4.15 p.m. at Longdon Place.