Dialog Schools Rugby League Scramble for second best as curtain comes down

By M. Shamil Amit

With the champions of the Cup and Bowl segments of the Dialog Schools Rugby League tournament having been decided, the battle is on in the final week of proceedings for the second spot in the Cup segment and the champion team of the Plate segment.

The final outcome will be known this evening when three teams S. Thomas’ College, Wesley College and Royal College lock horns in the deciding matches.

Wesley will be confronting S. Thomas’ at Havelock Park with Royal clashing against Isipathana College at the Royal Sports Complex ground at Reid Avenue.

Apart from these two matches being League encounters the four teams will battle it out for two trophies with Wesley and S. Thomas’ for the Sir Oliver Goonetilleke Shield and Royal and Isipathana for the Major Milroy Fernando Memorial Trophy.

Royal and Isipathana will be meeting each other for the second time this season having earlier fought it out in the semifinal encounter of the President’s Trophy knockout tournament which Isipathana prevailed with a 24-17 win.

Isipathana will move into the game with confidence as they have come out victors on two successive occasions, their win last season and the recent knockout tournament. So they are holders of the trophy and for sure they will leave no stone unturned to retain the trophy.

However on the other hand the two sides are evenly balanced having undergone two defeats this season and seeking to end on a winning note. Royal being one of the teams in contention for the second slot they for sure will be looking forward to fulfilling that aim.

This will be the 34th encounter for the Major Milroy Fernando Memorial Trophy in remembrance of the Army officer who died in battle in Omanthai, Vavuniya and who was also the brother of ex-Sri Lanka player and referee Dilroy Fernando.

Isipathana are leading with 14 wins to Royal’s 12 and a blockbuster is on the cards for supporters of both the ides.

Wesley and S. Thomas’ are two teams that have had a fair share of the league tournament so far and take the field having suffered defeats in their previous matches. 

Wesley looks the team to have the edge due to the fact that they have been a side who are capable of handling pressure.

But the Thomians cannot be taken easy as they too have been showing their capabilities. They pulled off a convincing win against Isipathana but underwent back to back defeats to opponents Trinity and Royal. 

The Thomians will be moving into the game with a dual purpose of aiming to end up as the second best team as well as to retain the Sir Oliver Goonetilleke Shield which they won when the two sides met each other in 2023. The Thomians lead the series with three wins to Wesley’s two.

But the Wesleyites who are having the edge will no doubt go all out to regain the Shield and also to end up as the second best team in the Cup segment.

Plate segment 

It’s a three way battle in the Plate segment between leaders DS Senanayake College, St Joseph’s College and Kingswood College.

The Joes smarting from their loss to DSS over the weekend will be looking to make amends when they confront Ananda College today at Longdon Place.

After a lackluster performance in the first round matches they came back to be in contention in the Plate segment but the defeat to DSS has put them in a spot of bother.

The final outcome will only be known after the crucial encounter between DSS and Kingswood scheduled to be played tomorrow at Havelock Park.

St Joseph’s who are in a must-win situation will need to put in a better performance when they confront the gritty Ananda outfit today. The Anandians had a fairly good run in the league matches and began improving even though they underwent a heavy defeat against Wesley in the last first round match.

The Anandians who were promoted to the top division gave the fancied teams some anxious moments and could be proud of themselves.

DSS and Kingswood have had fluctuating fortunes in the first round matches of the league tournament, but their approach in the Plate segment encounters saw them more cohesive and played with much more responsibility with a different game plan.

However with both teams too aiming for the Plate title no doubt the match will be an interesting and closely contested encounter.