Guys Hey guys, we'll talk about Rugby here
post ur fav team or player and news etc.................
post ur fav team or player and news etc.................
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Rugby.................
- Thread starter fazil00789
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hope england wins.....
Do u play Rugby For a Team?If So wats ur Position.?
i PLay for CR&FC U-16 (although Im Almost 17)
And i Play Prop
Do u play Rugby For a Team?If So wats ur Position.?
i PLay for CR&FC U-16 (although Im Almost 17)
And i Play Prop
no macho i dnt play bt i love to watch CR & FC Playing when if i am in sl i will not miss any match hope may be Cr will win the crown at least they beat kandy.................thanks for the reply bro keep posting..................
England 9 - 18 Austrailia englad played well in the first half bt they are scrappy in the 2nd half last min aus went for a try...................
hopefully...
but bro Navy is on the RISE
im predicting....Navy Will win the trophy next year
yer bro i saw hw they played against kandy if they win also its gud for sri lankan rugby..................................
Nine points from the boot of Jonny Wilkinson on his first appearance for England in 18 months were not enough to deny Australia victory at Twickenham on Saturday.
Wilkinson scored all of England's points in the first 25 minutes before the visitors stepped on the gas in the second half to run out comfortable 18-9 winners.
The victory against Martin Johnson's injury ravaged side marked the end of a miserable string of five defeats in six games for the Wallabies.
England, missing numerous front line players, put up a battling performance for much of the game and went into half time with a 9-5 lead.
But in the end inexperience told as Australia upped the ante after the break to overhaul their hosts going into the last 20 minutes and take the game out of reach in the last 10.
England began brightly with Wilkinson, to the delight of the Twickenham crowd, marking his return to the international fold with a drop-goal in the third minute.
Six minutes later the talismanic fly-half sent the crowd wild again when he kicked his side into a 6-0 lead with a penalty wide on the left after Australia were penalised for not rolling away.
Excellent
And when they fell foul of the referee again on 13 minutes, Wilkinson stepped up to add three more, only to see his long range effort from the half-way line bounce off the post.
The try came against the run of play and left the England defence wanting on the first occasion Australia had truly tested the home side.
Scrum-half Will Genia, lurking at the base of a ruck five yards out, spotted a gaping hole in England's defence and jinked through to score a soft try. Matt Giteau missed the conversion to leave Australia trailing by one.
England hit back hard though, a high kick from Wilkinson and an excellent touchline combination between Matt Banahan and Ugo Monye on the left putting Australia under severe pressure deep inside their own 22
Hipkiss was denied just short of the line and neither Lewis Moody nor Tom Croft could get a hold of Danny Care's cross field kick over the try line as Australia reeled under the onslaught.
The penalty came England's way on 25 minutes after the visitors were caught infringing on the floor. Wilkinson slotted an easy effort in front of the posts to take the score to 9-5.
England held Australia at bay to maintain their lead to half time, thanks largely to some brutal tackling from that man Wilkinson, as the tourists' attack began to look increasingly dangerous in the closing stages of the first half.
Pressure
Giteau narrowed the deficit to a single point with a penalty six minutes after the restart when England were caught offside.
Australia continued to pile on the pressure and in the 58th minute an exquisitely timed pass from Genia put Digby Ioane in for what looked like a certain score.
But the centre somehow managed to lose his grip on the ball and Wycliff Palu knocked on to hand England a desperately needed get out of jail card.
Four minutes later though Giteau booted his side into the lead for the first time, taking the score to 11-9 when England pulled down a scrum within shooting range.
England's defence, however, stood firm under further pressure and the game remained finely poised as it moved into the final quarter.
But 10 minutes from time the defence faltered fatally, Adam Ashley-Cooper bludgeoning his way over in the left corner after the ball was moved quiclkly out wide.
Giteau added the extras to take his side into an 18-9 lead and give England a mountain that proved impossible to climb.
Wilkinson scored all of England's points in the first 25 minutes before the visitors stepped on the gas in the second half to run out comfortable 18-9 winners.
The victory against Martin Johnson's injury ravaged side marked the end of a miserable string of five defeats in six games for the Wallabies.
England, missing numerous front line players, put up a battling performance for much of the game and went into half time with a 9-5 lead.
But in the end inexperience told as Australia upped the ante after the break to overhaul their hosts going into the last 20 minutes and take the game out of reach in the last 10.
England began brightly with Wilkinson, to the delight of the Twickenham crowd, marking his return to the international fold with a drop-goal in the third minute.
Six minutes later the talismanic fly-half sent the crowd wild again when he kicked his side into a 6-0 lead with a penalty wide on the left after Australia were penalised for not rolling away.
Excellent
And when they fell foul of the referee again on 13 minutes, Wilkinson stepped up to add three more, only to see his long range effort from the half-way line bounce off the post.
The try came against the run of play and left the England defence wanting on the first occasion Australia had truly tested the home side.
Scrum-half Will Genia, lurking at the base of a ruck five yards out, spotted a gaping hole in England's defence and jinked through to score a soft try. Matt Giteau missed the conversion to leave Australia trailing by one.
England hit back hard though, a high kick from Wilkinson and an excellent touchline combination between Matt Banahan and Ugo Monye on the left putting Australia under severe pressure deep inside their own 22
Hipkiss was denied just short of the line and neither Lewis Moody nor Tom Croft could get a hold of Danny Care's cross field kick over the try line as Australia reeled under the onslaught.
The penalty came England's way on 25 minutes after the visitors were caught infringing on the floor. Wilkinson slotted an easy effort in front of the posts to take the score to 9-5.
England held Australia at bay to maintain their lead to half time, thanks largely to some brutal tackling from that man Wilkinson, as the tourists' attack began to look increasingly dangerous in the closing stages of the first half.
Pressure
Giteau narrowed the deficit to a single point with a penalty six minutes after the restart when England were caught offside.
Australia continued to pile on the pressure and in the 58th minute an exquisitely timed pass from Genia put Digby Ioane in for what looked like a certain score.
But the centre somehow managed to lose his grip on the ball and Wycliff Palu knocked on to hand England a desperately needed get out of jail card.
Four minutes later though Giteau booted his side into the lead for the first time, taking the score to 11-9 when England pulled down a scrum within shooting range.
England's defence, however, stood firm under further pressure and the game remained finely poised as it moved into the final quarter.
But 10 minutes from time the defence faltered fatally, Adam Ashley-Cooper bludgeoning his way over in the left corner after the ball was moved quiclkly out wide.
Giteau added the extras to take his side into an 18-9 lead and give England a mountain that proved impossible to climb.
Three schoolboys in Sri Lanka ‘Sevens’ rugby pool
Ranjeeva Seneviratne
Three outstanding schoolboy ruggerites have been included in the Sri Lanka Rugby Sevens pool in preparation for the Carlton International Rugby Sevens which will be worked off at the Sugathadasa Stadium on November 28 and 29, 2009.
Dharmaraja’s Darshana Etipola and Kingswood’s Roshan Weeraratne both of whom excelled in the Youth Rugby Asiad in Hong Kong and Isipathana winger Vishwamithra Jayasinghe who missed the Youth Rugby Asiad due to injury have bene included in the pool along with four other new players - Nuwan Chamara and Dinusha Chathuranga (CR and FC) and Kandy SC’s Buddhika Thalagampola and Sameera Silva.
Former Sri Lanka ‘Sevens’ skipper Pradeep Liyanage and Saliya Kumara who missed the Shanghai Sevens due to injury make a welcome return to the pool with Liyanage tipped to take over the captaincy for the Carlton Sevens.
The 21 member pool will go into training from today under the watchful eyes of newly appointed coach Imthisham Marikar assisted by former Sri Lanka and ex-Hong Kong and China coach George Simpkin.
Asian Heavyweights Japan and South Korea along with China, Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Malaysia host nation Sri Lanka along with four other countries will take part in the 12 nation tournament.
The Sri Lanka ‘Sevens’ rugby pool Pradeep Liyanage, Saliya Kumara, Chamara Vithanage, Buddhika Thalagampola, Sameera Silva, Dilip Selvam, (all from Kandy SC), Nuwan Hettiarachchi, Samantha Lakshan, Niranjan Wickremaratne, Suranga Pushpakumara, Raul Jayasuriya (all from Navy), Ashen Karthelis, Dushanth Lewke, Lasintha de Costa, Nuwan Chamara, Dinusha Chathuranga (all from CR and FC), Sharo Fernando (CH and FC), Saliya Handapangoda (Army), Roshan Weeraratne (Kingswood), Darshana Etipola (Dharmaraja) and Vishwamithra Jayasinghe (Isipatana).
Ranjeeva Seneviratne
Three outstanding schoolboy ruggerites have been included in the Sri Lanka Rugby Sevens pool in preparation for the Carlton International Rugby Sevens which will be worked off at the Sugathadasa Stadium on November 28 and 29, 2009.
Dharmaraja’s Darshana Etipola and Kingswood’s Roshan Weeraratne both of whom excelled in the Youth Rugby Asiad in Hong Kong and Isipathana winger Vishwamithra Jayasinghe who missed the Youth Rugby Asiad due to injury have bene included in the pool along with four other new players - Nuwan Chamara and Dinusha Chathuranga (CR and FC) and Kandy SC’s Buddhika Thalagampola and Sameera Silva.
Former Sri Lanka ‘Sevens’ skipper Pradeep Liyanage and Saliya Kumara who missed the Shanghai Sevens due to injury make a welcome return to the pool with Liyanage tipped to take over the captaincy for the Carlton Sevens.
The 21 member pool will go into training from today under the watchful eyes of newly appointed coach Imthisham Marikar assisted by former Sri Lanka and ex-Hong Kong and China coach George Simpkin.
Asian Heavyweights Japan and South Korea along with China, Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Malaysia host nation Sri Lanka along with four other countries will take part in the 12 nation tournament.
The Sri Lanka ‘Sevens’ rugby pool Pradeep Liyanage, Saliya Kumara, Chamara Vithanage, Buddhika Thalagampola, Sameera Silva, Dilip Selvam, (all from Kandy SC), Nuwan Hettiarachchi, Samantha Lakshan, Niranjan Wickremaratne, Suranga Pushpakumara, Raul Jayasuriya (all from Navy), Ashen Karthelis, Dushanth Lewke, Lasintha de Costa, Nuwan Chamara, Dinusha Chathuranga (all from CR and FC), Sharo Fernando (CH and FC), Saliya Handapangoda (Army), Roshan Weeraratne (Kingswood), Darshana Etipola (Dharmaraja) and Vishwamithra Jayasinghe (Isipatana).
yah machan..
namal rajapakshe is buying all the good players from most of the clubs.....
Sri Lanka Ruggerites Shine In Singapore
Will they go? wont they go? This is the unfortunate question that has always cropped up amongst rugby followers over the last two years with regard to the availability of the best players in the country when the National team is
about to undertake an important assignment such as the Division 1 Asian 5 Nations tournament when the question that should be discussed is will they win? or wont they win?. Unfortunately it was no different this year as well. It’s a sad indictment on the various levels of administration at Union, Province and Club level that this situation has allowed to be repeated again & again mostly based on petty club & personal agendas with the root cause being the contentious issue of captaincy.
However thankfully the best players were available and selected this time around, with the team taking wing to Singapore under the captaincy of Pradeep Liyanage after a 3 day preparation camp in Kandy. The team had a couple of sessions in Singapore before the first match against Chinese Taipei.
Semi Final verses Chinese Taipei.
The Taipei team has been the nemesis of the Lankan team over the past two tournaments, winning by a 12 point margin on both occasions.(35 – 23 in 2008 and 36 - 24 in 2009). However in both those instances Sri Lanka had to field depleted teams. With the full compliment of players available this time around the team’s chances had improved greatly.
Kick off time arrived. As the teams lined up for their respective National Anthems it was apparent that the Taipei players were physically bigger than their counterparts. Within the first 5 minutes of the game Sri Lanka suffered a major blow losing the services play maker and fly half Fazil Marija to an and ankle injury that would see the end of his tournament. Nevertheless the team did not let this set back affect them and showed great composure to clinch a resounding victory by 37 – 07 after leading by 21 – 07 at half time. The feature of this performance was how well the forwards and three quarters combined in open play to tear the Taipei defense to shreds. The handling and offloading skills shown by the front row of Terrance Henry, Achala Perera and Suranga Swaranatillake was exceptional in addition to dominating the scrums. Ashan Karthelis and Dushantha Lewke were outstanding at lineout time starving the opposition of good ball while providing the backs with good ball from their own throws. Lewke along with flankers Dileep Selvam and Sean Wijesinghe had a terrific game in the loose. Young Roshan Weeraratne making his debut was solid from the base and relived pressure on many occasions with his kicks from the base. The Lankans should be particularly thankful to the Center combination of skipper Liyanage and Gayan Weeraratne for some outstanding defensive work carried out to halt the Taipei backs – who looked threatening when in possession – while also punching holes in the opposition defense.
It was third time lucky for the Lankans, and with this win they qualified for the promotion play-off against the winners of the Singapore vs. Malaysia game (although it would not have been faulted had spectators thought this match was one between a British team & Fiji). Singapore clinched a hard fought 22 – 20 win to qualify for the grand finale, leaving Malaysia to slug it out with Chinese Taipei in the relegation play off.
Final verses Singapore.
After good dry conditions during the Semi Finals there was an unexpected shower in the evening before the promotion and relegation finals began. This no doubt suited the bigger made Singaporeans. The last time these two teams met in this competition was in its inaugural tournament in 2008 with the match ending in a 20 all draw. Sri Lanka was dealt another injury blow with Center Gayan Weeraratne being ruled out with a shoulder injury. Reinforcements were also hurriedly called up to cover for the injury plagued backline with Chanaka Chandimal and experienced Chamara Vithange being flown in after the Taipei game, included in the starting line up at fly half and center respectively. Once again when the teams lined up for the anthems the disparity in size between the teams was obvious with the Singaporeans - which included as many as 10 foreigners in the starting line up towering above the smaller made Lankans.
It was heartening to see a fair number of Sri Lankan expats coming to cheer the team on for this big game.
Both teams started off cautiously, playing for territory in the first half. The Lankans looked the more threatening of both teams and came close to touching down on more then a couple of occasions but lacked the finish to turn these opportunities into points. At lemons the score stood at 6 all with the highlight of the half being the superbly executed drop goal off the base of the scrum by half back Weeraratne.
The second half saw both teams playing with more confidence and building phases in attack rather then kicking the ball away. Both teams collected a goal and a penalty each in this half and at 16 all it looked as if extra time was looming. However on the stroke of full time Sri Lanka received a scrum inside the opposition half. Fly half Chandimal on spotting the rushed defense employed by the Singaporean backs executed a neat chip kick that sat up perfectly for the chasing Vithanage to collect, sidestep the cover defense beautifully and fall over to score the match winning try. Fullback Saliya Kumara converted for the final score to read as 23 - 16 and with that the referee blew full time to signal a memorable win for the Sri Lankan rugby team.
It has to be said that it was the Lankans defensive effort that won them this game. Their ability to put in some big hits and constantly push the opposition on the back foot had a telling impact on the confidence of the Singaporeans.
Malaysia beat Chinese Taipei 35 – 08 in the relegation tie with the 9 Fijian ‘imports’ doing most of the damage. This defeat will mean that the Taipei team will be relegated to Division two in next year’s tournament.
Looking ahead
With this magnificent victory Sri Lanka’s ranking in Asia will improve from its current 8th place ranking to no. 5, and will join the elite competition with teams such as Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and Kazakhstan next year. Having watched the team perform in this tournament it is obvious that we have wasted 2 years in Division 1. It is imperative that plans are put in place to ensure that the National team is prepared for this tournament next year. It’s an unfortunate trend that has emerged over the last few years, where National Rugby teams have been assembled at short notice with minimal preparation time and sent for International competition to represent the country. This not only impacts the team performing to its optimal level to achieve the desired result but also lessens the value that should be placed on National representation. Sri Lanka cannot afford to send an under prepared team for the competition against the big boys of Asian Rugby. Doing so would result in demotion to Division 1 again. In the top division, the format of the tournament changes with each team having the opportunity to host 2 games while playing 2 matches away. Therefore if a proper program is put in place realistic hopes of attaining the number 2 ranking (behind Japan) is a real possibility. The players have the potential to do it. Sri Lanka Rugby is ready to take off. The question is, are our administrators ready to do their part?
Will they go? wont they go? This is the unfortunate question that has always cropped up amongst rugby followers over the last two years with regard to the availability of the best players in the country when the National team is
about to undertake an important assignment such as the Division 1 Asian 5 Nations tournament when the question that should be discussed is will they win? or wont they win?. Unfortunately it was no different this year as well. It’s a sad indictment on the various levels of administration at Union, Province and Club level that this situation has allowed to be repeated again & again mostly based on petty club & personal agendas with the root cause being the contentious issue of captaincy.
However thankfully the best players were available and selected this time around, with the team taking wing to Singapore under the captaincy of Pradeep Liyanage after a 3 day preparation camp in Kandy. The team had a couple of sessions in Singapore before the first match against Chinese Taipei.
Semi Final verses Chinese Taipei.
The Taipei team has been the nemesis of the Lankan team over the past two tournaments, winning by a 12 point margin on both occasions.(35 – 23 in 2008 and 36 - 24 in 2009). However in both those instances Sri Lanka had to field depleted teams. With the full compliment of players available this time around the team’s chances had improved greatly.
Kick off time arrived. As the teams lined up for their respective National Anthems it was apparent that the Taipei players were physically bigger than their counterparts. Within the first 5 minutes of the game Sri Lanka suffered a major blow losing the services play maker and fly half Fazil Marija to an and ankle injury that would see the end of his tournament. Nevertheless the team did not let this set back affect them and showed great composure to clinch a resounding victory by 37 – 07 after leading by 21 – 07 at half time. The feature of this performance was how well the forwards and three quarters combined in open play to tear the Taipei defense to shreds. The handling and offloading skills shown by the front row of Terrance Henry, Achala Perera and Suranga Swaranatillake was exceptional in addition to dominating the scrums. Ashan Karthelis and Dushantha Lewke were outstanding at lineout time starving the opposition of good ball while providing the backs with good ball from their own throws. Lewke along with flankers Dileep Selvam and Sean Wijesinghe had a terrific game in the loose. Young Roshan Weeraratne making his debut was solid from the base and relived pressure on many occasions with his kicks from the base. The Lankans should be particularly thankful to the Center combination of skipper Liyanage and Gayan Weeraratne for some outstanding defensive work carried out to halt the Taipei backs – who looked threatening when in possession – while also punching holes in the opposition defense.
It was third time lucky for the Lankans, and with this win they qualified for the promotion play-off against the winners of the Singapore vs. Malaysia game (although it would not have been faulted had spectators thought this match was one between a British team & Fiji). Singapore clinched a hard fought 22 – 20 win to qualify for the grand finale, leaving Malaysia to slug it out with Chinese Taipei in the relegation play off.
Final verses Singapore.
After good dry conditions during the Semi Finals there was an unexpected shower in the evening before the promotion and relegation finals began. This no doubt suited the bigger made Singaporeans. The last time these two teams met in this competition was in its inaugural tournament in 2008 with the match ending in a 20 all draw. Sri Lanka was dealt another injury blow with Center Gayan Weeraratne being ruled out with a shoulder injury. Reinforcements were also hurriedly called up to cover for the injury plagued backline with Chanaka Chandimal and experienced Chamara Vithange being flown in after the Taipei game, included in the starting line up at fly half and center respectively. Once again when the teams lined up for the anthems the disparity in size between the teams was obvious with the Singaporeans - which included as many as 10 foreigners in the starting line up towering above the smaller made Lankans.
It was heartening to see a fair number of Sri Lankan expats coming to cheer the team on for this big game.
Both teams started off cautiously, playing for territory in the first half. The Lankans looked the more threatening of both teams and came close to touching down on more then a couple of occasions but lacked the finish to turn these opportunities into points. At lemons the score stood at 6 all with the highlight of the half being the superbly executed drop goal off the base of the scrum by half back Weeraratne.
The second half saw both teams playing with more confidence and building phases in attack rather then kicking the ball away. Both teams collected a goal and a penalty each in this half and at 16 all it looked as if extra time was looming. However on the stroke of full time Sri Lanka received a scrum inside the opposition half. Fly half Chandimal on spotting the rushed defense employed by the Singaporean backs executed a neat chip kick that sat up perfectly for the chasing Vithanage to collect, sidestep the cover defense beautifully and fall over to score the match winning try. Fullback Saliya Kumara converted for the final score to read as 23 - 16 and with that the referee blew full time to signal a memorable win for the Sri Lankan rugby team.
It has to be said that it was the Lankans defensive effort that won them this game. Their ability to put in some big hits and constantly push the opposition on the back foot had a telling impact on the confidence of the Singaporeans.
Malaysia beat Chinese Taipei 35 – 08 in the relegation tie with the 9 Fijian ‘imports’ doing most of the damage. This defeat will mean that the Taipei team will be relegated to Division two in next year’s tournament.
Looking ahead
With this magnificent victory Sri Lanka’s ranking in Asia will improve from its current 8th place ranking to no. 5, and will join the elite competition with teams such as Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and Kazakhstan next year. Having watched the team perform in this tournament it is obvious that we have wasted 2 years in Division 1. It is imperative that plans are put in place to ensure that the National team is prepared for this tournament next year. It’s an unfortunate trend that has emerged over the last few years, where National Rugby teams have been assembled at short notice with minimal preparation time and sent for International competition to represent the country. This not only impacts the team performing to its optimal level to achieve the desired result but also lessens the value that should be placed on National representation. Sri Lanka cannot afford to send an under prepared team for the competition against the big boys of Asian Rugby. Doing so would result in demotion to Division 1 again. In the top division, the format of the tournament changes with each team having the opportunity to host 2 games while playing 2 matches away. Therefore if a proper program is put in place realistic hopes of attaining the number 2 ranking (behind Japan) is a real possibility. The players have the potential to do it. Sri Lanka Rugby is ready to take off. The question is, are our administrators ready to do their part?
Round Up Of The Schools Matches
After the first week of the inter school rugby the main teams have lived up to expectation and have scored some convincing wins. The most anticipated match of the week, Isipathana vs. St.Peters saw the Peterites crushing forwards crushing the Pathanians to win the game convincingly 27 points to 8. Below is a roundup of the matches.
St.Peters vs. Isipathana
The Peterites who were tipped as one of the firm contenders for the title displayed their prowess by thumping the Pathanians at Havelock park 27 points to 8.
The Peterite forwards made good use of the damp conditions and played a tight game and gave good ball to their experienced line to put the icing on the cake. The Peterite centers Banuka Nanayakara and Danushka Ranjan had an exceptional game scoring three tries amongst them. Pathana scoring the first points of the game through a three pointer from fly Prasad Devinda had to deal with wave after wave of Pete attacks.
For the Pathanians it was number eight Tharindu Fernando who scored the solitary try.The Peterites lead the game 15-03 at half time.
Match week two
SPC vs. TCK – 1st May (Pallekela)
Isipathana vs. KCK – 30th April (Havelock Park)
Trinity opens with a thumping win against Dharmaraja
Trinity College Kandy ran circles around a below par Rajan’s side yesterday at the match played in Palekela. Rehan Weerakoon was the star for the Lions scoring 4 of the seven tries. He was exceptional in loose play and scored a hat-trick in the second half. The Lions lead the game 15-5 at half time.
The Trinity three’s had an exceptional outing with most of their players coming in to the fray with some solid performances. Center Yatawara had a good game with the boot converting two of the tries. The Rajan forwards put in some good performances and made life hard for the Trinity forwards. Number eight Shannon Armstrong in particular had a brilliant game and scored the final try to finish off proceeding.
For the Rajans it was Sathsara Basnayake who scored the only try. Final scored 44-05
Match week two
SPC vs. TCK
POW vs. Dharmaraja
Thomians Come Back After First Half Scare
S.Thomas’ College was given a huge scare in their opening match against a spirited Wesley side in their interschool match played at Mount Lavinia. The Wesleyites were leading after the short whistle five points to nil.
The Wesleyites showcased some fantastic rugby in the first half to get on top of the Thomians in a muddy affair at Mount Lavinia. Wesley skipper Azmil Omar had a brilliant outing in attack and was all over the Thomians in defense. His tactical kicks proved to be too much to take for the Thomians backs and the Wesleyites kept on chipping the ball in to the Thomian territory. The Thomians back three lacked conviction in their play and paid heavily for it. The experienced Wesley skipper tested the Thomian back three with some brilliant chips.
Last year’s Thomian skipper Shaveen Kapuwatte had an exceptional game in attack and defense and easily stood out from the rest of the players. He bought in all his experience to lead the experienced line after the initial hiccup. The Thomians didn’t look at all organized and were given a torrid time by the Wesley backs. Thora hooker Anjula de Silva had an outstanding game and played a key role in the break downs and also taking the ball up front.
Nothing can be taken away from the Wesleyites and they are certainly a force to be reckoned with in the tournament. They played with a lot of guts and put on some impressive moves in front of a packed house in Mount.Final score 29-5 in favor of the Thomians.
Thora plays St.Anthonys on the 29th
Wesley will play Royal on the 30th
Kings beat Antho in their opener
One of the top competitors for the league championship Kingswood College won their opener against a tough Eagles unit 23 points to 10. The game started off at 5.10 and the second half was played in bad light. The late start was due to heavy showers which were experienced in the afternoon and because of this the junior games were called off.
The Anthonians played a hard game but failed to put points on the board. The only try of the match for the Anthonian came from lock Mohammed Laheer. The Kingswoodians skipper did not have the best of days with the boot but made some great runs during the match. He joined the line well in attack and scored in the 16th minute and put the visitors up at lemons 8-5.
The link man for the Kings was in top form during the match as he scored two brilliant tries in the second half. To finish things off it was senior third row forward Chethiya Wadugodapitiya who went over. It was not the best of matches for the Kings as they rarely got in to their stride, but fortunately they made maximum use of the limited opportunities. Anthonians on the other hand who enjoyed a lot of possession didn’t make it count and that cost them dearly.
Kingswood will play Isipathana on the 30th
St.Anthonys will play S.Thomas’ on the 29th
Royal in convincing win against POW
The Royal team displayed some brilliant rugby to power over minnows POW in their match played at the Royal sports complex on Saturday. They managed to put on a thumping 35 points to 6 and they dominated the entire match.
As predicted the Royal team went in as favorites and they simply outclassed a helpless Prince of Wales side. Most of the match the Reid Avenue boys were seen in the opposition half and they staged wave after wave of attack at the Moratu boys. After spending a considerable time in the opposition half it was Lahiru Pavithra who opened the scoring through a brilliant try after that star wing three quarter burst through for another super try. just at the stroke of half time another moment of brilliance was witnessed through Thilina Ratnayake.
The second half as predicted once again the Royal team displayed their dominance and they kept on scoring. The POW defense tried valiantly to put a stop to the continuous attacks but they failed. Wing three quarter Dilshan Palihakkara went over for another super try and extended the lead. The final blow was given when Chamara Dhabare went over for another fantastic try which was followed by Chilanga Samaraweera. The passing and continuity improved in the second half but the wet conditions limited both teams from playing running rugby. It was a solid performance by the Reid Avenue boys and they will go strong for their next fixture against Wesley which will also be worked off at the Royal Sports complex.
Royal will be playing Wesley on the 30th
POW will be playing Dharmaraja on the 30th
After the first week of the inter school rugby the main teams have lived up to expectation and have scored some convincing wins. The most anticipated match of the week, Isipathana vs. St.Peters saw the Peterites crushing forwards crushing the Pathanians to win the game convincingly 27 points to 8. Below is a roundup of the matches.
St.Peters vs. Isipathana
The Peterites who were tipped as one of the firm contenders for the title displayed their prowess by thumping the Pathanians at Havelock park 27 points to 8.
The Peterite forwards made good use of the damp conditions and played a tight game and gave good ball to their experienced line to put the icing on the cake. The Peterite centers Banuka Nanayakara and Danushka Ranjan had an exceptional game scoring three tries amongst them. Pathana scoring the first points of the game through a three pointer from fly Prasad Devinda had to deal with wave after wave of Pete attacks.
For the Pathanians it was number eight Tharindu Fernando who scored the solitary try.The Peterites lead the game 15-03 at half time.
Match week two
SPC vs. TCK – 1st May (Pallekela)
Isipathana vs. KCK – 30th April (Havelock Park)
Trinity opens with a thumping win against Dharmaraja
Trinity College Kandy ran circles around a below par Rajan’s side yesterday at the match played in Palekela. Rehan Weerakoon was the star for the Lions scoring 4 of the seven tries. He was exceptional in loose play and scored a hat-trick in the second half. The Lions lead the game 15-5 at half time.
The Trinity three’s had an exceptional outing with most of their players coming in to the fray with some solid performances. Center Yatawara had a good game with the boot converting two of the tries. The Rajan forwards put in some good performances and made life hard for the Trinity forwards. Number eight Shannon Armstrong in particular had a brilliant game and scored the final try to finish off proceeding.
For the Rajans it was Sathsara Basnayake who scored the only try. Final scored 44-05
Match week two
SPC vs. TCK
POW vs. Dharmaraja
Thomians Come Back After First Half Scare
S.Thomas’ College was given a huge scare in their opening match against a spirited Wesley side in their interschool match played at Mount Lavinia. The Wesleyites were leading after the short whistle five points to nil.
The Wesleyites showcased some fantastic rugby in the first half to get on top of the Thomians in a muddy affair at Mount Lavinia. Wesley skipper Azmil Omar had a brilliant outing in attack and was all over the Thomians in defense. His tactical kicks proved to be too much to take for the Thomians backs and the Wesleyites kept on chipping the ball in to the Thomian territory. The Thomians back three lacked conviction in their play and paid heavily for it. The experienced Wesley skipper tested the Thomian back three with some brilliant chips.
Last year’s Thomian skipper Shaveen Kapuwatte had an exceptional game in attack and defense and easily stood out from the rest of the players. He bought in all his experience to lead the experienced line after the initial hiccup. The Thomians didn’t look at all organized and were given a torrid time by the Wesley backs. Thora hooker Anjula de Silva had an outstanding game and played a key role in the break downs and also taking the ball up front.
Nothing can be taken away from the Wesleyites and they are certainly a force to be reckoned with in the tournament. They played with a lot of guts and put on some impressive moves in front of a packed house in Mount.Final score 29-5 in favor of the Thomians.
Thora plays St.Anthonys on the 29th
Wesley will play Royal on the 30th
Kings beat Antho in their opener
One of the top competitors for the league championship Kingswood College won their opener against a tough Eagles unit 23 points to 10. The game started off at 5.10 and the second half was played in bad light. The late start was due to heavy showers which were experienced in the afternoon and because of this the junior games were called off.
The Anthonians played a hard game but failed to put points on the board. The only try of the match for the Anthonian came from lock Mohammed Laheer. The Kingswoodians skipper did not have the best of days with the boot but made some great runs during the match. He joined the line well in attack and scored in the 16th minute and put the visitors up at lemons 8-5.
The link man for the Kings was in top form during the match as he scored two brilliant tries in the second half. To finish things off it was senior third row forward Chethiya Wadugodapitiya who went over. It was not the best of matches for the Kings as they rarely got in to their stride, but fortunately they made maximum use of the limited opportunities. Anthonians on the other hand who enjoyed a lot of possession didn’t make it count and that cost them dearly.
Kingswood will play Isipathana on the 30th
St.Anthonys will play S.Thomas’ on the 29th
Royal in convincing win against POW
The Royal team displayed some brilliant rugby to power over minnows POW in their match played at the Royal sports complex on Saturday. They managed to put on a thumping 35 points to 6 and they dominated the entire match.
As predicted the Royal team went in as favorites and they simply outclassed a helpless Prince of Wales side. Most of the match the Reid Avenue boys were seen in the opposition half and they staged wave after wave of attack at the Moratu boys. After spending a considerable time in the opposition half it was Lahiru Pavithra who opened the scoring through a brilliant try after that star wing three quarter burst through for another super try. just at the stroke of half time another moment of brilliance was witnessed through Thilina Ratnayake.
The second half as predicted once again the Royal team displayed their dominance and they kept on scoring. The POW defense tried valiantly to put a stop to the continuous attacks but they failed. Wing three quarter Dilshan Palihakkara went over for another super try and extended the lead. The final blow was given when Chamara Dhabare went over for another fantastic try which was followed by Chilanga Samaraweera. The passing and continuity improved in the second half but the wet conditions limited both teams from playing running rugby. It was a solid performance by the Reid Avenue boys and they will go strong for their next fixture against Wesley which will also be worked off at the Royal Sports complex.
Royal will be playing Wesley on the 30th
POW will be playing Dharmaraja on the 30th
Sri Lanka is Asia’s newest Top 5 team after winning HSBC A5N DI Final
Singapore, April 17 2010]: Sri Lanka has climbed close to the top of Asian rugby’s totem pole after beating Singapore 23-16 in a thrilling final of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations Division I tournament played. In the 3rd/4th place play-off, Malaysia achieved its primary objective by retaining its Division I status after winning the relegation match against a young Chinese Taipei XV, 35-3.
After being pushed to the limit against Malaysia in Wednesday’s Semi Final, the hosts and top seeds Singapore could not withstand a second charge from Sri Lanka. The visitors turned in a comprehensive performance in wet and humid conditions at Singapore’s Yio Chu Kang stadium to emerge as Division I champions for the first time in three years. Sri Lanka will now be promoted to the elite Top 5 competition in Asian rugby starting in 2011.
Singapore never looked entirely comfortable this evening, particularly in the back three as a wet ball and clever kicking from Sri Lanka helped keep the hosts on the back foot and negated the superior size of Singapore’s forward pack. Matters turned for the worse for Singapore in the 20th minute as inspirational captain Matt “Rhino” Ryan limped off with an injury further depleting the team of leadership after their first choice captain Jonathon Lee was sidelined in a trial match in Darwin two weeks ago.
From the earliest moments of the match, Sri Lanka’s kicking strategy and ability to involve its speed and superior handling out wide had the Singaporeans under pressure. The home side still managed to get out to a 6-nil lead behind Tom Burns who had another strong match from the stand-off spot. Burns nailed two penalties in the first quarter to stake his side to an early lead as they capitalized on some crucial errors from the Sri Lankans. Among those committing the errors was eventual man of the match scrumhalf Roshan Weeraratne who was sin-binned in just the sixth minute.
Burns calmly converted that penalty and made full use of the man advantage for ten minutes to score 6 early points on the way to a 12-point day from four penalties. Sri Lanka replied in the 19th minute with a successful penalty from fullback Saliya Kumara before Roshan Weeraratne made amends for his sin-binning by knocking over a crucial drop goal (the only one of the tournament) to level the sides at 6-all.
Sri Lanka struck first after the halftime interval with a second penalty from Kumara edging them ahead 9-6 in the 43rd minute. Five minutes later, Weeraratne again popped up, this time finishing off a great roving forward movement to touch down in the corner for the first try of the game, pushing Sri Lanka ahead 16-6 after Kumara’s conversion.
Full credit to Singapore, as the team finally started to find its feet in the second half exerting periods of pressure and enjoying sustained possession for the first time. The reward was a beautiful break away movement by Singapore’s backs which was capped off by winger Desmond Wee who took the ball with work left to be done and managed to tiptoe down the sideline for the home team’s only try of the day and most importantly to get back to within striking distance at 13-16.
Sri Lanka seemed on the verge of fading as it conceded another penalty this time from 40m which was beautifully converted by Burns despite the baying of a very strong and loud contingent of Sri Lankan fans in the stadium. At 16-all with 20 minutes on the clock the action seemed a reprise of Singapore’s earlier match against the Malaysians where Singapore found just enough to keep their opposition out of the win column. But this time it was not to be for the Rugby Lions as the Sri Lankans simply refused to lose.
The two teams traded possession for the final moments as both sets of partisan fans in the crowd of nearly 2,000 ratcheted up the volume and fervour on the sidelines. With overtime looming rapidly on the horizon, the Sri Lankans broke through into scoring position after moving Singapore around the park with some cagey positional kicking. On the last play of regulation time, the Sri Lankans crashed through a tiring Singapore defence in a straightforward movement that saw centre Chamara Vithanage charge over in the corner for a try that broke the hearts of the home team.
Sri Lanka now becomes the 7th team to take part in the elite Top 5 competition since the inception of the HSBC A5N in 2008. The Sri Lankans will have a year to prepare for this ultimate test of continental rugby as promotion will take effect in 2011. The 2010 Top 5 features Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Hong Kong and the Arabian Gulf (who replaced Singapore as the promoted team from the 2009 Division I) and kicks off next weekend (April 24) with matches in Hong Kong (v. Korea) and Kazakhstan (v. Arabian Gulf). At stake in 2010 is Asia’s sole direct entry to the IRB Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand. The runners-up in the Top 5 competition will play an inter-continental repechage with the first test against Uruguay in July.
In today’s 3rd/4th place play-off, the Malaysians, who were narrowly defeated by Singapore 22-20 in the semi finals, achieved their ultimate objective beating Chinese Taipei 35-8. The win not only sees Malaysia take 3rd place in the tournament but also ensures that they avoid relegation. Chinese Taipei will be relegated to Division II in 2011 and replaced by the winners of the 2010 Division II championship in early June in New Delhi at the site of the Commonwealth Games sevens competition. That tournament features top seeds Thailand, China, India and Philippines.
After blooding 12 new caps in the squad of 24 in Wednesday’s semi-final against Sri Lanka, Chinese Taipei put in a much improved performance today, particularly defensively as they managed to hold Malaysia’s powerful backline to a respectable 35 points. Malaysia fielded seven IRB eligible Fijians in their squad today including the entire backline outside of the fly-half. The result was a brace of tries to winger Nacani Seniu and centre Timoci Nacokula as well as another from Isoa Turuva at fullback. Chinese Taipei answered through a penalty converted by fly half Lu Wei Fan and a try from flanker Chen Kuo Lun.
This afternoon also witnessed another A5N milestone in the first ever women’s test match played as a curtain-raiser to an A5N event with Singapore hosting their Malaysian counterparts. An entertaining match that saw Singapore take an early lead into halftime (5-0) but then concede two quick tries to Malaysia in the second half, had to be abandoned due to a lightning storm. Under the tournament’s abandonment procedure, the match score stands as it was in the second half, giving Malaysia a 10-5 win.
Earlier in the day, HSBC A5N coach and former Scotland coach Frank Hadden conducted a special clinic for children of local HSBC staff at the venue. It was the last activity in three days of HSBC A5N Youth Rugby Festivals held at Yio Chu Kang and the storied Padang rugby ground in Singapore’s Central Business District.
HSBC aims to bring positive social change to different cultures and communities through its diverse rugby sponsorships across the world. As title sponsor of the Asian 5 Nations (A5N), HSBC is committed to the development of the game throughout Asia. This year as part of the Asian 5 Nations, HSBC and the Asian Rugby Football Union are hosting a series of HSBC A5N Youth Rugby Festivals. The commitment to grassroots development will continue throughout the duration of the tournament with HSBC A5N Youth Rugby Festivals reaching over thousands of youth in Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Dubai, Bahrain, Indonesia, India, Laos, Cambodia and Nepal in the next few months.
Singapore, April 17 2010]: Sri Lanka has climbed close to the top of Asian rugby’s totem pole after beating Singapore 23-16 in a thrilling final of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations Division I tournament played. In the 3rd/4th place play-off, Malaysia achieved its primary objective by retaining its Division I status after winning the relegation match against a young Chinese Taipei XV, 35-3.
After being pushed to the limit against Malaysia in Wednesday’s Semi Final, the hosts and top seeds Singapore could not withstand a second charge from Sri Lanka. The visitors turned in a comprehensive performance in wet and humid conditions at Singapore’s Yio Chu Kang stadium to emerge as Division I champions for the first time in three years. Sri Lanka will now be promoted to the elite Top 5 competition in Asian rugby starting in 2011.
Singapore never looked entirely comfortable this evening, particularly in the back three as a wet ball and clever kicking from Sri Lanka helped keep the hosts on the back foot and negated the superior size of Singapore’s forward pack. Matters turned for the worse for Singapore in the 20th minute as inspirational captain Matt “Rhino” Ryan limped off with an injury further depleting the team of leadership after their first choice captain Jonathon Lee was sidelined in a trial match in Darwin two weeks ago.
From the earliest moments of the match, Sri Lanka’s kicking strategy and ability to involve its speed and superior handling out wide had the Singaporeans under pressure. The home side still managed to get out to a 6-nil lead behind Tom Burns who had another strong match from the stand-off spot. Burns nailed two penalties in the first quarter to stake his side to an early lead as they capitalized on some crucial errors from the Sri Lankans. Among those committing the errors was eventual man of the match scrumhalf Roshan Weeraratne who was sin-binned in just the sixth minute.
Burns calmly converted that penalty and made full use of the man advantage for ten minutes to score 6 early points on the way to a 12-point day from four penalties. Sri Lanka replied in the 19th minute with a successful penalty from fullback Saliya Kumara before Roshan Weeraratne made amends for his sin-binning by knocking over a crucial drop goal (the only one of the tournament) to level the sides at 6-all.
Sri Lanka struck first after the halftime interval with a second penalty from Kumara edging them ahead 9-6 in the 43rd minute. Five minutes later, Weeraratne again popped up, this time finishing off a great roving forward movement to touch down in the corner for the first try of the game, pushing Sri Lanka ahead 16-6 after Kumara’s conversion.
Full credit to Singapore, as the team finally started to find its feet in the second half exerting periods of pressure and enjoying sustained possession for the first time. The reward was a beautiful break away movement by Singapore’s backs which was capped off by winger Desmond Wee who took the ball with work left to be done and managed to tiptoe down the sideline for the home team’s only try of the day and most importantly to get back to within striking distance at 13-16.
Sri Lanka seemed on the verge of fading as it conceded another penalty this time from 40m which was beautifully converted by Burns despite the baying of a very strong and loud contingent of Sri Lankan fans in the stadium. At 16-all with 20 minutes on the clock the action seemed a reprise of Singapore’s earlier match against the Malaysians where Singapore found just enough to keep their opposition out of the win column. But this time it was not to be for the Rugby Lions as the Sri Lankans simply refused to lose.
The two teams traded possession for the final moments as both sets of partisan fans in the crowd of nearly 2,000 ratcheted up the volume and fervour on the sidelines. With overtime looming rapidly on the horizon, the Sri Lankans broke through into scoring position after moving Singapore around the park with some cagey positional kicking. On the last play of regulation time, the Sri Lankans crashed through a tiring Singapore defence in a straightforward movement that saw centre Chamara Vithanage charge over in the corner for a try that broke the hearts of the home team.
Sri Lanka now becomes the 7th team to take part in the elite Top 5 competition since the inception of the HSBC A5N in 2008. The Sri Lankans will have a year to prepare for this ultimate test of continental rugby as promotion will take effect in 2011. The 2010 Top 5 features Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Hong Kong and the Arabian Gulf (who replaced Singapore as the promoted team from the 2009 Division I) and kicks off next weekend (April 24) with matches in Hong Kong (v. Korea) and Kazakhstan (v. Arabian Gulf). At stake in 2010 is Asia’s sole direct entry to the IRB Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand. The runners-up in the Top 5 competition will play an inter-continental repechage with the first test against Uruguay in July.
In today’s 3rd/4th place play-off, the Malaysians, who were narrowly defeated by Singapore 22-20 in the semi finals, achieved their ultimate objective beating Chinese Taipei 35-8. The win not only sees Malaysia take 3rd place in the tournament but also ensures that they avoid relegation. Chinese Taipei will be relegated to Division II in 2011 and replaced by the winners of the 2010 Division II championship in early June in New Delhi at the site of the Commonwealth Games sevens competition. That tournament features top seeds Thailand, China, India and Philippines.
After blooding 12 new caps in the squad of 24 in Wednesday’s semi-final against Sri Lanka, Chinese Taipei put in a much improved performance today, particularly defensively as they managed to hold Malaysia’s powerful backline to a respectable 35 points. Malaysia fielded seven IRB eligible Fijians in their squad today including the entire backline outside of the fly-half. The result was a brace of tries to winger Nacani Seniu and centre Timoci Nacokula as well as another from Isoa Turuva at fullback. Chinese Taipei answered through a penalty converted by fly half Lu Wei Fan and a try from flanker Chen Kuo Lun.
This afternoon also witnessed another A5N milestone in the first ever women’s test match played as a curtain-raiser to an A5N event with Singapore hosting their Malaysian counterparts. An entertaining match that saw Singapore take an early lead into halftime (5-0) but then concede two quick tries to Malaysia in the second half, had to be abandoned due to a lightning storm. Under the tournament’s abandonment procedure, the match score stands as it was in the second half, giving Malaysia a 10-5 win.
Earlier in the day, HSBC A5N coach and former Scotland coach Frank Hadden conducted a special clinic for children of local HSBC staff at the venue. It was the last activity in three days of HSBC A5N Youth Rugby Festivals held at Yio Chu Kang and the storied Padang rugby ground in Singapore’s Central Business District.
HSBC aims to bring positive social change to different cultures and communities through its diverse rugby sponsorships across the world. As title sponsor of the Asian 5 Nations (A5N), HSBC is committed to the development of the game throughout Asia. This year as part of the Asian 5 Nations, HSBC and the Asian Rugby Football Union are hosting a series of HSBC A5N Youth Rugby Festivals. The commitment to grassroots development will continue throughout the duration of the tournament with HSBC A5N Youth Rugby Festivals reaching over thousands of youth in Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Dubai, Bahrain, Indonesia, India, Laos, Cambodia and Nepal in the next few months.
CH and FC-Army clash pick of the matches
The confrontation between the young CH and FC outfit and the experienced Sri Lanka Army at Maitland Crescent on April 30 (Friday) is the pick of the first week’s matches of the Caltex Inter-club League Rugby Tournament.
The lads from Maitland Crescent led by Sri Lanka player Dinesh Sanjeeva will field a young side due to an exodus of senior players to other clubs.
Last year’s skipper and Sri Lanka hooker Achala Perera has crossed over to Kandy SC while prop forward Jayantha Ranaweera, fly half Sajith Bandara and utility player Senthil Kumar have joined Havelocks.
Sri Lanka ruggerites Bilal Hassan and Sharo Fernando have switched their allegiance to CR and FC while Air Force have recruited Sajith Adhikari and Damith Perera. To add to their woes Ex-Sri Lanka player Dilanka Wijesekera is away in Doha, Qatar.
Nevertheless CH have trained hard during the last few weeks and beat Police in a practice game a few days ago.
They have an adequate back division. The experienced Roy Nishantha is likely to operate from the base of the scrum and will pair off with Omar Hassen.
Two hard runners and solid tacklers - Sri Lanka ruggerites Avantha Hettiarachchi and Shane Dissanayake will be the centres. That powerful runner and ex-National player Lakala Perera and Niroshan Ekanayake will be manning the wings with Indika Udayakumara likely to occupy the full back berth.
The Sri Lanka Army led by lock forward Ajith Susantha will be fielding a side laden with seasoned campaigners.
The forte of the soldiers have been their power-packed forwards and once again players of the calibre of Nushal Meepage, Nishantha Kotalawala, Asoka Jayalal, Pushpakumara, Ratnayake, Manoj Silva and skipper Susantha are likely to give a fiery display in the loose which would help them to outplay their counterparts.
Probable teams:
CH and FC: Sathya Ranatunge, Bimal Herath, Tharindu Hasananga, Sandun Kumara, Hiran Bibile, Asanka Thalagalarachchi, Asoka Gunawardena, Dinesh Sanjeewa (Captain), Roy Nishantha and Omar Hassen, Lakala Perera, Avantha Hettiarachchi, Shane Dissanayake, Niroshan Ekanayake, Indika Udayakumara.
Army: Nushal Meepage, Asoka Jayalal, Nishantha Kotelawala, Ajith Susantha (Captain), Ajith Pushpakumara, R. M. G. Ratnayake, Kobbekaduwa, Manoj Silva, Tharindu Darshana and Upali Wickremasinghe, Saliya Handapangoda, Asanka Perera, Mourice Abeyratne, Dissanayake, Kapila Knowlton.
courtesy Daily News.lk
The confrontation between the young CH and FC outfit and the experienced Sri Lanka Army at Maitland Crescent on April 30 (Friday) is the pick of the first week’s matches of the Caltex Inter-club League Rugby Tournament.
The lads from Maitland Crescent led by Sri Lanka player Dinesh Sanjeeva will field a young side due to an exodus of senior players to other clubs.
Last year’s skipper and Sri Lanka hooker Achala Perera has crossed over to Kandy SC while prop forward Jayantha Ranaweera, fly half Sajith Bandara and utility player Senthil Kumar have joined Havelocks.
Sri Lanka ruggerites Bilal Hassan and Sharo Fernando have switched their allegiance to CR and FC while Air Force have recruited Sajith Adhikari and Damith Perera. To add to their woes Ex-Sri Lanka player Dilanka Wijesekera is away in Doha, Qatar.
Nevertheless CH have trained hard during the last few weeks and beat Police in a practice game a few days ago.
They have an adequate back division. The experienced Roy Nishantha is likely to operate from the base of the scrum and will pair off with Omar Hassen.
Two hard runners and solid tacklers - Sri Lanka ruggerites Avantha Hettiarachchi and Shane Dissanayake will be the centres. That powerful runner and ex-National player Lakala Perera and Niroshan Ekanayake will be manning the wings with Indika Udayakumara likely to occupy the full back berth.
The Sri Lanka Army led by lock forward Ajith Susantha will be fielding a side laden with seasoned campaigners.
The forte of the soldiers have been their power-packed forwards and once again players of the calibre of Nushal Meepage, Nishantha Kotalawala, Asoka Jayalal, Pushpakumara, Ratnayake, Manoj Silva and skipper Susantha are likely to give a fiery display in the loose which would help them to outplay their counterparts.
Probable teams:
CH and FC: Sathya Ranatunge, Bimal Herath, Tharindu Hasananga, Sandun Kumara, Hiran Bibile, Asanka Thalagalarachchi, Asoka Gunawardena, Dinesh Sanjeewa (Captain), Roy Nishantha and Omar Hassen, Lakala Perera, Avantha Hettiarachchi, Shane Dissanayake, Niroshan Ekanayake, Indika Udayakumara.
Army: Nushal Meepage, Asoka Jayalal, Nishantha Kotelawala, Ajith Susantha (Captain), Ajith Pushpakumara, R. M. G. Ratnayake, Kobbekaduwa, Manoj Silva, Tharindu Darshana and Upali Wickremasinghe, Saliya Handapangoda, Asanka Perera, Mourice Abeyratne, Dissanayake, Kapila Knowlton.
courtesy Daily News.lk
Isipatana out to redeem lost prestige
Isipatana College with a star studded line up are in search of their past glory as they look to redeem their lost prestige in the current inter- school rugby season.
The Isipatana College First XV rugby pool for 2010. Pictures by Mahinda Vithanachchi
They have retained virtually the same team that performed last year and with 13 coloursmen in their ranks they could be considered as strong contenders for the Singer Division One League title.
Last year of course their efforts ended in vain as they were pushed into the fifth place in the final points table after having recorded only five victories. Even then they were able to conclude the season on a positive note by emerging runners-up at the President’s Trophy knock out tournament.
Isipatana came very close to creating an upset as they went down fighting 19-22 in the final against S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia. Before that they had the better of Dharmaraja College, Kandy (27-21) in the quarter-finals and Wesley College (28-0) in the semi-finals respectively.
In the league tournament last year their finest moment probably came when they outplayed Kingswood College Kandy 25-19 in a key fixture at the Bogambara Stadium. Their success certainly had a great amount of significance as they were performing away from home and it also shattered Kingswood’s hopes of retaining the title for the second successive year.
In addition they defeated St. Peter’s College (22-12), Dharmaraja College Kandy (21-6), St. Joseph’s College and Mahanama College (39-10). But their hopes were
shattered following two major setbacks where they lost to St. Anthony’s College (10-12) and Trinity College, Kandy (15-27) respectively.
Isipatana College could look back at the past with a great amount of pride having produced as many as 53 national players since they started playing rugby in 1963. This is a fantastic achievement for a school which still does not own a playground of their own. As a result Isipatana are forced to depend heavily on their neighbouring Havelocks Sports Club which has been very supportive in providing the grounds free of charge for practices.
Despite all these setbacks Isipatana College have continued to prosper and more importantly they have been feeding the national squad with some outstanding ruggerites.
In fact during the last couple of years the Sri Lanka team has been studded with five Isipatanians namely Dinesh Chaturanga, Srinath Sooriyabandara, Sajith Saranga, Reza Mubarak and Vishwamithra Jayasinghe. This is in addition to the number of youth players they have been feeding to the Sri Lanka Under 19 squad.
Isipatana of course suffered a shock defeat at the hands of St. Peter’s College by 8-27 in their opening match of the tournament at Havelock Park during the weekend.
But that will not be the end of their campaign and they will be even more determined to display their prowess in the remaining matches of the tournament.
In fact Isipatana will face two tough opponents during the next two weeks when they confront Kingswood College, Kandy and S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia respectively.
This will be followed by two traditional games against Royal College on May 29 and Trinity College, Kandy on June 5 respectively.
The Isipatana College First XV Rugby Pool for 2010
Prop forwards: Heshana Sudharaka, Dhanushka Sooriyarachchi
Hooker: Prasad Madushanka, Isuru Fernando, Marlon Hevavitharana, Nipuna Devinda
Second rowers: M. Gayashan, Rukshan Jalil, Muksheed Kuthdoos
Flankers: Sajid Suhayb, Deshanth Subashana, Ashan Kovinda, Kuvendra Dharmadasa
Number eight: Tharindu Anuruddha, Udaya Kumar, Nigel Nadeesha, P. Wickremasinghe, J. Deen
Scrum halves: Shenal de Costa, Mohamed Rizwan
Fly half: Prasad Devinda
Centres: Ashan Chaturanga (captain), Yuresh Fonseka, Mohamed Ali, Nikalanka Promoda, Uditha Shenal
Wingers: Umayanga Sooriyabandara, Prashan Attanayake, Chanaka Kumara, Sumedha Srimal
Full back: Malik Jumath, Shenal Dias
Coach: Shamly Navaz
The tournament fixtures:
April 30: v Kingswood College, Kandy at Havelock Park
May 8: v S. Thomas’ College at Mount Lavinia
May 12: v Wesley College at Longden Place
May 22: v St. Anthony’s College at Havelock Park
May 29: v Royal College at Longden Place
June 5: v Trinity College Kandy at Longden Place
June 12: v Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa at Havelock Park
June 19: v Dharmaraja College, Kandy at Bogambara
Courtesy daily news.lk
Isipatana College with a star studded line up are in search of their past glory as they look to redeem their lost prestige in the current inter- school rugby season.
The Isipatana College First XV rugby pool for 2010. Pictures by Mahinda Vithanachchi
They have retained virtually the same team that performed last year and with 13 coloursmen in their ranks they could be considered as strong contenders for the Singer Division One League title.
Last year of course their efforts ended in vain as they were pushed into the fifth place in the final points table after having recorded only five victories. Even then they were able to conclude the season on a positive note by emerging runners-up at the President’s Trophy knock out tournament.
Isipatana came very close to creating an upset as they went down fighting 19-22 in the final against S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia. Before that they had the better of Dharmaraja College, Kandy (27-21) in the quarter-finals and Wesley College (28-0) in the semi-finals respectively.
In the league tournament last year their finest moment probably came when they outplayed Kingswood College Kandy 25-19 in a key fixture at the Bogambara Stadium. Their success certainly had a great amount of significance as they were performing away from home and it also shattered Kingswood’s hopes of retaining the title for the second successive year.
In addition they defeated St. Peter’s College (22-12), Dharmaraja College Kandy (21-6), St. Joseph’s College and Mahanama College (39-10). But their hopes were
shattered following two major setbacks where they lost to St. Anthony’s College (10-12) and Trinity College, Kandy (15-27) respectively.
Isipatana College could look back at the past with a great amount of pride having produced as many as 53 national players since they started playing rugby in 1963. This is a fantastic achievement for a school which still does not own a playground of their own. As a result Isipatana are forced to depend heavily on their neighbouring Havelocks Sports Club which has been very supportive in providing the grounds free of charge for practices.
Despite all these setbacks Isipatana College have continued to prosper and more importantly they have been feeding the national squad with some outstanding ruggerites.
In fact during the last couple of years the Sri Lanka team has been studded with five Isipatanians namely Dinesh Chaturanga, Srinath Sooriyabandara, Sajith Saranga, Reza Mubarak and Vishwamithra Jayasinghe. This is in addition to the number of youth players they have been feeding to the Sri Lanka Under 19 squad.
Isipatana of course suffered a shock defeat at the hands of St. Peter’s College by 8-27 in their opening match of the tournament at Havelock Park during the weekend.
But that will not be the end of their campaign and they will be even more determined to display their prowess in the remaining matches of the tournament.
In fact Isipatana will face two tough opponents during the next two weeks when they confront Kingswood College, Kandy and S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia respectively.
This will be followed by two traditional games against Royal College on May 29 and Trinity College, Kandy on June 5 respectively.
The Isipatana College First XV Rugby Pool for 2010
Prop forwards: Heshana Sudharaka, Dhanushka Sooriyarachchi
Hooker: Prasad Madushanka, Isuru Fernando, Marlon Hevavitharana, Nipuna Devinda
Second rowers: M. Gayashan, Rukshan Jalil, Muksheed Kuthdoos
Flankers: Sajid Suhayb, Deshanth Subashana, Ashan Kovinda, Kuvendra Dharmadasa
Number eight: Tharindu Anuruddha, Udaya Kumar, Nigel Nadeesha, P. Wickremasinghe, J. Deen
Scrum halves: Shenal de Costa, Mohamed Rizwan
Fly half: Prasad Devinda
Centres: Ashan Chaturanga (captain), Yuresh Fonseka, Mohamed Ali, Nikalanka Promoda, Uditha Shenal
Wingers: Umayanga Sooriyabandara, Prashan Attanayake, Chanaka Kumara, Sumedha Srimal
Full back: Malik Jumath, Shenal Dias
Coach: Shamly Navaz
The tournament fixtures:
April 30: v Kingswood College, Kandy at Havelock Park
May 8: v S. Thomas’ College at Mount Lavinia
May 12: v Wesley College at Longden Place
May 22: v St. Anthony’s College at Havelock Park
May 29: v Royal College at Longden Place
June 5: v Trinity College Kandy at Longden Place
June 12: v Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa at Havelock Park
June 19: v Dharmaraja College, Kandy at Bogambara
Courtesy daily news.lk
Fans line up for Rugby World Cup tickets
More than 50,000 people have pre-registered ahead of the launch Tuesday of the first phase of ticket sales for next year's Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, organisers said.
The figure includes 20,000 overseas fans from 100 different countries, although most are from major rugby playing nations such as Britain, Australia, and Ireland, as well as the United States and Canada.
"This is a fantastic response and shows how popular Rugby World Cup has become around the world," said Martin Snedden, the chief executive of tournament organiser, Rugby New Zealand 2011 (RNZ 2011).
Strong ticket sales are essential to avoid a huge loss for RNZ 2011 a joint venture between the New Zealand Rugby Union and the government which bears all the costs of the tournament but will only get income from ticket sales. Revenue from television rights and sponsorship are used by the International Rugby Board to develop the game worldwide.
Online purchases of pool packs which either include all four pool matches played by a single team or all pool matches at a single venue will be on sale from Tuesday, which also marks 500 days to go to the opening World Cup match.
A total of 85,000 tickets have already been sold as part of official travel packages for the six-week long tournament, which opens on September 9 next year.
Individual match tickets will go on sale in August or September and ballots for tickets to the semi-finals and final will be held near the end of the year.
WELLINGTON, AFP
More than 50,000 people have pre-registered ahead of the launch Tuesday of the first phase of ticket sales for next year's Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, organisers said.
The figure includes 20,000 overseas fans from 100 different countries, although most are from major rugby playing nations such as Britain, Australia, and Ireland, as well as the United States and Canada.
"This is a fantastic response and shows how popular Rugby World Cup has become around the world," said Martin Snedden, the chief executive of tournament organiser, Rugby New Zealand 2011 (RNZ 2011).
Strong ticket sales are essential to avoid a huge loss for RNZ 2011 a joint venture between the New Zealand Rugby Union and the government which bears all the costs of the tournament but will only get income from ticket sales. Revenue from television rights and sponsorship are used by the International Rugby Board to develop the game worldwide.
Online purchases of pool packs which either include all four pool matches played by a single team or all pool matches at a single venue will be on sale from Tuesday, which also marks 500 days to go to the opening World Cup match.
A total of 85,000 tickets have already been sold as part of official travel packages for the six-week long tournament, which opens on September 9 next year.
Individual match tickets will go on sale in August or September and ballots for tickets to the semi-finals and final will be held near the end of the year.
WELLINGTON, AFP
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