St. Joseph’s College were so close but yet so far against Royal College as the Reid avenue boys registered a close 14-11 win over the hosts at CR & FC grounds on Saturday (Apr. 12).
Dark clouds were hovering around the CR & FC atmosphere from the start of the junior games and the much awaited 1st XV game commenced with slight drizzle. Promising Josephian fullback Shamilka Kurumbalapitiya kicked off the game on referee A.C Tennakoon’s whistle.
Both teams were quick to get used to the damp weather but the conditions underfoot curtailed the talented backs from hitting their strides early on. Ball handling was not easy with the dim light and rain coming down. Royal conceded penalties early on to give their opponents the much needed possession and territory early on in this crucial battle of the group 2A. Josephians were playing with a proper game plan and it was evident with their strong attacking bursts early on which tested the Royal defense on several occasions in the first 10 minutes of the game.
Shamilka Kurumbalapitiya worked his magic for St. Joseph’s in the 13th minute of the game when he side-stepped twice on a few clumsy Royal defenders in a superb 50 meter run in the far left corner of the field to score his 1st try of the evening. Fly half Raveen Antonio missed the conversion. (Joes 05 – Royal 00)
Royal got a chance to put points straight away in the 15th minute when the Josephian defense line was caught offside but the Royal skipper Nimshan Jayawardene failed to bisect the uprights with his 40 meter penalty kick. Scores remained the same but the momentum shifted towards Royal as they pounced on the Josephian mistakes to gain territory and possession to their advantage to attack deep inside the Joes territory.
Royal got their first points on the score board when the game was only 25 minutes old. Hooker Supun Warnakulasooriya scored a memorable try when he was behind a strong driving ‘Royal’ maul where he just had to barge over the try line to level the scores. Skipper Nimshan Jayawardene failed to add the extra points. (Joes 05 – Royal 05)
Both fullbacks of either side were superlative in their game as they were the most impressive players on the field. Nimshan Jayawardene was dangerous in broken play while Shamilka Kurumbalapitiya was terrific with his defense as the last man of defense for St. Joseph’s.
Nimshan Jayawardene kicked his team to lead in the 33rd minute when the Josephians were penalized for an infringement on a ruck and Nimshan’s 30 meter penalty kick bisected the posts perfectly. (Joes 05 – Royal 08)
On the brink of the half time whistle, Royal extended their slight lead into 6 points going into the break when Nimshan Jayawardene fired across another easy penalty kick after referee penalized Josephians for coming in from the side.
Half time: Joes 05 – Royal 11
After the 10 minute breather, Nimshan Jayawardene restarted the game. Both team looked to play the conservative game early in the second half. The forwards played the pivotal role as they needed to work-out their set plays according to their plan. Royal were very dominant in the lineouts as they rolled the driving maul almost each time they were in the Joes territory.
The Darley road boys showed strength in breakdowns but it was not their best performance compared to their two previous games. The Josephian fly half was not up to the mark with his tactical playing while the big made Josephian forwards were defended well by the Royalists.
The first twenty minutes in the second half belonged to the Blue & White brigade as they played with great determination and courage in tough ground conditions to be able to go head to head with the more superior Royal outfit as rain continued to pour down at Longden place.
Shamilka Kurumbalapitiya reduced the deficit to only 3 points in the 58th minute of the game when he successfully booted over a 25 meter penalty kick after Royal line was caught offside.
(Joes 08 – Royal 11)
St. Joseph’s continued their good work as they stuck to their task of doing the basics right. Shamilka Kurumbalapitiya leveled the scores in the 65th minute when he scored another penalty kick which was 28 meters out from the try line. (Joes 11 – Royal 11)
The final few minutes of the game was turning out to be rather interesting for the thousands of loyal supporters from both schools witnessing another classic thrilling schools rugby encounter at Longden place. The game entered the final 10 minutes and with the sluggish ground conditions and the physical fitness levels slowing it down, “the next scoring team would win the game.“ ThePapare.com rugby commentator whispered to my ears.
Royal College were awarded an easy straight forward 15 meter penalty kick in the 70th minute and skipper Nimshan Jayawardene made no mistake with the kick to put his team in the lead once again. (Joes 11 – Royal 14)
Josephian flanker Taariq Salih was yellow carded in the 71st minute for a late tackle and it was a huge blow to the Josephian outfit as they had to play the final minutes with only 14 players. Josephians tried exceptionally hard to cross the Royal defense line or else to win a kicking range penalty advantage but the toughened Royalists held their end of the bargain to be more positive and play out the final minutes to be the worthy winners of a close game as referee A.C Tennakoon blew the final long whistle.
Full time: Joes 11 – Royal 14
