Isipatana give lessons on how to pull off victory from the jaws of defeat

The school rugby tournament is slowly but steadily reaching a busting point, but that explosion will, when it takes place, look like a firecracker lit in the night sky. The inter-school under 19 league rugby season was full of promises and surprises; the latter was visible when the underdogs rallied their players together and put up a fight on occasions when one sided games were predicted. Trinity and Royal this season are struggling to stay in contention for top honours despite making it to the super round of the competition. St. Peter’s and Isipatana are unbeaten and are ready to scrum down this Saturday. Both teams know that this final challenge demands more than an ‘eight man shove’ to emerge the victor because rugby skills and individual brilliance will also be relied upon at times when it’s so difficult to cross the opponent’s goal line.

But these two teams produced some of the best moves seen in rugby when playing with their backs against the wall. Trinity, in particular, didn’t allow the Peterites to run over them in their super round game. The match ended up as a high scoring affair with both teams producing eight tries between them to entertain spectators. The Peterites are playing fast and open rugby and can be compared to a club side that plays division 1 rugby. It’s a nerve tingling experience for opponents when the Peterites move the ball wide and use the entire breadth of the ground when on the offensive. Their back division is packed with steppers (fast running players). Players like Pasindu Bandara, Yumeth Shihara, fly half Rahul Peter and dazzling winger Vishenka Silva have together bamboozled opponents with their mesmerizing runs and quicksilver footwork. Silva is at present the leading try scorer in the tournament, which is expected to find the winner after the two final games scheduled for August 17 (Saturday).

Royal had a surprise for Isipatana at Havelock Park. Though they lost, the lads from Reid Avenue were not disgraced. The difference in the score was a single point (19-18). The match was played for the Major Milroy Fernando trophy. The game was a ding-dong battle till the final whistle and the green shirts were forced to spend all their energies during the 70 minutes of rugby. Isipatana’s Shaakib Zumri was once again the match winner for them.

This Isipatana team is continuing to marvel the crowds this season. Unlike the Peterites, Isipatana has found a formula to prevail in closely fought games. A good many of the games that Isipatana featured in gave the green shirts goose bumps, but they were able to pull out victory from the jaws of defeat. That makes this side so special among other ‘hungry wolves’ prowling in the rugby jungle and looking for meat to chew on.

Isipatana missed out on having a glorious season last year. They finished third in the league tournament and finished as runners up in the president’s trophy knockout tournament. Their main opponent in 2023, like this season, was St. Peter’s.

Come August 17 these two teams will clash in the decider of the 2024 league tournament, despite the fact that elsewhere, on the same day, and also in Colombo, there is another match which is played between Royal and Trinity which will attract a fare share of the rugby crowd that spends it’s hard earned money to watch quality rugby. The Royal- Trinity game, played for the Bradby Shield, is also considered as a tournament fixture.

The tournament is conducted by the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association and sponsored by Dialog.