Knockout Rematches And The Title Decider

We are just one sleep away from witnessing an action-packed Saturday to mark the commencement of Round 2 of the School's Rugby League (Segment 1), with as many as 9 matches happening in a single day!

With 3 key fixtures happening in the Cug segment, here's a preview on the matches with a special acknowledgement to one

Trinity vs S.Thomas - A Clash of the Titans

This match which is played for the prestigious Canon R.S. De Saram Shield, will be one of the most looked forward to clashes as two of the unbeaten teams in Round 1 will go head to head for title rights after a lapse of many years for either College, and is highly regarded as the League Decider Match.

Trinity College have not got their hands on the League Championship Trophy since 1987, and the Thomians haven't either since 2000. Both teams first met in 1955, marking STC's debut in Schools Rugby during Warden De Saram's tenure and has been played as a trophy fixture between the two Colleges since 1978, honouring the pioneer of the Trinity-Thomian brotherhood beyond the Church.

Trinity beat STC in this year's Knockouts game with a score of 24-15

The 48th fixture this year will be played with a lot of anticipation, not just for the Shield but for the League title, and both teams who have met each other before in the Knockouts Quarter Finals this year, have a score to settle at the Big Club Grounds tomorrow.

STC who beat Isipathana after 16 long years to claim their first Silverware of the season, will have the home advantage this time around, against a familiar opponent in Trinity who have so far been the most attacking team in the League with the most number of tries, averaging a little over 7 per game.

Isipathana vs Wesley - A Knockouts Rematch

This match, like the Trinity-STC game, will also be a rematch from the Knockouts Tournament this year but similarly, Wesley College are not the same team that played in the Knockouts. They are also one of the three unbeaten teams in this year's league, in contrast to Isipathana College who are coming after a defeat to the Thomians two weeks back.

Isipathana beat Wesley in the Knockouts 24-10

Isipathana despite their shortcomings in the Rizvi Suhayb fixture and several injury concerns, will not be a team to write off yet and would gladly spoil the deafening cheers of 'Zam Zam Zakey.' However, Wesley's defence has been statistically the hardest to infiltrate and have the better kicking game. The forwards in both teams will certainly be an interesting clash but on paper, Wesley hold the edge with their current backline.

In the event where Isipathana beat Wesley again, this would mean only one unbeaten team will remain in the first week of Round 2 and the League will open again unless winner of the De Saram Shield encounter, goes on to win all of their remaining games!

Royal vs St. Peter's - The Fight to Stay in the Race

The third and final Cup segment match will be between Royal College and St. Peter's College, for the B.C. Anghie Memorial Trophy, a master of both Colleges. Unlike the two fixtures mentioned before, both teams are coming off a defeat and it is a must-win game if they have any last hopes of winning the title.

St.Peter's the Defending Champions have their win streak broken by Wesley College in a nearly one-sided 23-05 game that shattered their confidence, but one defeat doesn't define a team. Psychologically, they have an advantage over Royal who are just coming from a heavy defeat over Trinity who scored 6 tries against them while they score none. However, Royal has the statistical advantage in both attack and defense when you look at the points table, scoring more tries and having lesser points scored against.

Royal vs St. Peter's - one of the longest running school's rugby encounters

One of the oldest rivalries played for the 78th time, while the trophy donated by Mr. Anghie's son has been played since 2013 and has been in the Peterite cabinet since 2019, although Royal lead the tally by nearly double.

A Cause Beyond The Rough and Tumble

While this article was mainly a preview of the Cup segment matches, we cannot ignore the magnanimous gesture made by Zahira College to donate the gate collection from their fixture against D.S. Senanayake College, for a worthy cause to help Janodya, from their opponent's school, to help fight against Leukaemia.

The match is played for the 5th R.I.T. Alles Trophy encounter, a renowned educationist and the founder of DSSC, and we encourage as many Zahirians and Senanayakians to go in numbers to support their teams, and for those who wish to donate can do so with the details given below.