The Box Office Clashes And Dress Rehearsals

We're almost at the end of Round 1 as this week's clashes will determine who goes into Round 2 as undefeated teams to have one hand on the Championship Trophy, and who will be the last team to qualify for the Cup segment.

To start off, we really need to acknowledge the defensive effort of Wesley College to beat the defending champions St. Peter's College in a near one-sided affair that ended 23-05. This result may not have been expected by most although it was no surprise that Wesley being one of the Dark Horses in this year's competition, finally made their presence known and will face Ananda College, who recorded a stunning win over St. Anthony's by 30-27, in what we'd like to call a 'Brendon Kuruppu' Derby tomorrow.

St. Peter's College on the other hand, are to face another Dark Horse in D.S. Senanayake College who are beaming in confidence and are just one win away from the Cup segment. The Dons need to play their best rugby on Peterite turf if they want to create history for their Alma Mater, but the Peteries will also want to show that one defeat does not mean they are finished. In fact, this is the only remaining match in the 'Race for the Cup Segment' since 5 teams have already qualified including Wesley.

The Inaugural Rizvi Suhayb Trophy

These days may appear very calm and clear but there's a storm brewing in Mount Lavinia as S. Thomas' College have managed to remain on top of the Group 2A table and outscore the Green Machine, who also have a perfect 24 points but appear to be saving their best for the last without risking any more injuries.

The Thomians who last beat Isipathana College in 2009, will have the slight home advantage and will look to out kick their opponents, one of their strong facets. The Isipathana forwards on the other hand, have been menacing by stealing lineouts and have the psychological advantage in this important set piece.

This encounter will be played for a trophy match for the first time in memory of the 1989 double championship winning Thomian Captain Rizvi Suhayb, while the junior game will be played for the Sudesh Abeysinghe Memorial Trophy, who also passed away recently and captained the Greens in 1988.

On a dry surface, something Isipathana have not had the luxury to play on so far this season and the Thomians having shown they too have the need for speed, this match is certainly going to be an entertaining one, just like last year's high scoring thriller!

The Pre-Bradby Dress Rehearsal

The other highly anticipated game of the weekend will be between traditional rivals Royal College and Trinity College, but for the first time in the league, not to be played for the 1st leg of the Bradby!

Trinity have gotten to a perfect start in the season, one they feel this is THE season since 1987, and have scored the most number of tries so far with 32 but Royal on the other hand are not the far behind with 30 tries to their name. However, it is doubtful if either teams will be able to get a bonus point win since their defensive effort has also been upto the mark.

Both teams will be coming with 24 points apiece but a win here will have a huge say in their chances of being the Cup champions. Trinity have shown their flair by scoring some breathtaking tries through the three-quarters and Royal on the other hand have statistically shown they have the better defensive game so far.

It would be interesting to see what tactics both teams are going to adopt as it would be unwise to go all guns blazing before their all important Bradby Shield encounter but with the Championship title at stake in the Lion's Den in Pallekale, a close low scoring encounter is expected.

This article ends here with no conclusion or clear-cut predictions as we are still halfway into the season, but we are excited to announce that thesidelines.lk has been shortlisted in the Sports Category for the BestWeb.LK Web Design Awards and you can help by providing an honest rating (go to this link) after watching the instructions video below!