CHRIS DHAMBARAGE
COLOMBO – A rousing game is on the cards when the traditional rivals St. Joseph’s College and St. Peter’s College clash in the President’s Trophy Inter-Schools Under-19 Knock-Out Rugby Tournament semi-final encounter at Havelock Park on Sunday. The kick-off is at 4.15 p.m.
This match will also be of great significance for both teams as they will be vying for the prestigious Rev. Fr. Basil Wiratunga Shield after a lapse of four years.
The two teams last played in the 2019 season, where the Peterites edged out the Josephians 23-21 at Bambalapitiya to regain the Shield after a lapse of four years with an injury time penalty from Thenuka Nanayakkara.
This time, unbeaten St. Peter’s will start favourites and they are looking to complete a grand double having already clinched the 2023 ‘A’ Division League Championship after a lapse of 13 years.
The Peterites are currently on an eight-match winning streak this season as they had the better of Trinity College 25-13 in the fourth quarter-final played at Havelock Park, last week.
In contrast, St. Joseph’s missed out the chance of playing in the Super Round Segment of the league tournament but have bounced back magnificently by overcoming St. Anthony’s College 57-0 in the third quarter-final played at Havelock Park, last week.
The Joes were able to avenge their previous defeat in the league tournament at the hands of the Antonians by running down nine tries during their best performance for the current season.
However, St. Peter’s have looked well organised in their gameplan throughout this season, and they have the ingredients to become a champion outfit for the second time this year.
Their biggest challenge will be to counter the marauding St. Joseph’s forwards, with Skipper and dynamic number eight Naveen Marasinghe set to make another impact following his heroics last week.
It will be interesting whether the Peterites would opt to attack with their set of forwards, or they would try and recycle the ball through their speedy back division, which has plenty of firepower to penetrate any defence.
They proved it in the league tournament with a consistent performance and they started the knock-out tournament on a positive note by running down four tries in the quarter-final fixture against Trinity.