The Rugby season for 2013 wasn’t exactly a dream start for the Royalists. One win and two losses in the first three games saw many questions being asked of the First XV. But, as done in the past, when questions were asked the team looked for answers and their efforts showed in the all important Wesley game. A revamped training schedule and spirit gave way to a truly inspiring performance by the Royalists on the 27th of April at the CR&FC Grounds.

Click on the link to view the complete album – First XV Rugby – Royal vs. Wesley

The Royalists went into the game under tremendous pressure, the venue being away also contributing to it. Wesley started out confidently and were playing well. Within the first five minutes, Wesley managed to make it past the Royal line to score the first try of the game. Their confidence may have been further elevated if not for a poor effort on the conversion, which made the score Royal 00 – 05 Wesley. Once again, not the ideal start that the Royalists were looking for, but luck may have been on Royal’s side, as Udesh Ranaweera was able to score within minutes of the Wesley try. Captain Rimze Jamaldeen was not looking to make any mistakes in this crucial point of the season and successfully converted to make it Royal 07 – 05 Wesley. The scores remained the same for just over half an hour until Wesley managed to pull off an outstanding offensive play to score and convert. Things were not looking up as Royal went into half time, trailing closely behind Wesley.

The half time break seemed to make a difference, as the team came back strong to alter the course of the game. Rimze’s kicking showed a certain improvement, as he made the maximum of a penalty, bringing Royal closer to Wesley’s score. It was followed shortly by the game’s critical turning point, as Rimze’s brilliant interception just a few meters away from the try line brought the second try for Royal with a successful conversion. The Royal offense kept coming as Udesh Ranaweera scored once again, followed by an unusual patch of play as Rimze went for a penalty awarded at the 55m line and Wesley knocked on to make way for a Nimshan Jayawardane try. Rimze was just not going to miss as he successfully converted on both occasions.

The final score read Royal 31 – 12 Wesley, reflecting on an outstanding performance by what looks to be a changed unit. Errors came every now and then, but a considerable improvement was seen at the Wesley game which is a very positive sign for the remainder of the season. This victory will hopefully set the ball rolling for more positive results as Royal head to Kandy to face St. Anthony’s College, Katugastota on the 4th of May. St. Anthony’s will surely ask a few challenging questions from the boys, but as we saw, they have the ability to find the solution and hopefully this will be the case this coming weekend.

We congratulate the team on their excellent performance and wish them the very best of luck for the coming fixtures.