The 22nd Annual Royal – Thomian Encounter for the Dr. R.L. Hayman Trophy was truly a high intensity event that kept both parties guessing till the final whistle blew. The Firs leg was held on the 12th of October and the Second, on the 19th at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium Pool Complex. S’ Thomas’ College came into the game from a very bitter defeat last year at the hands of Shan Lakshitha and Co. who pulled off a first-time-ever win at “the Hayman”, winning on aggregate after being defeated in the First leg.

Both teams played a fast paced game and as a result we saw a fairly high scoring encounter this year on aggregate, with S. Thomas’ College winning in the last quarter of the Second leg on aggregate although Royal won the Second leg. The First leg scores were 05 – 08 to STC and the Second leg scores were 04 – 03 to Royal, making it 09 – 11 in favour of STC. It was a hard fought victory to STC, who were trailing 03 – 00 at the end of the first half of the Second leg. But the comeback was quite spectacular and the Royalists can be proud for giving S. Thomas’ quite the run for their money.

Kisal Assalarachchi, Akila Weerasinghe and Chandula Fernando were offensively noticeable players, making most of the contributions to the scoring. Waleed Uwais was excellent as goal keeper and Captain Kanitha Munasinghe showed why Royal was easily the better swimming outfit, winning every swim-ball in both legs. The team performed well, but it was just not enough to brake the Thomians this year.

Very positive signs to take from the U15 game for the Mahinda Liyanage Challenge Trophy is an impressive win for Royal, 11 – 07 (agg) | First leg (05 – 05)| Second leg (06 – 02). Captain Basith Yakoob was the outstanding player in the U15 encounter.

It was a tough defeat for the team, but the talent on display was excellent and we believe that the team will learn from their experiences this year, and come-back even stronger next year at the 23rd Royal – Thomian Water Polo Encounter!