The atmosphere at the Royal College sports complex on the evening of the 24th of March was thick with anticipation as the rugby teams of the Royal College and S. Thomas’ College lined up on the field for their respective college anthems. Fresh from seeing the Royal Under 18 team comfortably securing the Thambapillai trophy, the crowd knew that Royal was the favourite for the match, but one could never tell for sure until the match was over.

The game started off well for Royal, as they scored early in the 5th minute after hooker Mohommed Ifan managed to break through the defense for the first try. After that the game continued at a sluggish pace, neither side showing absolute advantage over the other. The Thomians did well to get past the 22m line on occasion, but couldn’t convert their effort into points. Eventually Royal scored again on the brink of halftime with Radeesh Wijerathne scoring very similarly to the first one. Unfortunately, fullback Dulan Gunawardana couldn’t convert.

At half time, the scoreboard showing 10-00, it still seemed like the Thomians were in with a chance. But Royal lived up to their reputation of being one of the deadliest post half time sides after they took to the field as they made full use of their back line to decimate the Thomian defense.

It was as though Royal decided to shift into overdrive as they got hands on the ball. Before S. Thomas’ knew what hit them, the home side had scored three tries in the first three minutes of the second half as Royal passed with pinpoint accuracy and broke through with surgical precision to give them a lead of 31 points. Ifam scored his second try of the game with Yasis Rashmika and Kalindu Nandika following hot on his heels. Dulan Gunawardana made no errors as he put away every conversion with seemingly little effort.

It didn’t stop there. Royal scored try after try mercilessly as captain Sabith Feroze cut past the fullback to make it 38 with the conversion, and then Himantha Hirushan scored straight off kick off to extend the lead to 45. The crowd thought it could not get better, but Royal maintained the pressure as Thulaib Hassen scored again picking up a loose ball near the try line which was again converted by Gunawardana, who was working like a well-oiled machine. For the Royal supporters the scoreboard was a beauty to behold, 52-00, equaling the record set in 2015 by the Royal side led by Bhanuka Gamage. Despite the match being 10 minutes shorter than it was three years ago, with only 35 minutes a half as opposed to 40 like previous years, the side was eager to break the record and as the game drew closer and closer to the end, one could feel the excitement building.

The final minute arrived, and Royal College was awarded a penalty. With little hesitation, captain Sabith Feroze opted for the post. As Dulan Gunawardana stepped back for the kick, the crowd collectively drew its breath and then the Royal supporters let it out in a roar of triumph as Gunawardana emphatically drove the ball through the post to give Royal College a record breaking win over their rivals as the scoreboard showed a 55 point lead as the final whistle blew. For captain Feroze and his team it was a dream come true, and as they received the Michael Gunaratne trophy at the awarding ceremony, their passion and triumph could not be mistaken.

Photo Album : Photographic Society