Friday, June 18, 2010

Peterites undisputed rugby champions‏

St. Peter's College are the new Singer inter-school Division One League champions for the current season. They have maintained an unbeaten record and finished on top of the points table with the last match of the tournament coming up this week.

The St. Peter’s College rugby team that emerged Singer Division One League champions for 2010. Pictures by Mahinda Vithanachchi
However the match against St. Anthony's College will be of academic interest where the table leaders are concerned because the Peterites have already built up an eight point lead over their nearest rivals.
This has been a fabulous season for the lads from Bambalapitiya who started their campaign for the Premier title without any big names in the ranks. They of course began the league tournament with a great amount of confidence after having clinched the Western Province and the All Island seven-a-side tournament.
Even then St. Peter's College were still under pressure because they did not have any reputed players who had made their presence felt during the previous season. In 2007 of course they had a number of talented players and they went on to emerge unbeaten champions.
But this time it was completely different as they had to start from the beginning and build up their own kind of strategy to overcome the opposition. Under the supervision of veteran coach Sanath Martis and assisted by Colin Denish the Peterites were able to make vast strides this year having registered seven impressive victories.
Their only setback probably came during the latter stages of the tournament when they were held to a 31 all draw by S. Thomas' College in a vital match played at Mount Lavinia.

Keith Gurusinghe (captain)
Never before they had been under so much of pressure during the entire season and their reputation and the unbeaten record was under threat for the first time in the tournament. But they eventually proved themselves with a courageous performance where they came back in style after trailing by 15 points at one stage.
Never mind that they could not pull off the game but a draw was sufficient enough to ensure them of securing the league title after a lapse of two years. St. Peter's College have always played well during the last few minutes of the game and this turned out to be a habit throughout the season.
But in the game against S. Thomas' College that almost back fired as they found it difficult to penetrate their opponents defence when it really mattered.
They somewhat underestimated their opponents and also panicked during the later stages.
However thanks to the fine leadership of Keith Gurusinghe they eventually went on to draw the match and win the title. In fact skipper and number eight Gurusinghe was one of the most outstanding players to emerge this season along with the two wingers Dhanushka Ranjan, Sandun Herath, Shenal Dias and Bhanuka Nanayakkara.

Sanath Martis
(Head coach)
Even then assistant coach and spokesman for St. Peter's rugby Colin Denish stated that it is tough to name any individuals who played well this year because the entire squad contributed towards their success.
In fact Dhanushka Ranjan and Sandun Herath have emerged as the most successful try scorers for the team in the current season while Keith Gurusinghe stamped his class as one of the finest forwards in the current schools scene.
The other major factor for their success is that they wanted to score a try every time they got the ball. They never cared to the opposition and their reputation and their main target was to play aggressive rugby and to score a try.
This was quite clear because in the match against Prince of Wales College Moratuwa they went on a rampage and piled up over one hundred and fifty points while running down as many as 26 tries and converting 17 of them. While some of the other teams were playing safe rugby, St. Peter's College decided to be more innovative and aggressive as they decided to run the ball even from their own territory which has become a rare sight these days.
They have proved this several times and it has turned out to be quite successful with Dhanushka Ranjan's 80 metre try as the best example for their efforts.
Rugby is all about scoring tries and the St. Peter's College team is a classic example for that where they played the game attractively with a tremendous pace combined with quality.
In addition St. Peter's College was certainly the fittest team in the tournament as they faced very few injuries during the tournament.
In the past of course they have experienced many injuries with a couple of key players been ruled out mid way in the season. But this time they had the services of a specialist trainer in the form of Ransilu Jayatilleke who was able to put this side on the correct path where fitness, endurance and conditioning were concerned.
As a result the players were able to withstand the pressure and any minor injuries that helped them to recover in time and deliver the goods to emerge as a champion outfit at the end.
The champion St. Peter's College Rugby squad:
Prop forwards: Steve Nelson, Chaturanga Mendis, Johan Anderson.
Hooker: Shalin Mendis, Vishwa Alwis.
Second rowers: Soyuru Anthony, Asitha Krishan, Ravindu Indrakumara, Shehan Mendis.
Flankers: Asitha Ratnayake, Shenal Dias, Kevin Fonseka, Chamath Madurawela.
Number eight: Keith Gurusinghe (captain).
Scrum half: Rizwan Meedin, Ruchira Kumara.
Fly half: Viraj Perera, Aneesha Fernando, Shehan Weerakkody.
Centres: Danushka Ranjan, Bhanuka Nanayakkara.
Wingers: Sandun Herath, Lakith Perera, Srinath Perera, Dinesh Perera.
Full back: Kevin Wimaladasa.
Head Coach: Sanath Martisz
Assistant Coach: Colin Denish
Trainer: Ransilu Jayatilleke
Manager: Mahesh Perera
Sports Coordinator: Rev Fr. Prasanga Silva
Rector: Rev. Fr. Travis Gabriel
How they fared this season: Beat Isipatana College 27-8. Beat Trinity College Kandy 31-10. Beat Prince of Wales College 164 nil. Beat Dharmaraja College 58-nil.
Beat Royal College 22-20. Beat Kingswood College 45-29. Drew with S. Thomas' College 31-all. Beat Wesley College 50-13.

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