COLOMBO – St. Anthony’s College secured the last Super Round spot when they defeated S. Thomas’ College 34-17 in their Inter-Schools Under-19 Division One League Rugby Tournament match played at the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy on Saturday.
With their closest rivals D. S. Senanayake College succumbing to St. Joseph’s College 16-29 in their decisive game at Havelock Park on the same day, the Antonians were able to seal the second spot from Group 1A.
The Antonians will now join the defending champions Isipathana College, Royal College and St. Peter’s College, who had already booked their place in the final-round of this 14-team tournament, conducted by the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association.
The Eagles completed their task in style as they ran down six tries and converted two of them for a much-needed bonus point win while conceding just a couple of tries to their opponents.
Their success also had a great amount of significance as they went on to regain the
Rev. Fr. Angelo Rosati Memorial Trophy after a lapse of 12 years having last defeated the Thomians way back in 2011 with a record score of 63-13.
Meanwhile, the last year league runners-up St. Joseph’s completed their first-round matches with an impressive 29-16 victory over D. S. Senanayake at Havelock Park.
The Josephians were also able to knock-out the giant-killers D. S. Senanayake from the Super Round stage with a clinical performance and went on to secure a more respectable third place in the points table.
Unbeaten St. Peter’s warmed-up for the Super Round segment with a massive 66-10 victory over Vidyartha College in their Under-19 Division One League Rugby Tournament match played at Bambalapitiya on Saturday.
The former league champions went on the rampage with their best performance for the current season and finished well in front of Group 2A with a tally of 34 points.
Science College had the satisfaction of recording their first win when they edged out Dharmaraja College 24-21 in a thrilling Inter-Schools Under-19 Division One League Rugby Tournament match played at Mount Lavinia on Saturday.
The game was heading for a 21-21 draw at one stage as both teams went into the last few minutes of the game under pressure, but the home side held their nerve and fired across a penalty to seal the contest in their favour.