CHRIS DHAMBARAGE
COLOMBO – Royal College will be chasing an important league runners-up position when they take on St. Anthony’s College in another Super Round segment match at the Bogambara Stadium in Kandy on Saturday.
The lads from Reid Avenue are currently third in the points table and they could come on par with Isipathana if they beat the Antonians with a bonus point and provided St. Peter’s emerge victorious without conceding any losing bonus points to their opponents.
In case Royal and Isipathana are level on points after the completion of the Super Round segment, then the former will claim the second place without any doubt as they had earlier defeated the same opponents in a league tournament encounter.
Royal will certainly go in as the clear favourites after last week’s heroics where they ended Isipathana’s unbeaten streak this season with a stunning 22-17 win on their home grounds.
In contrast, the Antonians have plenty of homework to be done as they are still recovering after last week’s heavy drubbing at the hands of St. Peter’s at Bambalapitiya.
In fact, the Antonians will look to produce an improved performance on their home conditions but Royal will be even more determined to conclude what has been a fabulous league tournament for them.
Royal entered the Super Round Segment with the odds heavily against them with a tally of 26 points with four wins and two defeats from their six outings.
They suffered a 5-11 defeat at the hands of St. Peter’s in their opening fixture but thereafter, they went on to record back-to-back wins over Science College (45-10), Vidyartha (47-3), Zahira (44-3) and Dharmaraja (36-18) respectively.
But their chances of winning the league title took a backseat when they suffered a shock 10-13 defeat against the traditional rivals Trinity in the Bradby Shield first-leg at the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy.
Meanwhile, the Antonians will certainly cherish this historic moment of playing in the Super Round Segment after a long layoff after some real hard work.
In fact, their appearance in the final round was in the balance until the final week of matches as they eventually sealed their spot with a thrilling 34-17 win over S. Thomas’ at the Bogambara Stadium.
The Antonians made a fine impact in the very first match of the tournament as they stunned the favourites St. Joseph’s 22-12 but went down to D. S. Senanayake (19-23) in the next outing.
The lads from Katugastota bounced back with a nail-biting 30-29 win over Wesley and defeated hometown rivals Kingswood (26-10) before adding the finishing touches in a spectacular manner.
