CHRIS DHAMBARAGE
COLOMBO – Trinity College will face another tough challenge when they confront hometown rivals Vidyartha College in their Inter-Schools Under-19 ‘A’ Division League Rugby Tournament first-round match at the Bogambara Stadium in Kandy on Sunday.
Vidyartha are currently on top of the points table in Group 2A after their convincing 26-19 bonus-point victory over Science College, Mount Lavinia last week played at the same venue.
In contrast, Trinity had a horrible start to the new season as they were humiliated 15-17 for their first ever defeat at the hands of Dharmaraja College at the Bogambara Stadium.
Therefore, this will be a very important game for the Trinitians, who will be determined to get back into winning ways of this 14-team tournament, conducted by the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association.
The two schools have never met in an ‘A’ Division League Tournament fixture for more than a decade and it was way back in 2012 that they figured in a 15-a-side game with Trinity emerging victorious by a convincing margin of 62-7 at the Nittawela Stadium in Kandy.
Thereafter, Vidyartha went through a period of suspension and were forced to play in the ‘B’ Division Tournament and in the recent past the two schools were drawn into different groups while further depriving a chance of playing together.
Trinity’s main concern will be on the lineouts where they threw away valuable possession to their opponents with their own throw-ins last week and the place-kicking is another area where they need to improve to build up extra points.
In contrast, Vidyartha will look to stick to their basics and play a good game with their three quarters as they have a great chance of creating a piece of rugby history with an upset victory
