Trinity College Kandy will be another front runner for the 2011 league title as they have with them some capable players who can topple any opposition on their day. They had a disappointing season last year as they did not perform to expectation. They finished 6th in the league under the captaincy of Damith Dissanayake. The most frustrating experience for them was that they lost to Royal three times, twice in the Bradby and once in the knock out quarter finals which was played at the Royal sports complex.
One of their main aims this year together with winning the league will be to lift the Bradby shield since they haven’t been able to do it since the year 2008 where they won it under third row forward Milinda Gunawardena. During that year they finished second in the league and that has been the most impressive feat by them duri
ng the past 10 years. They came in to this season with a clear intention of making a telling impact as they finished as one of the semi finalists during the All Island 7’s tournament. They did not play their full side for this tournament and gave the juniors some exposure to play in the bigger arena. One of the more impressive performances from the Trinitians came when they played in the Inaugural super 12’s tournament which was played by Kandy teams. They beat Kingswood in the finals 28 points to nil which showed everyone that Trinity are one of the better teams this year.
Big frame of ‘Murad’ to lead the Lions
Murad Ramzeen, a very experienced player for the Trinity team will be leading them this year playing in the front row. His ability to control the set pieces will give the Trinitians the much needed advantage in those tight situations. He will also be used to take the ball up in close quarters and will surely take a few defenders with him. His big frame is going to be tough for the opposition teams to handle as he is also equipped with decent pace.
Inspirational ‘Nilufer’ takes charge of the Lions
Up and coming coach, Nilufer Ibrahim has been handed with the responsibility of guiding the Trinitians this season. A former Kingswoodian, Kandy SC and also National player; Nilufer is tagged to be one of the most exciting coaches that have come up of late. His assistant for the season will be former Trinitian and fellow Kandy SC player Dilip Selvam. In the year 2009 and 2010 Nilufer coached the Kings to become the runners-up in the league and now has moved to another Kandy power house to render his coaching duties. In the year 2009 he was the co-coach for the Sri Lanka under 19 team together with Royal coach Bilal Yusuf who is now coaching St.Josephs. His method of play is known to be out of the ordinary as he will try to mould this Trinity team to be the best in the league.
His experience as a player will be useful in dealing with the players as he is known to be a coach who communicates well with his team. Talking to ThePapare he stated that this year their goal is not only the Bradby but the entire season. He will go in to every game with efficient game plans and will make sure that his team executes them. He also stated that he will take one game at a time and concentrate on that particular game before moving on to the next one.
Trinitians to look out for
Rehan Weerakoon – He will be one of the main players to look out for in the Trinity team as he will be wearing the number 10 jersey for them for the second consecutive year. He started off his under 19 career playing at scrum half and slowly moved in to fly half and now has made it his own. One of his main strengths is the ability to think and stay calm under pressure as he showcased during the All Island 7’s tournament which he captained. His knowledge of the game and also the ability with his right boot will be one of the main attacking weapons for the Lions this year. He will be the man who will call the shots for then in the back line.
Kanil Seneviratne – Even though he is new to the Under 19 team, Kanil will be one of the most prominent players in the Trinity side. As mentioned by the coach, he is not the biggest of centers nor the fastest, but his ability to spot gaps and to power through has given the Lions that extra ‘Oomph’ at game time. Kanil is very dependable when it comes to defence and will be filling in the shoes of very experienced center for Trinity Kanchana Ramanayake.
Foster and S.I play main role in pack
The number 8 of the side Sean Foster will be the go to man in the pack. He has been used as a flanker before and now will fill in the 8 slot giving the much needed assurance a
t the back of the scrum. His ability to carry the ball strongly and to combine with the three’s using his pace and nippiness gives the Lions the advantage of having an extra three quarter. His lose play and defence has been right up there, and he will be itching to get this campaign on the road. S.I Perera is one of the coloursmen in the side and will play in as one of the second rows. He will be the man who will be the main jumping option for the side.
Scrum half Somasiri, full back Dinuk Nayakaratne, wing three Sheek will be the other players to look out for in the Trinity line up for the season. They will be playing two crunch games up front, firstly against St.Anthony’s and then against S.Thomas’.
Written by Esala de Livera Tennekoon from thepapare.com
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