The Canon R.S. De Saram shield would be at stake this evening when a strong Trinity College outfit locks horns with holders S. Thomas’ College. The Thomians on home terrain at Mount Lavinia would no doubt be aiming at making it three in a row. The last occasion Trinity tasted victory was in 2008 under Milinda Gunawardena.
Going by the initial performances of the two schools, the ‘Lions’ are expected to dominate this game. However, the Thomian forwards are more likely to keep the ball close rather than open out play. Trinity back division looked solid in their victory over St. Anthony’s, despite a horrendous blunder by a wing three quarter who fumbled with the ball whilst going over for a try.
Skipper Murad Ramzeen set up a series of moves with his smashing hits, yet in most instances could not find expected gaps. Fly half Rehan Weerakoon is an astute reader of the game. He along with dynamic Somasiri forms a perfect halves combination. The Thomian threes looked rusty and were guilty of a series of basic handling blunders in the first outing against Wesley.
S. Thomas’ under No. 8 Rajinda Gunasekara recorded a thrilling 40 -32 win over Damith Dissanayake’s Trinitians last year at Pallekele. However having lost the services of a number of seniors, the fresher laden Blue and Black jerseys under the leadership of third row forward Dinuk Amarasinghe face a herculean task at Mount Lavinia today. The kick off is scheduled for 4.45 p.m.
Trinity have recorded a unique eight successive wins in the series from 1980 to 1987, whilst the golden era of Thomian rugby, saw the Mount Lavinia schoolboys retaining the shield for five years in a row (1988 to 1992 – the 1992 game was a draw).
Article published on the Dailymirror by Ranil Prematilake
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