St. Peter’s prevail in thriller to book berth to the final

Reigning Schools Rugby League champions St. Peter’s College prevailed thanks to a last-minute unconverted try by scrum half Praneeth de Silva in a thrilling semi-final encounter of the Schools President Trophy Knockout tournament by 16 points to 11 against traditional rivals St. Joseph’s College played at Havelock Park yesterday.

The Peterites, trailing 0-8 at the breather, made up their points through two tries and two penalties, as opposed to a try and two penalties scored by St. Joseph’s. Apart from the knockout encounter, the Peterites succeeded in retaining the Rev. Fr. Basil Wiratunga Shield.

The first half of proceedings was hotly contested, as the Josephians made the fancied Peterites feel anxious as they dominated from the time the whistle was blown.

However, it took a good 20 minutes for the first scoring to be done, which was by the Josephians, with skipper and No 8 Naveen Marasinghe going over for an unconverted try.

The Josephians, buoyed by the lead, continued to rattle and gave the Peterites some torrid moments, and they succeeded in increasing their score from a penalty offered that was booted over by centre Ivanko White in the 27th minute, which put the score at 8-0 in favour of the Josephians.

On resumption, the Peterites, unfettered, came back with vengeance as they succeeded in reducing the deficit with back-to-back penalties booted within the space of five minutes by reliable kicker Yumeth Shihara.

The Peterites from there on got their act together, and the onslaught put in against their opponents saw skipper and centre Ashain Madugasge helping the Bamba Brigade take over the lead when he went over for an unconverted try.

With the game hitting up and the Peterites leading 11-6, it looked at this stage that it was going to be anybody’s game as the two sides shared the honours.

In a melee and a tussle for the ball, the Josephians were offered a penalty four minutes away from the long whistle, which Ivano White made no mistake in booting over to level the scores at 11 each. In a do-or-die put in by the Peterites, they succeeded in breaching the Josephian defence, with scrumhalf Praneeth de Silva going over for the match-winning crucial try in the last minute, which ensured the win
for the Bamba Brigade and, with that, the ticket to the final, where they will meet defending champions Isipathana on September 10. Referee: Aruna Shantha. (Shamil Amit / Kushan Pathiraja)