Wesley favourites to retain L. E. Blaze Shield

By M. Shamil Amit

Wesley College with two wins under their belt will have the edge when they take on their traditional rivals Kingswood College in their Inter-Schools Under-19 League Rugby Tournament match at the Royal Sports Complex in Colombo today.

The  Kingswoodians, of course, found the winning post only in their last match against Thurstan College and in fact, this was their first win for almost four years.

The match is also played for the L. E. Blaze Shield, which was introduced in 1986 and the Double Blue Boys are the holders of the Shield having won it for the last two years.

Wesley, led by Shem Mendis, will be seeking to record their third win this season and it’s left to be seen whether Kingswood, led by Anuda Upek would be able to regain the Blaze Shield, which they last won in 2019.

St. Peter’s v Zahira 

The defending champions St. Peter’s College - who are the leaders of Group ‘B’ with four wins from four - should have little difficulty in staving off the challenge of Zahira College when they clash in their Inter-Schools Under-19 League Rugby Tournament match at Bambalapitiya today.

The Peterites, led by Dulaj Navodya started the season with two convincing wins over Thurstan College and Kingswood College and had a tough time in overcoming Wesley College and their traditional rivals St. Joseph’s College. 

Zahira on the other hand, led by Sabri Sahibo  will be coming into this game with some confidence after their morale boosting win against the more fancied Vidyartha College in their previous outing. 

But the scale is high in favour of the ‘Bamba Brigade’ who will be seeking to maintain their unbeaten record and to chalk up their fifth successive win.