Wesley rely on high-flying backs

Wesley College who had an average last season  will be determined to improve on their standings during the current   Inter-Schools Under-19 Rugby Tournament.

Led by Mursheed Zubair, Wesley will bank on their experienced set of backs who have been around for some time now.

“I think our strength will be our backs because they are experienced at this level and have played for some time. From the backline that we had last year, only one player has left the school that is wing three quarter Paraneetharan.”

“However, everyone else is available this season so I think our backs should be our strength this season,” Wesley Assistant Coach Dulanjana Wijesinghe told the Daily Mirror.

Under the Captaincy of Dayan Sabar, Wesley finished seventh last season and the current CR and FC hooker said that Wesley would be happy with a third-place finish.

“Obviously when you start a season you want to try and win the championship but last year we were seventh. So for us it will be a big achievement if we could finish in the top three,” added the front rower.
 
Having lost their opening match to Kingswood College, the Double Blues registered their first victory of the season on Saturday when they hammered Inter-Schools ‘A’ Division newcomers Maliyadeva College 50-10.

“Our first game was a very close one and we lost by just a few points. We felt that we were very unlucky on that day and it was a game we could have won. So, the boys were a little bit down mentally but they returned to their best against Maliyadeva and that is a huge confident booster for us going forward,” said Wijesinghe.

In addition to Zubair, Wesley would look to players like wing three quarter Sritheysh Thavarajah to get them tries while flanker Dexter Goonathilake is a  key player in the pack along with  prop forward Dineth Dinuja and  Samuel Ogbebor.

Daily Mirror PREDICTION

Wesley’s thumping victory over Maliyadeva probably distracts them from the fact that they have a daunting task ahead having lost a key match against Kingswood in the opening week which makes the S. Thomas’ game such a crucial fixture. They might struggle to secure a top four place.