A review by Muhammed Jameel (Web Content Team)
The victory on the 26th of April at Longdon Place against St. Anthony’s saw Trinity College taking on S. Thomas’ College Mt. Lavinia in the quarterfinals of the Dialog Schools’ Rugby Knockouts 2025 – President’s Trophy. The tense battle took place at Havelock Park on the 3rd of May.
S. Thomas’ kicked the game off and capitalized on a dropped ball from Trinity, making way for the first chance of getting points on the board. Another knock on 5 meters away from the try line resulted in the Thomians diving over for the first try of the game. The conversion was successful. (TCK 00 – STC 07)
Trinity, determined to match their opponents, made their way into the Thomian half. Shan Althaf used his speed and knowledge of the game to pierce through the defense and the quick passes from the players on the outside wing helped Shrayan Satheeshkumar get over the try line. The conversion from Shan Althaf stabilized TCK on the scoreboard. (TCK 07 vs STC 07)
Eager to get ahead in the game, the maul from Trinity was set. While making a few meters of ground, they also won a penalty within the 22-meter line. Althaf stepped up to take the 3 pointer and knocked it through. (TCK 10 – STC 07)
In similar fashion, S. Thomas’ set up a maul and won a penalty because the Trinitians failed to keep their knees off the ground. The kicker from S. Thomas’ made no mistake with the penalty kick. (TCK 10 – STC 10)
A tackle in the air from the Thomian wing three quarter saw Trinity with a golden opportunity to score. The ball was kicked into touch and made way for a line out followed by a maul. Nisith Kumarasinghe received the ball at the back of the maul and barged his way across to score a try. Shan Althaf added the extras. (TCK 17 – STC 10)
Halftime – Trinity with a slender lead of 7 points against S. Thomas’
The Trinitians kicked off the second half and pounced on an early opportunity. A ruck formed in the center of the pitch opened a chance for Wijekoon and Althaf to deliver something special. A back of the hand pass from the scrum half saw Althaf hitting a wide gap in the defense. The speed of Altha backed this move up as he dotted down for the try. He converted his own try. (TCK 24 – STC 10)
The defensive effort from Trinity was commendable, as they held off the Thomians for more than 10 minutes near the try line. The moves from the Thomian backline were very well deconstructed by the Trinitians. The continuous effort from Trinity showed signs of fatigue resulting in a try from the Thomians. The conversion went astray. (TCK 24 – STC 15)
Full Time – Trinity emerges victorious against a tough Thomian side 24 points to 15
Points Breakdown
- Trinity College – 3 Tries, 3 Conversions, 1 Penalty Goal
- S. Thomas’ College – 2 Tries, 1 Conversion, 1 Penalty Goal
Demonstrating growth and evolving from what they were in the past couple of years, Team TCK certainly made their spectators and well-wishers ecstatic. This win against S. Thomas’ booked their place in the semifinals against a seasoned Zahira College outfit.
