Devapathiraja Rathgama ousts Sri Sumangala Panadura to clinch the Cup
Devapathiraja College, Rathgama beat Sri Sumangala College, Panadura by 7-5 in a heftily contested final to clinch the Cup Championship of the Singer Under-18 Schools Division II Sevens Rugby Tournament 2018 last week. The two-day competition held on August 20 and 21 at the Public ground in Ruwanwella, attracted 32 teams.
Cup champions - Devapathiraja College Rathgama
After topping Group ‘G’ with three comprehensive wins over S. Thomas’ Prep School (21-0), Rajasinghe Vidyalaya, Ruwanwella (31-0) and S. de. S. Jayasinghe Vidyalaya, Devapathiraja College were drafted in the Cup quarter-finals. Sri Sumangala College on the other hand topped Group ‘D’ after wins against Dehiovita Vidyalaya (34-0), Rahula Vidyalaya, Katugastota (21-12) and Badulla Vidyalaya to advance to the Cup quarters.
Eventual winners Devapathiraja, had a rather tough game against Mahanama College Panadura before registering a 24-12 win after scoring off four tries and two conversions, against two tries and a conversion. Sri Sumangala, too recorded an identical win with similar scores and tallies. In the other two Cup quarter-final matches Sarasavi Uyana College beat Nugawela Central 29 (5 tries, 2 conversions)-19 (3 tries, two conversions) and Dharmapala College recorded a smashing 35 (5 converted tries)- 5 (1 try) win against Rajasinghe College Hanwella.
Dharmapala College played their hearts out before succumbing to a close 19-21 defeat at the hands of champions Devapathiraja in the Cup semi-final. Devapathiraja scored from three converted tries while Dharmapala fell short by three points after scoring from three tries and two conversions. Sri Sumangala too had a tough outing aginst Sarasavi Uyana in the other Cup semi-final before snatching an exciting 17-12 win. The winners scored off three tries and a conversion while the losers gathered their points from two tries and a conversion. In the Cup final Devapathiraja defended well to contain a deserving 7-5 win against Sri Sumangala after scoring from a converted try against a try.
Nugawela Central skipper receives the Plate championship
Nugawela Central went on to clinch the Plate Championship beating Mahanama Panadura by 22-12 after scoring from four tries and a conversion. The losers collected their points from two tries and a conversion. The losers of the Cup quarter-finals Nugawela Central, Mahanama Panadura, Rajasinghe Hanwella and Siri Piyarathana Padukka were drafted to the Plate semi-finals. Nugawela Central beat Siri Piyarathana by15 (3 tries) to 10 (2 tries) while Mahanama Panadura recorded a runaway win of 33 (5 tries, 4 conversions) to 5 (1 try) against Rajasinghe Hanwella to reach the Plate final.
Presidents College Maharagama thrashed D.B. Welagedara College by 41-0 to comfortably claim the Bowl Championship after scoring from seven tries and three conversions. In the Bowl semi-finals Presidents Maharagama beat Rahula Katugastota by 19 (3 tries, 2 conversions) to 5 (1 try) while D.B. Welagedara overcame S. Thomas’ Prep by 22 (4 tries, 1 conversion) to 17 (3 tries, 1 conversion) to reach the final.
Earlier on in the Bowl quarter-finals Presidents Maharagama beat Gintota Maha Vidyalaya (33-0), D.B. Welagedara beat Kegalu Vidyalaya (26-5), S. Thomas’ Prep overcame Thalduwa Buddhist School (17-12) and Rahula Katugastota beat Zahira College Mawanella (33-0) to reach the semi-finals.
Rajasinghe Vidyalaya Ruwanwella secured the Shield Championship after comfortably beating Wayamba Royal College by 33-5 in the final. The winners posted five tries and converted four of them for their points while the losers had the privilege to score from a solitary unconverted try.
In the semi-finals Rajasinghe Ruwanwella recorded a one-sided 29-0 win against St. Thomas’ College Bandarawela with a tally of five tries and two conversions while Wayamba Royal easily beat Hindu College by 22-5 with a tally of four tries and a conversion against an unconverted try. In the quarter-finals Rajasinghe Ruwanwella beat Debarawewa National School (34-5), Wayamba Royal beat Dehiowita National School (33-0), St. Thomas’ Bandarawela beat Orubendiwewa Vidyalaya (19-0) and Hindu College received a bye.
The tournament was organised and conducted by the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association with the sponsorship of Singer Sri Lanka.
Rajasinghe Central Ruwanwella won the Shield title
Presidents Maharagama won the Bowl championship