Tigers crawl back to hold Joes and earn draw
St. Joseph’s College narrowly escaped defeat and had to settle for a nerve-wracking 24-all draw against a spirited Vidyartha College outfit in their Dialog Schools League Rugby 2025 encounter at Nittawela yesterday. The visitors from Darley Road held a slim 7-5 lead at the breather, but the match turned into a tug-of-war in the second half, with both teams trading tries in a contest that kept fans on the edge of their seats till the final whistle.
Vidyartha scored four tries and two conversions to earn a hard-fought 24 points, while St. Joseph’s, who took an early lead, also finished with the same tally in their tense encounter.
Vidyartha, playing with fire in their bellies on home soil, struck early. Their powerful prop Dinusha Dilshan bulldozed his way over the line for an unconverted try in the seventh minute, sending the home crowd into raptures as the score read 5-0.
But St. Joseph’s hit back like a wounded lion. No.8 Inosh Silva capitalised on a gap in Vidyartha’s defence, barging over for a well-worked try. Centre Malshan Dewmin made no mistake with the conversion as the Joes edged ahead 7-5 in the 21st minute.
The second half saw the match pick up pace like a runaway train. Vidyartha suffered a blow when one of their players was shown yellow for a technical infringement, reducing them to 14. St. Joseph’s wasted no time, with prop Isuru Chathuranga crashing over under the post. However, the conversion attempt surprisingly went astray, though Joes stretched their lead to 12-5 in the 42nd minute.
Minutes later, it was Chathuranga again who thundered over near the mid-left, and this time centre Dewmin found his range. The scoreboard ticked to 17-5 in favour of St. Joseph’s by the 48th minute.
Despite being another man down again after the second yellow card in the 51st minute, Vidyartha’s grit and determination shone through. They clawed one back with an unconverted try, narrowing the deficit to 17-10 in the 57th minute.
Moments later, St. Joseph’s also saw a player sent to the sin-bin for a dangerous tackle, levelling the playing numbers at 14 apiece. Vidyartha took full advantage when flanker Vihanga Sathsidu stormed over for his second try of the game. With the conversion sailing through, the scores were locked 17-all in the 63rd minute — a stunning turnaround.
St. Joseph’s regrouped and struck back swiftly. Their centre sliced through Vidyartha’s line with a sharp running angle, touching down in the mid-right. Flyhalf and skipper Beeshma Jayasekara added the extras, giving the Joes a 24-17 lead in the 68th minute.
But the never-say-die Vidyartha side wasn’t done. Replacement scrum-half Kalana Kaushika produced a moment of magic in the dying stages, darting over near the posts after a hard, bruising run. Winger Kavindu Hewage coolly slotted the conversion, bringing the scores level at 24-all with just minutes to go.
In a bruising encounter marked by fierce tackles and relentless forward battles, Vidyartha were shown five yellow cards but fought tooth and nail till the final whistle. St. Joseph’s too had their discipline tested, with a yellow card that was as much a mental battle as a physical one.
Both teams scored four tries and two conversions apiece, with both sides earning bonus points, in what turned out to be a thrilling spectacle of schoolboy rugby. The draw meant St. Joseph’s missed out on a vital away win, while Vidyartha earned full marks for courage and fightback ability in front of their home fans.