Joes overcome weather to record first win
St. Joseph’s College recorded their first win of the Dialog Schools Rugby League 2025, following their 26-5 thrashing against an appalling Thurstan College at Longden Place yesterday. Following a late kickoff due to torrential rain, both sides found it difficult to cope up with the slippery and underfoot conditions that caused an otherwise scrappy game more eventful.
However the Josephians earned a bonus point win after posting four tries and converting three of them, while completely dominating the first half to end it with a 12-0 lead. Hosts Thurstan, who were in the receiving end almost right until the long whistle, eventually earned their points from a solitary unconverted try posted by the burly prop Dasun Nimsara, following a team effort in the 68th minute of the game.
A joe goes over- Pic by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
The Josephians, who made their intentions well clear from the kickoff, breached their opponent’s territory from the onset, and eventually the efforts were turned into points after lock Sathira Gunathilaka braced the first try in the fifth minute.
However, for the remainder of the first half they could not handle the situation well, as Thurstan managed to thwart all efforts made by them, or they themselves fluffed the opportunities. At the brink of halftime, St. Joseph’s eventually regrouped to penetrate the Thurstan defence with a powerful forward move, that gave prop Thisath Thewmila the opportunity to cross over. Flyhalf Beeshma Jayasekara, who missed out the first kick attempt, found his rhythm with the conversion as the Joes went into halftime with a 12-0 lead.
With the playing conditions worsening, both sides failed to execute their game plans, yet St. Joseph’s found a breakthrough with lock Ashen Kumara bracing a try in the 40th minute, giving Jayasekara an easy conversion. The Joes expanded their lead to 19-0 with that move, and following few failed attempts flyhalf Jayasekara himself found the passage to breach the Thurstan defence in the 58th minute to earn his side’s bonus point. With the conversion the Joes led by an unassailing 26-0, until Thurstan found their breakthrough just before the final whistle to add their share of points.