Ananda stage second giant-killing act
Newcomers Ananda College pulled off their second giant-killing act of the season when they stunned St. Anthony’s College, Katugastota by 30-27 in a nail-biting Dialog Schools League Rugby 2025 match played at the Nittawela yesterday. After trailing 13-20 at halftime, the spirited Anandians mounted a brave second-half comeback to seal a famous victory, driven by their dynamic fullback Deneth Chamuditha and a tireless forward pack.
It was the Antonians who struck first blood when their fullback Kalpa Lakmina slotted over a 22-metre penalty in the second minute to take an early 3-0 lead. Ananda quickly replied through a 20-metre penalty from Chamuditha in the seventh minute to level the scores at 3-3.
Pic by Shane Seneviratne
St. Anthony’s showed their attacking intent soon after. Fullback Kalpa Lakmina danced through the Anandian defence for a superb try under the posts in the 14th minute, which he converted himself to stretch their lead to 10-3. Ananda stayed within touching distance when Chamuditha slotted another penalty in the 21st minute, closing the gap to 6-10.
The Antonians then capitalised on a TMO referral when winger Randir Perera touched down at the left corner. Though unconverted, it extended the lead to 15-6 in the 27th minute. But Ananda refused to back down. From a driving maul, hooker Janidu Perera barged over for a well-earned try in the 35th minute. Chamuditha’s conversion attempt missed, but they edged closer at 13-15.
Just before the break, Lakmina struck again for St. Anthony’s, launching a counter-attack straight from the restart to dive over for his second try. The conversion took the home side into the break ahead at 20-13.
Ananda started the second half with real purpose. They gained an advantage when St. Anthony’s lock Dilipa Jayasundara was shown a yellow card in the 38th minute, reducing them to 14 men. The visitors immediately made use of their numerical superiority, scoring from another rolling maul as their forwards dominated. Chamuditha added the extras to level the scores at 20-20 by the 40th minute.
The momentum had well and truly shifted. Four minutes later, Chamuditha fired over a confident penalty to give Ananda their first lead of the match at 23-20. The Anandians kept their foot on the pedal, and in the 58th minute, fullback Chamuditha turned hero again. Fielding a high-hanging kick, he sliced through the Antonians’ defence for a stunning solo try. He calmly converted to give Ananda a commanding 30-20 lead.
St. Anthony’s launched a late fightback. With eight minutes remaining, their forwards powered towards the try line before Lakmina completed his hat-trick, reducing the deficit to 27-30 after adding the conversion himself. But Ananda’s defence held firm in the dying minutes, repelling wave after wave of Antonian attacks to seal a famous win — one that will be remembered as one of the upsets of the season.