Josephians clinch bonus-point win to outclass Zahira
St. Joseph’s College starved off a potential comeback with a clinical display that earned them a 29-15 win over Zahira College in a Plate Segment game of the Dialog Schools Rugby League 2025, played at Longdon Place yesterday.
Securing a crucial bonus-point victory, the Josephians finished with a tally of five tries and two conversions, while Zahira responded with three unconverted tries, having missed several scoring opportunities. Zahira’s first-half approach was more intense, as they fought back to level the scores at 10-all by half-time.
St. Joseph's Janith Marasinghe in the move - Pic by Eshan Fernando
The hosts seized control of the game early, taking a 10-0 lead after prop Thisath Thewnila and lock Hemish Gamage crossed over for tries in the 4th and 10th minutes. Skipper Bheeshma Jayasekara had an off day with the boot, missing both conversions before being taken off the field due to a medical emergency.
Soon after, St. Joseph’s were reduced to 14 men in the 14th minute when winger Akash Gomes was shown a yellow card. Zahira capitalised immediately, scoring back-to-back tries. Winger Ghani Saraph dotted down in the 17th minute with a well-executed running try, followed by another fine piece of play that saw winger Abdullah Hassan score in the 20th minute to equalise at 10-all. Centre Basith Feroze endured a difficult outing, much like Jayasekara, missing both conversions and an easy penalty that could have put Zahira in front just before the break.
St. Joseph’s, who defended gallantly in the latter stages of the first half—denying Hassan another try on the stroke of half-time—broke free with a brilliant effort from hooker Mindulka Perera in the 41st minute. Centre Malshan Dewmin, who had taken over the kicking duties, added the extras to give the Josephians a 17-10 lead.
They extended their advantage further in the 56th minute through a strong forward move that allowed lock Hemish Gamage to bag his second try of the match—also the team’s bonus-point try. Though the conversion was missed, the Josephians led 22-10, before a spirited Zahira threatened to stage a comeback.
The visitors, dynamic in possession, regained momentum and reduced the deficit to 22-15 when No. 8 Abdul Muzil scored a well-constructed try in the 62nd minute. Zahira continued to mount pressure and created a few promising openings, but failed to convert them into points.
Instead, it was St. Joseph’s who finished clinically—intercepting a Zahira move to create one last scoring opportunity. Flanker Janith Marasinghe powered over in the 67th minute, and with Dewmin’s successful conversion, the Josephians closed out the game with a 29-15 victory.