Antonians strike twice to sink Dons
St. Anthony’s College finally opened their winning account of the season with a thrilling 21-19 victory over D.S. Senanayake College in their Dialog Schools Rugby League 2026 match played at Pallekele yesterday, after leading 7-0 at the breather. The Katugastota lads held their nerve in the closing stages to survive a spirited Dons fightback and finally crossed the whitewash of victory after several frustrating outings earlier this season.
Both teams battled hard in a tight first half with strong tackling and handling errors dominating play. The breakthrough came in the 24th minute when Antonian winger Yohan Gunawardena intercepted a pass deep inside his own half and sprinted nearly 80 metres to score a stunning solo try. Fullback Daham Perera added the conversion as the Antonians moved ahead 7-0. The Antonians defended strongly for the remainder of the half and went into lemons with a slender lead.
D.S. Senanayake bounced back strongly after the restart. No.8 Thimal Bogahawatte crashed over in the 49th minute following several powerful forward drives. The conversion levelled the scores at 7-all. However, the Antonians hit back quickly. Five minutes later, the Kandy lads forced their way over under the posts after sustained pressure close to the line. The conversion restored their lead to 14-7.
The turning point came in the 58th minute when Antonian centre Resandu Bandara intercepted another loose pass before racing more than 60 metres untouched to score under the posts. Flyhalf Binuru Vithanage added the extras as the home side stretched their lead to 21-7. The Dons refused to throw in the towel and launched a strong comeback.
Chamith Samarasinghe scored in the 62nd minute after sustained pressure inside the Antonian 22, although the conversion was missed as the Dons reduced the deficit to 21-12. The Colombo school continued to pile on the pressure and later crossed for another converted try to cut the gap to just two points at 21-19. But the Antonians stood tall in the dying minutes, defending bravely until the final whistle to register a morale-boosting first win of the season in a tense Pallekele thriller.