Thomians regain Sevens title after 22 years…

A last minute try by Bhumindra Dissanayake helped S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia regain the Schools Under 20 Rugby Sevens Cup Championship beating the strong Isipathana College outfit by 19 points (two goals and a try) to 14 (two goals) in the final played at Royal College Sports Complex after trailing 0 -7 at the breather.

The Thomians won the under 20 Sevens title after 22 years the last win coming in 1994 under the captaincy of Nalin Wijegunawardena.

The green shirts drew first blood when Sumudu Anuradha Rankothge crashed through for a near the post try in the seventh minute which was successfully converted by his teammate Gayan Wickramaratne. The Blue shirts could not pose a threat to their opponents in the first half and Isipathana led 7 -0 at lemons.

A few minutes after the resumption, the Thomians made inroads into the Isipathana territory when Thanuja Wijeratne ran round and scored a try with number eight Ashwantha Herath making no mistake with the conversion.

The lads from Mount Lavinia were further boosted by an unconverted try by Praveen Ferdinando.

Minutes later Isipathana’s Randy Silva touched down for a try with Wickramaratne adding the extra points to make it 14-12 for Havelock Town lads.

In the final minute Bhumindra Dissanayake scored a try under the post and Herath assured victory for the Thomians with the conversion.

Priyantha Gunaratne refereed.

The Plate Championship was won by Science College Mount Lavinia who defeated St.Peter’s College 24-7. Dharmaraja College, Kandy emerged Bowl Champions when they beat Lalith Athulathmudali Vidyalaya Mount Lavinia 52-0 in the final.

Vidyartha College Kandy walked away with the Shield Championship taming Maliyadeva College Kurunegala in the final by 46-7.

Some exciting games were showcased during the tournament and the Thomians booked their Cup final berth beating Kingswood College Kandy 21-7 in the semi-finals and Isipathana defeated St. Joseph’s College 22-7.