Sports
Podium finish for Green Shirts at rugby knockout final
by A Special Sports Correspondent
The inter-school rugby season for 2024 was one of the most competitive with Isipatana coming back with vengeance to win the knockout final. St. Peter’s won the league tournament a few weeks ago, but were denied of winning a triple.
Time and again we saw close encounters during the school rugby season. Even a top rated team like Isipatana had to score many a come from behind wins. All the team’s playing in division 1 segment 1 had improved by leaps and bounds. No team was safe playing mediocre rugby because there were so many hungry wolves wanting a piece from the rugby pie. Once again school rugby showed that it is a product that is sellable or marketable in the commercial world. School rugby dwarfed school cricket in an island where the bat and ball game largely defines the character and colour of its people more than any other sport.
Sri Lanka at one time even believed in foreign coaches for even school teams. Royal and Trinity are two schools which have often opted for foreign coaches. But after so many years we saw Royal sticking with a Sri Lankan coach in Dushanth Lewke, who is also a product of this school at Reid Avenue. He has just completed 50 games for Royal this season as head coach and that feat came when his chargers beat S.Thomas’ at the annual Michael Guneratne trophy rugby encounter. There were so many other schools which banked on local or homegrown talent when picking their coaching staff.
Seasoned campaigner Sanath Martis has brought enough glory to St. Peter’s this season. The lads from Bambalapitiya won the Elite Rugby Sevens conducted by the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association and then took home the league title. They were denied of a triple by Isipatana. The only little set back suffered by the Peterites was losing Yumeth Shihara who was unavailable for the final due to injury.
Isipatana were loaded with steppers (fast runners). That opening try scored by Abdul Aziz epitomized the dazzling, nerve tingling rugby that the Havelock Town school plays. Aziz sliced through the Peterite defence with a swerving run and went under the posts untouched. That run and the style in which he played the game reminisced two past Isipatana players in the likes of Roger Rodrigo and T.K. Bohoran; both scrum halves who went on to represent Sri Lanka. These players have underscored the stuff that Isipatana rugby is made of.
But the game has changed drastically. Now it’s a man to man confrontation before someone takes the ball over the opposite team’s goal line. Skipper and number eight Nisaja Jayaweera knew that aspect of the game more than anyone else out there playing school rugby. Many times this season he left opposite teams in shambles with his power play. If we don’t talk about fly half Shaahid Zumri we’ll be doing injustice to a great talent. He is certainly beyond the level of the performance demanded in school rugby. There is speculation that the lad can play one more season for Isipatana. Possessing running skills, the side step, the ability to spot gaps in the defence and the appetite to tackle with gusto, he was the man to watch among the green shirts this season. And like how a schoolboy should be we come to hear, through sources at his school, that all these personal successes haven’t gone to his head. He remains a humble and friendly lad outside the rugby field. We see the warrior in him only on the rugby field. Isipatana’s head coach Saliya Kumara can take a bow for bringing to the school a lovely piece of silver wear. There is a school of thought in rugby that the true champions during a season are the ones who win the knockout tournament.
Mention must be made of S. Thomas’ for reaching the semi finals of the knockout tournament. They were so unlucky to lose to Isipatana after the scores were deadlocked at 20 all. Isipatana prevailed over S. Thomas’ in extra time; thanks to the match winning try coming from Zumri.
The school rugby season had full of opportunities for less popular teams. Lalith Athulathmudali MV won the Chairman’s Trophy beating Nugawela Central. Mahanama College Colombo beat Ananda College Maradana to win the Premier Trophy.
Rugby is a sport that keeps growing. We saw Thurstan and Sri Sumangala Katugastota entering division 1 segment 1. That was laudable. But the message in the top division in rugby was clear to all: many run race but only a few survive!
Sri Lanka Cricket have strengthened their backroom staff ahead of the World Cup by roping in former India opener Vikram Rathour as Batting Coach, SLC sources told The Island.
The 56-year-old brings a weighty CV to the dressing room, having been part of the Indian coaching set-up that lifted the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean in 2024. Rathour is currently serving as assistant coach of IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals, but will join the Sri Lankan camp next week.
Rathour is expected to stay on through the six-match white-ball series against England at R. Premadasa Stadium and Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, before overseeing the team’s final tune-up for the World Cup. With a proven track record and a reputation for technical clarity, SLC will be hoping he can help the batters find their range before the big dance.
SLC have steadily been bolstering their support staff. Power-hitting coach Julian Wood was hired last year and continues to work with both the men’s and women’s teams from the High Performance Centre.
Former India Fielding Coach R. Sridhar has also had a stint with Sri Lanka overseeing fielding standards and is currently in Dambulla working with the squad involved in the three-match T20I series against Pakistan.
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Adding further firepower to the coaching arsenal, Sri Lanka great Lasith Malinga has been drafted in as fast-bowling coach up to the World Cup.
Sri Lanka have been placed in Group B of the 20-nation tournament alongside Australia, Oman, Zimbabwe and Ireland. The former champions open their campaign on February 8 against Ireland and are expected to progress to the second round, with Australia the only side ranked above them in the group.
An 18-member squad has already been named for the ongoing Pakistan series, with the final 15-man World Cup squad expected to be announced shortly.
The Sri Lankan leg of the tournament will be staged at R. Premadasa Stadium, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground and Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, while India will host the bulk of the competition, including the semi-finals and final. However, should Pakistan advance to the knock-out stages, both their semi-final and final will be played in Colombo under the hybrid model.
There has also been speculation that Bangladesh’s World Cup fixtures could be shifted to Colombo amid ongoing political tensions with India.
Under 19 Cricket
St. Benedict’s pulled off an exciting three wickets victory over St. Aloysius’ as Mewan Dissanayake held the batting line up together with an unbeaten half century in the Under 19 Division I tier ‘B’ match at Karandeniya on Wednesday.
Bens beat St. Aloysius’ by three wickets at Karandeniya
Scores
St. Aloysius’ 167 all out in 54.5 overs
(Chanul Sanketh 23, Vinod Danushka 23, Sevitha Dumal 37, Dulsath Nimviru 29; Yohan Edirisinghe 2/18, Vihanga Rathnayake 3/24, Lithika Jayasundara 3/09) and 116 all out in 52.1 overs (Chanul Sanketh 44; Ayesh Gajanayake 3/27, Lithika Jayasundara 2/16, Mewan Dissanayake 3/30)
St. Benedict’s 144 for 5 overnight 167 all out in 45 overs
(Tehan Bitar 30, Vihanga Rathnayake 28, Sithum Hasaranga 36, Lithika Jayasundara 31; Chenul Nethmina 4/42, Hiviru Nimtharana 4/22) and 117 for 7 in 31.3 overs (Mewan Dissanayake 52n.o.; Hiviru Nimtharana 2/09, Oshadha Devinda 3/39)
First innings win for Thurstan at Thurstan ground
Scores
Thurstan 257 all out in 74.4 overs (Akhen de Alwis 25, Yohan Senanayake 34, Rison Jansen 20, Sethru Fernando 57, Rachintha de Silva 29, Udarsha Nimsara 23, Dewmika Hewapathirana 21; Minaga Ariyadasa 5/88, Thenusha Nimsara 2/92, Nethuja Bashitha 2/25) and 121 for 4 decl.in 30.3 overs (Yohan Senanayake 44, Rachintha de Silva 63n.o.)
Richmond 69 for 2 overnight 166 all out in 53.5 overs
(Chalindu Karunaratne 52, Ameesha Rasanjana 25; Yovun Silpa 3/46, Thanuga Palihawadana 4/44) and 68 for 3 in 25 overs (Ameesha Rasanjana 24n.o.; Thanuga Palihawadana 3/39)
Dialog Television announced that it has secured the exclusive media rights in Sri Lanka for all International Cricket Council (ICC) events from 2026 to 2028, alongside a free-to-air broadcast collaboration with TV Supreme.
This landmark agreement positions Dialog Television as the official Pay-TV broadcaster of ICC events in Sri Lanka, covering all major tournaments across Men’s, Women’s and Under-19 formats. The rights include the ICC Cricket World Cups and T20 World Cups for both Men and Women, the ICC World Test Championship Final, and other ICC-sanctioned international events during the 2026–2028 period.
Dialog Television also holds the exclusive OTT and mobile streaming rights for ICC events in Sri Lanka, enabling fans to follow the action across smartphones, tablets, and connected devices. Supported by Dialog’s high-speed mobile network and expanding 5G capabilities, this ensures a smooth, high-quality viewing experience, allowing fans to enjoy ICC matches seamlessly via the Dialog ViU+ app, wherever they choose to watch.
Complementing its Pay-TV coverage, Dialog Television has partnered with TV Supreme as the official free-to-air (FTA) broadcast partner in Sri Lanka, ensuring nationwide access to ICC events. TV Supreme is a fast-growing free-to-air television network with an established presence in cricket broadcasting.
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