The Peterites laid their hands on the Milo Trophy with an outstanding display in the second half, at the Race Course last evening.
It was a kind of turn up for the books, especially as the reigning champions had taken what was thought to be a decisive lead of 12 points at the break.
The second half was completely different. The Peterite forwards were magnificent as they won the ball in the lines out at will and peppered the Josephian defence with move after move. Up to a point, the losers coped with all that. But in the last ten minutes, the Peterites held complete sway and ran in three unanswered tries. In fact, had their handling been a bit better, it would have been four.
Coach Sanath Martis can be pardoned for smiling. The Rolling Maul which he used so successfully with Royal, also played a big part in this win. The Joes contested it, but failed to stop it completely.
Skipper Kenneth Wimaladasa was plain awful with the kicks at goal. The Peterites had a success rate of only 25 per cent. But his teammates rallied round and made light of the kicking woes. To his credit, the Peterite skipper scored the try that mattered.
Little Jason Karunaratne also played his part well. He was always there when the Joes kicked ahead, and his nerve held. In contrast, the usually reliable Shehan Liyanapathirana seemed all thumbs.
Fly half Santush Algama gave the Josephians an early lead by converting a 22 yard penalty. An identical one, two minutes later was fluffed.
A tensed moment during the second half of the crucial final
The Darley Road boys were hell-bent on attack at this stage. A score seemed imminent. It came when burly number eight Tharindu De Alwis crashed over off a short tap. Algama converted and the Joes led 10-nil. Shortly after, De Alwis was sin binned. The Peterites capitalised on that to get their first score. A Peterite broke free and carried the ball into the Josephian 22. A couple of short taps later, hooker Julian Charles forced his way over for an unconverted try (10-5).
A Josephian clearance was badly misfielded by Liyanapathirana. The ball came out from a scrum and that unstoppable full back Gemunu Chetiya ran round the last two defenders and touched down.
Santush Algama was spot on and the score read 17-5. However, he was astray with a penalty conversion a while later. The Joes had an opportunity of scoring when Liyanapathirana did not quite collect a high kick that bounced awkwardly. A couple of five yard scrums followed but the Peterites held firm. Josephian delight at another try was short-lived, as Chetiya was deemed to have come in contact with the corner flag.
Algama enlarged the lead with an early second half penalty. The Peterites, who were a different force in this half, then made their move. They used the short taps to pressure the Joes. Winning a scrum, they sent the ball out to the right, but to no avail. They then switched it to the left for unmarked winger Shenol Silva to touch down (20-10).
The Peterites were thirsting for more. Lock Senura Fernando now came up with a try scoring effort (20-15). They were only five points behind, but they were totally dominant at this stage. In fact the Joes did not seem to be on the Park. Their lethargy cost them the game. A line out was taken ten yards away and a rolling maul followed. Suddenly skipper Keneth Wimaladasa emerged with the ball and darted round to go over for the decisive try. He took the conversion himself and only just managed to arrow it inside the right upright.
There was no time for a comeback by St. Joseph’s. Quite naturally, the Peterites made sure that play was kept some distance from their goal line.
The statistics of the second half tell their tale. The Peterites piled on 17 points to the three added by the Josephians. All in all, a belated but a well deserved win by St. Peter’s.
Referee – Pradeep Weranga.
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