LONDEN PLACE, Colombo, August 3, 2025 (ePRESS) – In a jaw-dropping finish that will be remembered for years, DS Senanayake College Colombo pulled off a heart-stopping 37-36 win over the fancied St Joseph’s College Darley Road in a nerve-racking Plate Segment clash of the Dialog Schools Rugby League Tournament on Sunday at Longden Place.
It was a real edge-of-the-seat encounter, with the match swinging like a pendulum and the result hanging by a thread until the final whistle. The scores were deadlocked 15-all at ‘lemons’ — but what followed in the second half was pure rugby theatre.
The Joes came into the game as red-hot favourites, knowing a win would hand them the Plate Championship. And they came out firing on all cylinders, scoring twice inside the first 16 minutes. Centre Malshan Dewmin sliced through the DSS line just two minutes into the game, and soon after, national youth flanker Janith Marasinghe bulldozed his way over under the posts to give the Darley Road boys a 12-0 early lead. Beeshma Jayasekara calmly added the extras from both conversions.
But DSS, never a side to roll over, showed plenty of guts and gumption. Their big lock forward Demika Mindind barged through the defence for their first try, converted by Thatheera Perera (7-12). Jayasekara knocked over a 40-metre penalty (15-7), but Perera soon replied with a penalty of his own from 25 metres out (10-15).
Then came a moment of magic just before halftime. Flanker Dushal Ayeshmantha, a livewire at the breakdown, darted off a ruck to score in the 34th minute. Perera missed the conversion, but the teams went into the break locked at 15-15 — a fitting scoreline for a fiery first half.
The second half was a full-blooded arm wrestle. Joes struck first through a converted try (22-15), only for DSS to reply with a forwards’ maul try (22-20). But the tide seemed to turn when Perera was sin-binned for a high tackle. With the man advantage, Joes’ Sathira Gunathilaka crossed over and Jayasekara converted to stretch the lead to 29-20.
Even then, DSS kept clawing back. Ayeshmantha, who had a blinder of a game, touched down again from a five-metre lineout maul. The conversion went wide (25-29), but DSS were not throwing in the towel.
The Joes responded with what looked like the killer blow. Flyhalf Bryann Fernando sprinted down the right touchline for a crowd-pleasing try, and Jayasekara once again added the extras (36-25).
But with time slipping away, DSS found another gear. Hooker Praveen Lakmal, built like a tank, barrelled over from a rolling maul and Perera made no mistake with the conversion. Suddenly, it was 32-36 — game on with just minutes remaining.
And then came the moment that broke Josephian hearts. With the clock deep in the red, and the Joes trying to hold out inside their 22, a knock-on gave DSS a scrum. In the chaos that followed, prop forward Thimath Bogahawatte picked up and crashed over the line like a runaway truck, triggering wild celebrations and pitch invasion. No conversion was attempted — there was no time left — but the try was enough.
The referee, Suranga Arunashantha, was mobbed by spectators and had to be escorted off the pitch under security — a sign of how much was at stake.
For DSS, this was a victory of heart over hype, a perfect example of playing until the final whistle. For St Joseph’s, it was a bitter pill to swallow, having come within touching distance of silverware.
