COLOMBO, Apr 4 (ePRESS) – Trinity College Kandy ran riot with ball in hand and boot on ball to crush their traditional rivals Royal College Colombo 58-26 in a one-sided Dialog President’s Trophy Under-19 Knockout Rugby final at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo, ending a 15-year title drought with a performance that mixed power, pace and precision after leading 27-12 at the breather.
In a game where Trinity played with ball-in-hand confidence and attacking flair, their three-quarter line cut through Royal’s defence like a hot knife through butter, turning pressure into points and territory into tries. It was a clinical display where every visit to the red zone looked dangerous, and they kept the scoreboard ticking with ruthless efficiency.
Trinity struck early when centre Kevin Weerakoon dotted down in the left corner in the seventh minute to open the floodgates, though the conversion went astray. Royal responded with a classic forward-driven maul, with prop Themiya Amarasinghe crashing over and Shimak Shafeek adding the extras to give Royal a brief 7-5 lead.
But Trinity quickly shifted gears and never looked back. Replacement Dimath Ambepitiya ignited the counter-attack with a try in the 14th minute, and skipper Shan Althaf slotted the conversion to regain the lead. Ambepitiya struck again minutes later, finishing in the corner as Trinity began to stretch the Royal defence wide.
Royal showed fight through number eight Disas Pathirana, who powered over to reduce the deficit, but Trinity continued to win the collisions and dominate broken play. Ammaar Manzil finished off a smart attacking move near the dead-ball line, before fly-half Abdul Malik produced a moment of magic with a dazzling run to score in the corner, pushing Trinity to a commanding 27-12 lead at lemons.
After the turnaround, Trinity tightened their grip on the game. Althaf, reading the play perfectly, chipped ahead and sliced through the Royal defence to score and convert his own try, extending the lead to 34-12. He then added another try in the corner, keeping Royal pinned deep inside their half.
Flanker Hamza Abdeen added to Trinity’s tally with a powerful finish, and Althaf’s boot remained reliable as the scoreboard pressure mounted. Manzil crossed again as Trinity surged past the 50-point mark, turning the contest into a runaway.
Royal, known as the Tuskers, showed late resistance with tries from Hiruka Jayanidu and hooker Methika Yatawara, both converted by Shafeek, but it was too little, too late as Trinity had already sealed the deal.
Fittingly, Althaf had the final say, completing his hat-trick and adding the conversion to put the icing on the cake in a dominant 58-26 victory.
It was a complete performance from Trinity — winning the gain line, dominating set-pieces, and executing with clinical finishing — to finally get their hands on the silverware after 15 long years, leaving Royal chasing shadows in a high-tempo final.
Referee: Ishanka Abeykoon.
