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| Jaded Royal 'slip through' to victory by Ravi Nagahawatte Royal thus retained the Micheal Guneratne Trophy for the third successive year. Royal lost most of their "gloss" and even went pale at times as the Mount Lavinia lads found a formula which almost worked. The blue and black jerseyed ruggerites took a 10-6 lead at half time and later matched the opponents move for move at a time where the scores were deadlocked,thirteen-all. Centre Kishan Samarasinghe then made the difference to a fitting score when he ended up under the posts, scoring the "winner".Unfortunately there seemed to be no time left for a "blue-black magic" as referee Dilroy Fernando blew the final whistle right after the conversion. The Thomians surprised all by taking a 5-0 lead twenty two minutes in to the game, when winger Krishan Gunawardene went over mid right off a sweeping three-quarter move made in the opposision five. Royal shone only in patches and had to rely on place kicker Rananjaya Gonaduwa who put the team in the lead with his second penalty which was fired from a distance of fifteen metres. Krishan Gunawardene made the score 10-6 with his second try during injury time when he touched down following a twenty metre burst.Fly half Steffan Van Twest was awry with the conversion. Royal took a vital lead ten minutes in to the second half through a try by flanker Ravindu Athukorala who forced his way to touch down after the forwards brought play in to the S.Thomas' ten.The move commenced when full back Gonaduwa collected a clearance kick and stormed ahead before the Royal "eight"took over twenty metres from the try line . A minute later Thomian Steffan Van Twest levelled scores with a twenty metre penalty which remained static till Royal slipped through to win at the last minute. Royal juniors retained the M.T.Thambipillai trophy when they beat S.Thomas' 12-0 in the under- 17 encounter. A cricket "supporter" who is known to have close links with members of the Sri Lankan team is understood to have been issuing threats on media personnel who had been very critical of the team’s performance during the recent South African tour. ‘Blue,Black and Blue’ t’was not to be By Srian Obeyesekere But then history has it that anything Royal-Thomian does not end easy.And true to that saying what a change it was in the opening chapter of yesterday’s annual rugby clash at the Sugathadasa Stadium as the Thomians true to their motto had Royal in a crawl from the word go.It seemed unbelievable to the eye that this was the same invincible side that held sway at the same venue but a week ago were rendered virtually helpless by a rampaging Thomian pack as the first half entirely belonged to the Thomians. The Thomians really did turn Royal blue with the first scoring stroke when Krishan Gunawardena touched down brilliantly beating a rather off guard and jaded opposition.An opposition that throughout that session had looked lacking the golden touch Royal’s ‘Blue,Gold and Blue’ colour reflects as the ‘Blue,Black and Blue’ jersey’s swamped the ground blue.Much to the cheers of the Thomian fans who basked in it.Royal owed their ultimate success perhaps to infringements on the part of the Thomians as they lived on two first half penalties to launch their fight back in the final session. But the day belonged more to the Thomians for their grit as underdogs on a day predictions were that they would be buried by an avalanche of tries. As play wended to its ultimate end of a Royal victory,it was perhaps a peice of rugby’s fate that Thomian wing three quarter,Krishan Gunawardena’s day of brilliance was finally undonene by defeat. Emirates to sponsor Cricket World Cup Emirates, the international airline of the UAE, has announced that, for the first time, it would be a Global Partner and official carrier of the Cricket World Cup, cricket’s premier one-day event, to be played in England from May 14 to June 20, 1999.
Terry Blake added; "Next year’s Cricket World Cup will be a celebration of cricket with the object of spreading the game to more and more countries. We are absolutely delighted that a quality airline such as Emirates should become one of our major marketing partners and we also hope that this will help to enhance the interest in cricket in Gulf countries." The World Cup will be played at 21 venues in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Holland. The last competition was staged in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 1996 and was won by Sri Lanka. Although this is the first cricket sponsorship for Emirates, the airline is famous for its support of sporting events, including Newmarket Horse Races, the Dubai World Cup, the world’s richest horse race, Longchamp, the World Offshore Powerboat Championships in Dubai, the PGA Desert Classic and the Dubai Rugby Sevens. Dubai-based Emirates operates a fleet of Airbuses and Boeing 777s serving 44 destinations around the world. Antonian shuttlers re-write history Defending champions St. Anthony’s College rewrote history in the school’s badminton arena by clinching the All-Island Inter-School Under-19 Badminton Team Championship for the fourth consecutive year (a new school’s badminton record) held at St. Thomas’ College, Gymnasium Mt. Lavinia recently. In the finals, the Antonians overpowered the strong St. Thomas College, 3-1. ‘The high riding Antonian shuttlers have thus completed their first championship title this season'.
The unbeaten Antonians once again proved their mettle with perfect court craft, determination and the most important team work throughout the tournament. The Antonians started off well with a crushing-victory over Ananda College, Colombo 3-0 in the group matches and followed it up with a 3-0 rout over Maliyadewa College, Kurunegala in the quarter finals. And then in the semi final’s Antonians beat the strong and more fancied Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda 3-1. Under-13 Double Junior National winner Amila Wijesekara gave the magical performances to seal the tie in Antonians way. He beat R. S. Jayamal in straight games in the opening match. These three victories gave the Antonians Confidence they required to triumph over the well balanced St. Thomas Collegee 3-0 in the finals. Devaka Ekanayake registered a hard fought victory over S. Ratwatte 13/15, 15/12,15/1 in a three setter. Experienced Skipper Gayan Sylvester gave the much needed lead inflecting a crushing defeating on B. A. A. de Silva 15/2, 15/3. Inform Amila Wijesekara the hero of the semi final tie beating M. W. Kumarasinghe 15/3, 15/3 to seal the tie in favour of Antonians.
• All-Island interschool under - "19" team title for four consecutive years - 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 (new Sri Lanka schools badminton record) • All-Island inter-school under 16 team title for three consecutive years - 1996, 1997 and 1998. Will new Coach and Manager possess the authority? By Mahinda Wijesinghe
There should be more
transparency What about the kudos
for coach? Will manager &
Coach be given the authority? Coach Yardley to train
spinners only When 30 year old West Australian off-spinner Bruce Yardley made his Test debut against India in the 1977-78 series at the Adelaide Oval during the fifth and final Test, the man behind the stumps was New South Wales stumper, Stephen John Rixon, who, though shy of his 24th birthday by a mere three weeks, had already played 4 Tests for Australia. Yet Yardley, reputedly a brilliant gully fieldsman and a useful late-order batsman, went on to play 32 more Tests. Rixon who donned the ‘baggy green’ because of the temporary absence of Rod Marsh - who had joined Kerry Packer’s World Series - ended his Test career just 9 Tests later. And, not on too auspicious a note. It was during the controversial final Test at Sabina Park, in the 1977-78 series against the West Indies, play was abandoned with 38 balls of the mandatory overs remaining, and the last pair of Norbert Phillip and Raphick Jumadeen struggling at the crease, needing 110 runs to save the game. Interestingly, though Yardley captured 19 of his 126 Test wickets with Rixon behind the stumps, the latter had assisted him only once to claim a victim, when he stumped West Indian Norbert Philip (yes, the same man who stood between Australia and victory at the Sabina Park later during the fifth Test) in the Third Test at Guyana during the same series. Yardley & Rixon
have played in Sri Lanka Now that the Kiwis are here the Sri Lankan cricketers must be wanting to do their best and recover from the last tour, and re-establish the confidence of all Sri Lankans. Well, the best of luck to Arjuna and the boys. The New Zealanders are no pushovers, but then, our boys too have what it takes. Collingwood doesn't play for money By Ravi Nagahawatte Fighting in his blood Tragic death of
colleague on field Fascinating Hunting and fishing are pastimes that Lawrence engages himself when not playing rugby. Asked what was the biggest animal he shot, Lawrence breaks into a grin and suggests that it would be better if he does not answer the question as it might upset the animal lovers here. Saved boatman's life The 'Gym' keeps him fit Relishes Lankan curries Being a man who is constantly engaged in social, it's either a nice beer or a glass of red wine for Collingwood who relishes both. Halfway through the interview a team mate asks Lawrence what he would like to have. "Anything", comes the answer and Lawrence is given a cream soda which he sips happily. No communication
barriers Breweries Sponsors Hilton’s Soccer ‘Sevens’ United Breweries Limited, the newest entrant into the beer industry in Sri Lanka have stepped up in sponsoring Colombo Hilton’s soccer ‘sevens’ on Sunday 31st May 1998 at the City League Grounds. ‘KING’S LAGER TROPHY’ will be organised by the Colombo Hilton Sports Club where 15 teams will vie for the championship. KING’S LAGER will, in future take up the challenge of sponsoring sporting events in Sri Lanka once the product is officially launched next month. Throughout the world the brewery industry has been the biggest consumer of big time sport whether it be cricket, soccer, rugby or skiing. With the advent of the electronic media magnifying the sponsorship chip, brewery companies all over the world, notably Australia, England, South Africa and the Carribeans have been feeding themselves quite successfully. Hilton’s Soccer ‘Sevens’ will be United Brewery’s maiden venture and they will be looking for big time sport once the ball get rolling. A spokesman for KING’S LAGER also commented their keenness to go into the outstation where the development of sport has become a daunting task. The Chief Guest of the event will be Graham Koch, Colombo Hilton’s Executive Assistant Manager. Ruggerites to play in cricketer’s memory The rugby teams of Wesley and Thurstan will scrum down in a match in memory of former cricketer Diyanesh Rajaratnam on May 28 at Longden Place. Rajaratnam was an old boy of both schools but made his mark by captaining Thurstan in cricket as well as rugby. He died last year and the winners of the match will receive the Diyanesh Rajaratnam Trophy. The late Rajaratnam was the brother of two other famous cricketers, Suresh and Amerash who schooled at Thurstan and Wesley respectively. Diyanesh interestingly played his first rugby match against his former school Wesley in the year 1969 at Campbell Park under the captaincy of Upali Hewage who is now a Superintendent in the Police Department. Diyanesh played in the fly-half’s berth for five seasons but chose a career in cricket to represent Tamil Union in the Sara Trophy tournament. A wicket-keeper batsman, Diyanesh was a national poolist in the early 1970’s but could not make the highest grade. Diyanesh however made his mark as a cricket commentator and covered Sri Lanka’s tour of India in 1994. (CD) By Althaf Nawaz CR after a convincing win last week, repeated their true form by displaying some entertaining rugby. The red jerseyed men completely outsmarted their opponents in all departments of the game. The forwards won the line outs and the set scrums while the three quarters who played as a bunch of b ees, ran circles while creating inroads in the Police defence. Alfred Hensman was their main link man as he led the way from the inception of the match. He planted four spectacular tries while initiating teasing moves. Even though two of their star players Nalaka Weerakkody and Sajith Mallikarachchi who are occupying two crucial positions seemed selfish at times. They often kicked the ball rather than woking it when they have the best three quarters in their ranks. The Policemen, without any foriegn influence failed to restrict their opponents. Their tackling was satisfactory but didn't have a set game plan to work on it. CR's first try came in the sixth minute of the first half through Hensman who touched down by the left corner flag which Weerakkody failed to convert. Eleven minutes later CR winger M.J.M.Mushtaq scored under the post afetr dummying through the Police defence. Weerakkody made no mistake with the conversion (12-0). Three minutes later Weerakkody collected a high ball in their "22" and covered 40-meters ground and slung a pass to Mallikarachchi who flicked an inside pass to Hensman to touch down mid-left. Weerakkody's kick was off target. Then the remaining two tries before the breather came in quick succession through Samoan Tulagesi and hooker Viraj Prasanna. This ma the scoreline 29-0 in favour of CR. The second half too produced some anxious moments with a beligerent CR outfit planting four further tries before the long whistle. Hensman (2), Kapila Silva and Shanitha Fernando ran a try each. Three of them were goaled by Weerakkody. For Police Ajantha Rodrigo put over the solitary penalty. Referee-Anil jayasinghe CH and FC bundled out Air Force by 29 points (2 goals, 3 tries) to 7 (a goal) in their inter-club Clifford Cup Rugby encounter at Havelock Park yesterday. At lemons CC led 7-0. Two tries from Graham Raux and a try each from Asanga Rodrigo, Shiyam Subullah and Nishantha Chanaka swelled up CH's scoreline while Jone Uaqa touch down for losers. His try was goaled by Tony Wimalasuriya. Referee-Roshan Deen |
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