Players who stood out during week 02

Week 02 ended with some memorable games taking place with the battle for the Cannon R.S de Saram trophy taking center stage with Trinity College trashing the Thomians a whopping 75 points to 06 which was the highest ever score in the series surpassing the previous highest of 70-08 back in 1974 when the Lions were captained by C.Y Ching.

Isipathana won comprehensively against the Anthonians (31-03), while their home town rival Kingswood trounced Dharmaraja 19-06. St. Peters dominated against Thurstan to win 61-06 with the Josephians scraping through 28-24 against Science.

With the above matches taking place ThePapare takes a look at the players who stood out during the second week.

Sanchana Shiek (TCK)

The 16 year old Sri Lankan born Chinese wing three-quarter for Trinity Sanchana Sheik had a brilliant outing against the Thomians with both, boot and play.

The young three-quarter was given the kicking duties mid way during first half and he was right on the money in most instances and made the Thomians pay for their mistakes.

The talented Shiek proved to be deadly down the flank and ran hard at the Thomian threes with a lot of intention. He adopted well to the role of full back when the ball was kicked in his direction and link well with the rest of the back three to create the overlap on attack.

Danushka Ranjan (SPC)

For the second week running it was Dhanushka Ranjan who took the limelight against the Thurstanites scoring 5 tries which was the highest by a player this season together with Shashan Mohomed of Trinity.

Ranjan who came in to the schools rugby scene with a blistering 4 tries against the Josephians back in 2009 has never looked back from there on and is one of the catalysts in the powerful Peterite unit. He is a player who has in him the ‘X’ factor and brings a lot to the team.

His center breaks and individual play has given the Peterites an edge to compete for the title for the second year running.

Mekalanda Promod (IC)

Isipathana who took on the Anthonians in Kandy had to come out with a special performance to topple the Eagles in their own backyard. Mekalanda Promod playing on the open side wing three-quarter position did just that scoring 2 tries and lead the way for the visitors. Promod a senior man in the team has brilliant skills down the flank and is one of the best finishers this season.

His express pace and agility give him the edge over the rest of the wings in the schools circuit. Mekalanda who featured in the Pathana team last year was one of the main try scorers and has been one of the main performers during this season as well. He will come in handy against some of the bigger teams and will be used to run around the defense.

Lavanga Perera (KCK)

Playing at fly half Lavanga has been a consistent performer for the Kings during the recent past. Kingswood who took on Dharmaraja did not have the most convincing wins but came up with some good performances especially with Lavanga playing well at number 10. Together with his brother Oshan playing at center the brothers took control of the game and pushed the Kings over the finish line.

Perera who has a lot of skill and pace is definitely a player to look out for and is a firm contender for the national youth team. Lavanga who represented the Kandy Reds in the All-star rugby encounter last year is a natural number 10 and will be a key player for the Kingswoodians this season.

Arshad Jamaldeen (RC)

The number 10 and the play maker of the Royal team Arshad Jamaldeen helped Royal beat a fighting Wesley unit by just 1 point last week. Jamaldeen who played a vital role in that game put over 19 points with the boot and also put over the decisive last minute penalty which ultimately won the Royalists the game. His cool headed style of play has also helped his team in many tight situations.

He was spot on with his kicks at goal and also got good touch for his forwards in the opposition territory. He is a brilliant reader of the game and will come in handy during crunch matches for Royal.

D. Thiyagaraja (SJC)

The Josephians had a nail bitter of a match against the new-comers Science College with Josephian full back Thiyagaraja coming good for the visitors with 19 points which included a goal, and four penalties. The Darley Road full back who came in to the line to create the overlap was in superb form and penetrated the defence on numerous occasions.

His accurate kicking was another feature which ultimately took the game in favour of the Josephians at the final whistle.

Courtesy - Papare.com