Isipatana-Trinity clash should be a thriller

The confrontation between Isipatana College, Colombo and Trinity College, Kandy at CR and FC grounds Longden Place should turn out to be a thriller.

The two teams are evenly matched with Isipatana remaining unbeaten with two impressive wins over St. Joseph's (29-18) and Kingswood (35-5) in their last two matches having been held to a 19-all draw by Vidyartha in their first outing.

The Trinitians who overcame a fierce challenge from Science (25-19) in their first match then scored a runaway 54-10 win over home town rivals St. Anthony's before losing to St. Peter's by 29-34 last week.

The forte of both teams are their three quarters. Isipatana's halves combination of experienced Kavindu Costa and Hirandha Perera have hit it off smoothly while in centres Pabasara Waduge and Ashan Kovinda they have two heard runners who could tare apart the Trinity defence while on the wings they will have the services of the seasoned Shenal Dias and Uditha Prematilleke who have stood out with their powerful runs down the flank.

Trinity's halves combination of third year coloursman Sanjaya Somasiri and Tharinda Ratwatte have clicked this season with the centre duo of skipper Kaneel Seneviratne and Thisila Karunatilleke likely to test the Isipatana defence to the hilt with their side-stepping and speed while on the wings newcomer Darshana Udalagama has stood out scoring two splendid tries against the Peterites with full back Santhana Sheik having the knack of joining the line to form the overlap.

The Trinity-Isipatana encounter became a regular fixture in 1981 when Trinity led by Ravi Bandaranayake emerged victorious by 9-3 at Nittawela while Isipatana won in the following year under the captaincy of Dilroy Fernando by 7-3 at Longdon Place. The highest score in the series was recorded by Isipatana in 2002 when led by Anuranga Walpola they thrashed Trinity by 43-8 at Pellekelle while Trinity's best was in 2008 when under the leadership of Milinda Gunawardena they scored a resounding 29-10 win at Longden Place. The closest margin of victory was in 2005 when Isipatana edged out Trinity by 6-5 at Havelock Park. Last year Isipatana won 25-19 at Pellekelle Park while Trinity emerged victorious in 2010 by 28.20 at Havelock Park.

ISIPATANA: Ushan Chanuka, Ganuka Dissanayake, Manaka Siriwardena, Ganidu Lakshan, Mallith Eranga, Shenal Deelaka, Kunendra Dharmadasa (Captain), Arun Kumar, Kevindu Costa and Hirantha Perera, Uditha Premathilake, Ashan Kavinda, Pabasara Waduge, Shenal Dias, Sithum Chathusanka.

TRINITY: Anurudha Karunatilleke, Dhuli Samarakoon, Chanaka Attanayake, Randika Alwis, Thushan Dharmasena, Madura Hettiarachchi, Shahin Sinhalakshana, Ryle Madena, Sanjaya Somasiri and Tharinda Ratwatte, Dharshana Udalagama, Kaneel Seneviratne (Captain), Thisila Karunatilleke, Kanishka Yatawara, Santhana Sheik.

Referee: Dharmapala Nimal