Defending League champions, Kingswood College, Kandy, proved in no uncertain terms what is in store with them for the upcoming season when they clinched the schools sevens rugby championship trouncing their hometown rivals, Trinity College, by 26 (three goals and a try) points to 17 (two tries and a goal) in the finals of the All-island Inter-school Under-20 Rugby Sevens Championship held at the Royal Sports Complex, Reid Avenue, Colombo, last week.

This tournament, which was the curtain raiser for the 2009 inter-school rugby season, was conducted by the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA) and sponsored by Y FM.

In fact, the Kingswoodians, who were trailing by 7 points to 12 at the breather, came from behind to snatch victory, and they did it in style after some clever moves generated at the spur of the moment. And what paid dividends in the end were the speed and the dexterity that they exhibited particularly during the dying stages of the game.

It was their skipper and nippy scrum half Roshan Weeraratne with all his experience and swiftness, together with the dynamic winger Rajitha Sansoni, who stood out for them. They were the players who placed Kingswood on top.

In contrast, Trinity, despite their strength, lacked the speed --the pivotal element in sevens rugby-- and therefore the Kingswoodians were able to overtake the lions.

It was largely due to greater possession that the lions enjoyed in the initial stages that led them to be ahead at the breather. Yet, in a dramatic turn of events, Kingswood managed to beat all the barricades in the next half and, in the process, they succeeded in scoring two goals and a try to add 19 points to their total of 26.

It was a totally dissimilar tale last year when they had to succumb to defeat at the hands of Mahanama College in the quarter-final to leave the tourney without any impact but this time around they staged a fine comeback by defeating St. Thomas’ College, Bandarawela, by 52 points to nil in their first meeting.

What followed was an equally aggressive onslaught against Lumbini College, Colombo, which brought them a huge 40 points to nil victory enabling them to qualify for the quarter-finals.

In the quarter-final stage, the opponents were their hometown rivals, Dharmaraja College, by whom they were had some horrid times in the second half of the encounter. Nevertheless, the lads from the Randles Hill clinched victory by 10 points to 7 after leading 10-nil at the breather.

Then came the crucial encounter for Roshan Weeraratne and his boys as they faced the defending champions and the much fancied Isipatana College, Colombo.

But, in the end, Kingswood had no worries since they were far away from the reach of the opponents enjoying a score of 26 points to ten after their 14-nil lead at the short whisle. Bringing honours to the Kingswoodians were: Mohamed Fazly, Rajitha Sansoni, D.M. Wijesinghe and M. Prabath with Weeraratne slotting three kicks accurately.

"Beating Isipatana gave our players a lot of confidence and I was quite certain that we would emerge champions in the final against Trinity, which eventually turned out to be a reality," said Nilufer Ibrahim, former Kingswood, Kandy Sports Club and Sri Lanka scrum half who has put in all his experience and efforts to mould the youngsters into a champion outfit yet again within a very short period.

It was skipper Weeraratne and Sansoni who played some useful roles in Kingswood’s success when they emerged League Champions of the previous season. They have lived up to expectation once again. In the cup final, Weeraratne touched down twice while putting over three conversions while Sansoni and Wijesinghe contributed with a try apiece.

From hereon, all hopes of Kingswood will be to come out with an enhanced performance to retain the schools league title and they will lock horns with a rejuvenated Mahanama College in their opening fixture in the upper division to be held on April 25 at Bogambara Stadium in Kandy.