Woke up early at 4 AM here to watch what I thought would be a regular prize to grab, but end of the day proved otherwise. Evergreen Pathana boys once again proved that they are not going to go down with out a fight. In-fact they won the war.
Last week I commented on Royal rugby page saying that if we ( Royal) play basic rugby that we know, we should win the game. But day ended in disappointing manner leaving me wondering what Royal were trying to do.
There were two tries scored of ill passes , most noticeably the last try scored by Sumudu Rankothge which sealed the deal for Pathana. I am sure Sumudu scored much hard working tries to win games , but would take this piece of cake with out thinking twice on any given day.
If you watched those two tries scored by Pathana, they were result of Royal trying to spread the ball wide in side their own 22 leading to fatal mistakes. Royal from the beginning looked to me like did not understood the equation properly. Only small passage in latter part of the first half, when Royal scored the second try was the only flash of play I liked that Royal should have played against this Pathana team.
Its no magic if you watched the games so far during the season, that Pathan does not have the luxury of determined forwards they had last and year before. Royal just had to do the batter them, build phases and tire them out. Instead of that they tried to play expansive game much too often at times sending the ball wide in the first phase.
I am not sure what was the thinking behind Royal coaching staff behind the tactic. One reason that I can come up with is that Royal trying to build up to Bradby. Yes , Trinity is playing different brand of rugby from other teams in the league, so may be Royal wanted to try adapt to fast open style of rugby before the big game.
But what went begging was one of the high prizes of the season. Major Milroy Fernando trophy would have been still worth lot to be back in Reid avenue after lapse of 1 year.
Still there were some good line breaks from Royal but I wonder whether it is unnatural for them at times. Best example was when Sabith Feroze whoo had a great game broke away from left flank in the latter part of the first half did not off load to Janidu Dilshan , other wise would have been a certain try. I do still remember last year Mahima Gamage was guilty of couple occasions , when he tried to score on his own with the try line just mere meters away. If he passed on those occasions may be it would have been a different season for Royal. Trust me when I say it.
I think Royal should look at the one or two pages from the Pathana book. We think Pathana has naturally gifted players in the line. Yes,, it is true. But even this year if you watched the the tries Pathana scored , there were many tries that they scored as a team. They know when to pass. Royal know how to pass , but fail to identify when to pass.
One thing you should admire about this Pathana teams lately is they always punch above their weight, which I think Royal neglected during the second half. Royal kept the habit of leaving things too much for the last quarter of the game and this time it bit them hard. It was a game Royal would and should have close out with going in to the half time 14 to 5 lead. The yellow card in the 70th minute was stupid and can not blame too much for the poor guy, because entire team was responsible for the defeat.
I was wondering why full back Perera was kept playing even it was obvious he was going to make a mess of things. So many questions left to answer by Royal think tank. They survived Peterites who did play like head less chickens on the day , later found some sense and beat Patahana. A Dharamaraja side probably did not finish the business and Joes side perhaps was over confident coming in to the game.
I expected much from Royal coming in too the season and even after 4 games when they still managed to hanging on to the games, but this was a mistake of a game. It was Royal game to loose I thought. They did it to perfection I think.
Never take away the fight and courage shown by Pathana boys. They deserved to win this. They wanted it and just took it way. It does not matter how you score your try unless it is illegal. They keep punching above their weight. Probably as Shanaka Amarsinha said one time "money can not buy heart".
Congratulations to Pathana!!!!
Royal , take a deep breath boys, think through!!!!!!!!!!
Last week I commented on Royal rugby page saying that if we ( Royal) play basic rugby that we know, we should win the game. But day ended in disappointing manner leaving me wondering what Royal were trying to do.
There were two tries scored of ill passes , most noticeably the last try scored by Sumudu Rankothge which sealed the deal for Pathana. I am sure Sumudu scored much hard working tries to win games , but would take this piece of cake with out thinking twice on any given day.
If you watched those two tries scored by Pathana, they were result of Royal trying to spread the ball wide in side their own 22 leading to fatal mistakes. Royal from the beginning looked to me like did not understood the equation properly. Only small passage in latter part of the first half, when Royal scored the second try was the only flash of play I liked that Royal should have played against this Pathana team.
Its no magic if you watched the games so far during the season, that Pathan does not have the luxury of determined forwards they had last and year before. Royal just had to do the batter them, build phases and tire them out. Instead of that they tried to play expansive game much too often at times sending the ball wide in the first phase.
I am not sure what was the thinking behind Royal coaching staff behind the tactic. One reason that I can come up with is that Royal trying to build up to Bradby. Yes , Trinity is playing different brand of rugby from other teams in the league, so may be Royal wanted to try adapt to fast open style of rugby before the big game.
But what went begging was one of the high prizes of the season. Major Milroy Fernando trophy would have been still worth lot to be back in Reid avenue after lapse of 1 year.
Still there were some good line breaks from Royal but I wonder whether it is unnatural for them at times. Best example was when Sabith Feroze whoo had a great game broke away from left flank in the latter part of the first half did not off load to Janidu Dilshan , other wise would have been a certain try. I do still remember last year Mahima Gamage was guilty of couple occasions , when he tried to score on his own with the try line just mere meters away. If he passed on those occasions may be it would have been a different season for Royal. Trust me when I say it.
I think Royal should look at the one or two pages from the Pathana book. We think Pathana has naturally gifted players in the line. Yes,, it is true. But even this year if you watched the the tries Pathana scored , there were many tries that they scored as a team. They know when to pass. Royal know how to pass , but fail to identify when to pass.
One thing you should admire about this Pathana teams lately is they always punch above their weight, which I think Royal neglected during the second half. Royal kept the habit of leaving things too much for the last quarter of the game and this time it bit them hard. It was a game Royal would and should have close out with going in to the half time 14 to 5 lead. The yellow card in the 70th minute was stupid and can not blame too much for the poor guy, because entire team was responsible for the defeat.
I was wondering why full back Perera was kept playing even it was obvious he was going to make a mess of things. So many questions left to answer by Royal think tank. They survived Peterites who did play like head less chickens on the day , later found some sense and beat Patahana. A Dharamaraja side probably did not finish the business and Joes side perhaps was over confident coming in to the game.
I expected much from Royal coming in too the season and even after 4 games when they still managed to hanging on to the games, but this was a mistake of a game. It was Royal game to loose I thought. They did it to perfection I think.
Never take away the fight and courage shown by Pathana boys. They deserved to win this. They wanted it and just took it way. It does not matter how you score your try unless it is illegal. They keep punching above their weight. Probably as Shanaka Amarsinha said one time "money can not buy heart".
Congratulations to Pathana!!!!
Royal , take a deep breath boys, think through!!!!!!!!!!
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