Isipathana hold off late Royal surge to march into the final

Isipathana College held off a determined late comeback from Royal College to secure a 24–17 victory in their semi-final of the Dialog Schools Rugby Knockouts 2025 President’s Trophy, played at Sugathadasa Stadium.

The Green Machine dominated the early stages, forcing Royal onto the defensive. A powerful touch-finder from Nimantha Sandeepa put Isipathana deep into Royal territory. From the resulting line-out, a rolling maul drew a penalty, and scrum-half Sithupa Bometh quickly tapped and offloaded to Shaakib Zumri, who powered over for the opening try. Sandeepa added the conversion.
(RC 00 – 07 IC)

Buoyed by the early score, Isipathana kept up the pressure. Sandeepa sliced through the Royal defense before being brought down illegally near the red zone. Fly-half Avishka Hiran took a quick tap and drew the defense close, allowing Bometh to offload to lock forward Nevith Mevnaka, who barged over for another try. Sandeepa converted.
(RC 00 – 14 IC)

Isipathana maintained momentum, exploiting Royal mistakes. A clever kick from Hiran led to a penalty from a mismanaged chase, and Mevnaka muscled over again for his second try of the match. Sandeepa’s conversion made it 21–0 heading into the break.
(RC 00 – 21 IC)

Just before halftime, injuries to both Isipathana wingers gave Royal a window. Disas Pathirana carried play to the five-meter line, and after several pick-and-go phases, Didula Jayasuriya scored following a clever offload from Yuwan Pathirana, keeping Royal within reach at the break.
(RC 05 – 21 IC)

The second half saw Royal mounting a spirited comeback. Isipathana opened the scoring through a Sandeepa penalty after a breakdown infringement, extending their lead. Another attempt drifted wide.
(RC 05 – 24 IC)

With ten minutes remaining, Royal surged. Amika Samarasinghe powered over from the back of a sustained forward drive, and Simak Shafeek converted. Moments later, Royal struck again off a scrum near the 40-meter line. Fly-half Yuwan Pathirana delivered a perfect kick behind the defense for Dinuka Perera to score in the corner, closing the gap to seven points.
(RC 17 – 24 IC)

Despite Royal’s relentless pressure in the final minutes, their final high-risk kick-and-chase attempt went dead, and Isipathana held firm to book their place in the President’s Trophy final, where they will face Trinity College next week.

points breakdown

Royal College – 17
Amika Samarasinghe – 1 try
Didula Jayasuriya – 1 try
Dinuka Perera – 1 try
Simak Shafeek – 1 conversion

Isipathana College – 24
Shaakib Zumri – 1 try
Nevith Mevnaka – 1 try
Nimantha Sandeepa – 3 conversions, 1 penalty