Star-studded Trinity College Kandy led by playmaker Shan Althaf defeated St. Peter's College Bambalapitiya 20 (2T, 2C, 2P) -07 (1T, 1C) in the final cup encounter at the St. Peter's College Grounds this evening (27) to be crowned unbeaten 2026 Inter-School Rugby League Champions.
Trinity needed to avoid a defeat in the final league game today to retain the title but they did once again showcased their superior skillsets to hand the Peterites only their second defeat in the league championship.
The boys from Hill Capital were determined to win the encounter from the outset and managed to score their opening try within the first 10 minutes of the encounter.
Trinity hooker Akila Fernando planted the try in the sixth minute and skipper Althaf managed to put over a tricky conversion.
Both teams fluffed several scoring opportunities before the halftime whistle.
At lemons, Trinity led 07-00.
Although St. Peter's looked threatening in the second half, it was Trinity skipper Althaf who scored the first points. The full-back put over a penalty to stretch the lead 10-00.
Trinity then put their rolling maul to good use and through No. 8 Achintha Jayasena they scored the second try of the game in the 45th minute. Althaf was once again converted a difficult penalty much to the jubilation of the Trinity supporters who had travelled in numbers to Bambalapitiya along with the ‘papare’ bands.
It took 63 minutes for St. Peter's who were also chasing this year’s league title to breach the Trinity defence at their home grounds. After Trinity were down to 13 players, Ashaz Akram went over the line for the Peterites and Rajith Geon added the two points to reduce the deficit to 17-07.
In the final play of the game, fittingly Trinity skipper Shan Althaf had the final say with a penalty conversion which brought down curtains to one of the best seasons of schools’ rugby in recent memory. Trinity won their ninth game of the league season with the 20-07 victory against St. Peter's.
This is the second year running Trinity has taken home the league trophy.
Trinitians won all their first-round games comfortably and in the much tougher super round, the Shan Althaf-led side defeated Wesley College 43-10, Royal College 48-15 and in the last week encounter, Zahira College Maradana 37-32.
Zahira, who had one of the best seasons in recent years finished runners-up in the tournament while St. Peter's College finished third.
Trinitians also won the 2026 President’s Trophy knock-out Championship beating Royal College Colombo 58-26 at the start of the season.
The Shan Althaf-led side has been compared to Trinity’s finest 1987 team led by Tyrrell Rajapakse throughout this season, and according to most experts, the 2026 Cup and League winners is the best Trinity College Kandy has produced in recent memory.
Although the curtains have come down on the league season, Trinity will lock-horn with Royal College for the Bradby Shield in a fortnight's time.
The first leg of the Bradby is scheduled to be played at the Royal College Sports Complex on July 11 with the second leg slated for July 25 at Pallekele.
