• Pathana in record 29th and Trinity in 6th final
• TCK in finals after 12 years; 4 in a row for Pathana 

Today (18) is a red-letter day that will go down in history in the rugby-crazy island nation of Sri Lanka as a day filled with absolute madness; a day that will be cherished for years to come by Trinitians, Isipathanians, and every rugby lover. 

The writer always has one red-hot favourite prior to a big game. But this time around, even though Trinity are superior on paper, both the finalists – Isipathana College, Colombo and Trinity College, Kandy – will be battling it out for the President’s Trophy Knockout Rugby Championship title in an even-stevens contest at the Royal College Complex, with kickoff scheduled at 4.15 p.m. 

The Isipathana Green Machine will be led by Thinethra Dodangoda, while Usmaan Safraz leads the Trinity Lions in red, gold, and blue.

On a fascinating note, Trinity were champions in 1987, 1993, and 2011; their opponents in all three finals were none other than Isipathana. The defending champions Isipathana need no introduction in this format as they are dubbed the ‘kings of knockout rugby’ and ‘knockout maestros,’ with a proven track record, being in their fourth final in a row this time around and with a staggering 14 championship titles. 

This is the first time the knockout tournament is being held prior to the league tournament with the participation of all top teams sans any pullouts.

Road to the grand finale

Pre-quarter-finals: Isipathana had a comfortable and thumping 61-0 victory against Sri Sumangala College, Kandy at the Royal College Complex.

Trinity annihilated their hill-country counterparts St. Anthony’s 62-5 at Longden Place amidst a jam-packed audience under lights.

Quarter-finals: The whole Isipathana camp was shell shocked by Wesley when the Double Blues took a 10-0 lead early in the game. However, the Pathana Green Machine made Wesley see blues in the second half as they came back marauding to clinch a 24-10 win.

Just like the Pathana-Wesley clash, the school by the sea gave the Trinitians a tough time in the opening half. However, S. Thomas’ College lost a hard-fought battle after the Trinitians pounced on all opportunities in the second half to secure a 24-15 win.

Semi-finals: Leading 21-5 at lemons, Isipathana were poised to go big against Royal in a game that caught everyone’s attention on account of a late surge by the Reid Avenue lads, where the final scoreline stood 24-17 at the Sugathadasa Stadium. This game had its fair share of thrills, spills, and drama, just as expected in a Royal-Pathana classic. 

Trinity in their semis at the Royal College Complex scored their opening try before the timer was switched on in the live telecast – it was that fast. However, towards the latter half of the first essay, the Lions huffed and puffed against a valiant Zahira College outfit, who levelled 12-12 at half time. However, the hot favourites came back to clinch a 29-12 win in a rusty performance. 

A look at the Pathana-Trinity rivalry

Fifty-nine years ago, in 1966, Trinity captained by Glen Van Langenberg first met Isipathana captained by Sunil Wickramasuriya at a first XV game in Bogambara; TCK won 26-3. 

It took 12 years for the two teams to meet again in 1978 at the Sri Lanka Rugby Centenary Trophy semi-final (the maiden schools K/O tournament). Isipathana under the late M.P.F. Sallay beat Trinity 21-6 at Longden Place. The league win tally since 1966 stands at 20-15 in favour of Pathana with four tied games. 

The last Trinity-Pathana knockouts final meeting was in 2012, where Kumendra Dharmadasa’s Greens took home the trophy to Havelock Town. In the 2011 finals, Murad Ramzeen’s Lions beat Pathana to win the cup after 18 years. They first met in a K/O final in 1987, where Tyrrell Rajapakse’s invincibles beat Isipathana.  

Trinity-Isipathana head-to-heads in knockouts 

Sri Lanka Rugby Centenary (William Molegoda Trophy)

• 1978 – Isipathana beat Trinity 21-6 (semis)

Premadasa Trophy

• 1985 – Isipathana beat Trinity 6-3 (semis)
• 1986 – Isipathana beat Trinity 11-3 (semis)
• 1987 – Trinity beat Isipathana 12-3 (finals)
• 1993 – Trinity beat Isipathana 17-10 (finals)

President’s Trophy

• 2011 – Trinity beat Isipathana 21-10 (finals)
• 2012 – Isipathana beat Trinity 21-16 (finals)
• 2015 – Isipathana beat Trinity 37-28 (semis)
• 2025 – Today: who will be the champion?