St. Peter’s head coach Sanath Martis attributed his team’s Schools League success to ‘team work’ and opted to deflect all plaudits directed at him in the wake of the 6-3 win over Isipathana in the title-decider at Havelock Park on Saturday (17)  back to his players.

“I prefer to describe this success as one collective team effort,” Martis ever the unassuming coach told The Daily Morning Sports, moments after his all-conquering outfit had retained the league trophy for the second successive season with an unblemished record.

“I do not prefer to bask in the glory all by myself at this time, as that is not my style. I am only the coach and if what I impart to my boys from the touchlines is not practiced on the field, then my efforts and time is wasted. But, these boys put their bodies on the line for their school every single game and the end result of their hard work is there for all to see.”

Atrocious conditions

Martis said that atrocious underfoot conditions and a greasy ball arising out of overnight torrential rains and further showers throughout Saturday, had prevented both teams from playing their natural game. 

“I reckon we coped with the conditions well, more than Isipathana and that was also crucial to the final outcome,” the coach stressed. “But, that does not take anything away from our hosts.” 

He credited Isipathana for fighting tooth and nail to derail his team’s effort to retain the title in the mudlark and noted that the home side also deserves mention when talking about the league decider.

The veteran coach was of the view that his players had been led outstandingly well by dynamic number eight Dulaj Navodya-player-of-the-match in the decider, throughout the league and was pleased to see the hard work put in by his charges getting due diligence at the end.

Hour of glory

“Players such as open-side flanker Aiden Fernando, scrum-half Sajith Gallage, fly-half Rahul Peter-best player of the decider,  centre Yumith Shihara,  left wing Vishenka Silva, right wing Praneeth Silva and fullback Pasindu Bandara to name just a few were the seniors who backed Navodya and the juniors too rallied around them through the league,” the coach with the Midas touch opined.

“There are many others that I will need to mention, but you may run out of space to include all of them. I only singled out them because they comprised of our leadership group and therefore it will be unjust on my part if I were to exclude them in their hour of glory.”

The impact of Sanath Martis for the Peterites has been such that the latter has managed to go unbeaten for 24-months in the league under his watch which in itself is a no mean feat. 

Left wing Vishenka Silva ended the Schools Rugby League as the highest try scorer with 16 touchdowns to his name and his prolific form further underscored the cutting edge provided by the Petes backline.

Parsimonious defence 

Another key contributory factor for the ‘Bamba Brigade’s’ unbeaten run, was their parsimonious defence which conceded only 86 points across nine matches and this was also evident in the league decider against the green machine over the weekend.

Asked what the Petes next goal would be Martis confidently claimed that they will be seeking a treble having already annexed the sevens title and with the Schools Knock-Out set to kick off later this month.