Late rally helps Kandy win 22-11
Chris DHAMBARAGE
Table leaders Kandy Sports Club produced a superb late rally to pull
off a hard fought 22-11 victory over Sri Lanka Police Sports Club in
their Caltex Inter-Club ‘A’ division league rugby tournament match
worked off at the Police Park in Bambalapitiya yesterday.
The defending champions after having snatched a close 12-11 lead at
half time came back strongly in the second half and went on to collect
their points from two goals, one try and one penalty.
Police SC after showing a lot of promise in the first half failed to
maintain the same momentum in the crucial second half and managed to
score just a solitary try and two penalties.
Even then this was a close call for Kandy SC who managed to maintain
their unbeaten record and seal the game in their favor only during the
last five minutes of play. Until then their success was always in the
balance with the home side putting up a splendid performance from the
kick off. In fact Kandy SC never was able to dominate unlike in the
previous outings and all their scoring opportunities were blocked by the
opposition.
However both teams were guilty of squandering several scoring
opportunities and conceded penalties whenever they were in a position to
add the finishing touches.
Kandy SC opened scoring in the fifth minute of play when fly half
Fazil Marija intercepted and powered his way more than 25 meters to
touch down under the post. Roshan Weeraratne added the extra points and
the visitors were well on course towards another victory. However Kandy
SC were in for a nasty surprise almost immediately when Police SC took a
narrow 8-7 lead in the form of a try and a penalty.
First it was center Priyantha Ekanayake who made no mistake with a 25
meter penalty.
This was followed by the most productive period for the home side as
flanker Dinesh Kandasamy touched down mid right following a successful
rolling maul with the entire Police SC pack supporting him.
But Police SC were able to maintain that lead only for a brief period
as Kandy SC counter attacked immediately by forcing a crucial line out.
Kandy stole the ball from the Police throw in and Marija set the
three quarters in motion with winger Sanjeewa Jayasinghe falling over
near the corner flag. Scrum half Weeraratne missed the conversion but
Kandy SC had snatched the lead once again 12-8 at that stage. Police SC
came back storming in with their forwards and Priyantha Ekanayake
obliged with his second penalty of the match to reduce the margin to a
single point at half time.
Police SC missed a couple of scoring opportunities early in the
second half in addition to a penalty from kicking range.
After some tense moments Kandy SC eventually sealed the game by
scoring an unconverted try shortly before the final whistle. Udangamuwa
did the honors for Kandy SC by falling over for a push over try with
good support coming from the rest of his teammates. Weeraratne who had
earlier fired across a 25 meter penalty added the extra points to make
it 22-11 at the end.
Referee: Priyantha Gunaratne |