Madagascar massacre Sri Lankan pride
After having their offensive fluency stifled by the swift feet and stout hearts of Madagascar, Sri Lanka stuttered and stumbled at the line, falling to a disappointing 17 (two tries and one goal) -12 (four penalties) loss in their opening encounter of the Serendib International Cup, which was contested last evening at the Race Course grounds.
Sri Lanka had a two-point lead with only a minute left in the piece but, true to the game’s enduring narrative, blundered at the crucial moment. They lost concentration and allowed Rakotoarivelo Benja to dart through the defense, kick the ball past the try line before collapsing on it to bury Sri Lanka in the new stadium’s fresh blades of grass.
Sri Lanka lock Sajith Saranga is neatly countered by the Madagascar defenders, who snatched a stunning victory. - Pic by Amila Gamage
The hosts held the lead through much of the match, staying ahead through the accuracy of fullback Riza Mubarak’s kicks. But strangely they never seemed completely in control of the fixture, relinquishing the momentum with ill-timed fumbles.
Their mistakes could have been attributed to the pressure of playing in front of an expectant, capacity home crowd, except for the sobering fact that there wasn’t one. For a curtain-raiser of a much-touted international rugby tournament, the match drew only sparse pockets of spectators.
In truth, the match too did not live up to its pre-game billing and was a far cry from the end-to-end heart-stopper the score might suggest.
The Lankans got on the board early, exploiting holes in the Madagascans’ defense to charge deep into their territory to earn a penalty, which Mubarak polished off with precision.
The early blow rocked Madagascar but did not floor them and they came rushing back into the game through their marauding winger Alain Rakotonirina. Thundering from a scrum, Rakotonirina tore across the line for a try which Fly Half Rakoto Benjamin failed to convert.
In horrifying contrast to Mubarak, Benjamin was having a shocker of a kicking game, pelting the ball to every point except the one that mattered. His Lankan counterpart converted two more penalties, in the 33rd and 38th minute, to put his side 9-5 ahead at the end of a stilted opening half.
The second portion of the game did not produce any change of flow in play, and both sides were often stuck in the middle of the field wrestling for possession and initiative. Neither of these two commodities arrived until the 55th minute, when Madagascar’s first half try-scorer, Rakotonirina, carbon-copied his initial enterprise with an aggressive burst through the defence. Once again Benjamin fluffed the conversion attempt.
It was at this point that the match began emitting sparks of brilliance, and with five minutes left Mubarak knocked over another penalty to give Sri Lanka a two-point lead and set the fixture alight.
Madagascar responded with the game’s most scintillating move on the stroke of full time through an inspired and unstoppable Benjo. And though his converted try stole victory from Sri Lanka’s clutches, it served to deliver a burst of inspiration in a game that had until then only seen it in spurts.
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