Police buried under Kandy avalanche
For the opening ten minutes of the match the going looked good for Police. They had the lead and whispers of a close clash rippled across the crowd. Then, in the next ten, everything was lost under a mighty avalanche of offense, as Kandy set about bullying their way to a 62 (6 goals, 4 tries)- 6 (1 penalty, 1 drop goal) one-way walk over the policemen at Police Park yesterday.
Third rower Andrew Porter attempts to breach Police’s defence. Pic by Ranjith Perera
Kandy’s queue over the Police try line featured fullback Thilina Jayasinghe, fly half Fazil Marija, winger Anuruddha Wilwara, center Roshan Weeraratne, center Gayan Weeraratne, Heshan Kalhara, center Lavanga Perera, second row Richard Dharmapala and prop Uchitha Jayasooriya.
A game-opening penalty from flanker Apisaia Naqaleva and a second half drop goal from fly half Lahiru Gurusinghe offered Police their only moments of consolation after a miserable day out in the field.
Naqaleva’s sixth minute penalty came after an encouraging stretch for Police during which they were unafraid to trade blows and run at Kandy’s noticeably heavier forwards. But they were prodding a little too hard at a beast which was still sluggish.
The first roar came in the 10th minute through Jayasinghe, who crossed over and then added the extra points himself to give his side a lead it would not relinquish. Ten minutes later Kandy’s longtime lynchpin Marija was marauding through to another try, which was converted by Jayasinghe to charge Kandy to a 14-3 lead.
By halftime, with the score reading 29-3, Police were a battered and swaying outfit, bludgeoned into submission by a three-try staccato burst from Wilwara (25th minute), Roshan Weeraratne (30th minute) and Gayan Weeraratne (42nd minute). Jayasinghe found the mark with his conversions on only his final attempt.
The early mutterings of a tight fixture were now audible yawns as Kandy continued its unopposed charge in the game’s second half. Following Kalahara’s 50th minute try for Kandy, Police’s Gurusinghe finished off a threatening trip into enemy territory with a perfectly-measured drop goal for a long- awaited shout of resistance from the home team.
But this was merely a dent in Kandy’s attacking phalanx, and they proceeded to imperiously march past Police’s tenuous barriers with three more goals and a try.
In the day’s other match CR and FC beat the Hambantota Sharks 24 (1 goal, 1 try, 4 penalties)-12 (1 goal, 1 try). The score at half time was 12-7 in favour of CR.