Women do it better than the Men
Japan was too hot to handle. Sri Lanka eye a win against UAE today
Admittedly, the Sri Lankan Men’s rugby team had an arduous mountain to climb and predictably had a barren day when the First Leg of the Asian Rugby Sevens got underway at Incheon in South Korea.
The Men’s team led their Chinese counterparts 7-5 at the short whistle. Janidu Dilshan went over. However, the Chinese, who had in their ranks the eight-foot tall Gao Ming, made a better fist of things in the second half to add two more tries.
Reeza Rafaideen went over in the closing stages of the game to make the final score more respectable. Kevin Dixon and Thilina Wijesinghe added the extras for the Sri Lankans.
In their second game against the reigning champions Japan, the Sri Lankans were completely outclassed and lost 5-43. Nishon Perera did the honours by going over for the only try scored by Dayan’s men.
The Sri Lankan women fared better than their male counterparts by winning one and losing one. The Hong Kong lasses were too physically powerful and romped to a 33-10 win over the Sri Lankans.
Hong Kong beat Sri Lanka 33-10
Anusha Attanayake and Thanuja Weerakkody were the try scorers. Both tries went unconverted.
The Sri Lankan Women Tuskers ran riot against Malaysia to triumph 35-7. The latter had been decimated 0-50 by Japan earlier. Ayesha Kaluarachchi, Anusha Attanayake, Dasuni de Silva, Nimesha Wijewardene and Sanjeewani de Silva touched down. Kaluarachchi converted thrice while Attanayake and Weerakkody put over one each.
The Japanese powerhouse has accumulated 72 points in their two games against UAE and Sri Lanka. However, China struggled a bit to down UAE 24-14. South Korea, another fancied team, showed what they were capable of by running Chinese Taipei off the park in a 50-7 victory.
The Philippines gave the South Koreans a run for their money before going under 19-33. Hapless Chinese Taipei were demolished 0-62 by Hong Kong who showed they were up for the ‘Big One’ against Japan later on today.
| Today’s lineup | |
| Men’s: Philippines vs Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong vs South Korea, Sri Lanka vs UAE, Japan vs China Women’s: Kazakhstan vs Singapore, China vs Thailand, Hong Kong vs Malaysia, Japan vs Sri Lanka |
| Results | |
| Men’s Series: South Korea beat Philippines 33-19, Hong Kong beat Chinese Taipei 62-0, China beat Sri Lanka 17-14, Japan beat UAE 29-7, South Korea beat Chinese Taipei 50-7, Hong Kong beat Philippines 20-5, China beat UAE 24-14, Japan beat Sri Lanka 43-5 Women’s Series: Kazakhstan beat Thailand 12-0, China beat Singapore 61-0, Hong Kong beat Sri Lanka 33-10, Japan beat Malaysia 50-0, Thailand beat Singapore 41-0, China beat Kazakhstan 19-15, Sri Lanka beat Malaysia 35-7, Japan beat Hong Kong 36-5 |