Kandy SC survive CR fightback
Kandy's Danush Dayan attempts to breach through CR's Kevin Dixon and Mohamed Sashan - Pic by Priyantha Wickramaarachchi
Kandy SC weathered a superb second half rally from CR&FC in sweltering conditions to maintain their unbeaten record with a 41-27 victory in a titanic clash between two unbeaten sides in week five of the Dialog Club Rugby League Championships at Longden Place yesterday.
The Kandy juggernaut seemed unstoppable as they powered to a 36-10 lead at the interval scoring five of their six tries in the first half. But CR virtually dominated the second half to take the fight to Kandy to score three tries and being awarded a penalty try to close the gap to 27-36.
However, Kandy skipper Nigel Ratwatte sealed the match with a classic corner flag try with ten minutes remaining to break CR hearts.
CR’s usually reliable place kicker Rizah Mubarak muffed a penalty attempt in the opening minutes of the game.
Kandy got into their stride quickly with centre Kavindu Perera drawing first blood against his former club in the sixth minute while full back Dansha Dayan scored the first of his two tries four minutes later. Tharinda Ratwatte made no mistake with the conversions and also knocked over a penalty as Kandy led 17-0 after 13 minutes of play.
Scrum half Roshan Weeraratne underlined Kandy’s dominance by intercepting a pass for a bonus try in the 19th minute which Ratwatte converted.
Mubarak put over a penalty for CR but Kandy replied instantly with another try by Sri Lanka Sevens skipper Dayan who played like a winger.
There was a ray of hope for CR after a period of phased out attacks when scrum half Kavindu de Costa streaked through a gap for their first try in the 36th minute which Mubarak goaled.
But Kandy despite being a man short with Tharindu Chathuranga being shown the yellow card hit back with a try by Jason Dissanayake under the posts with Ratwatte converting to give them a 36-10 cushion at half time.
Kandy’s game plan unravelled after the turn around and they appeared to run out of steam and lacked discipline with two more players Damith Dissanayake and Jason Dissanayake being sent to the bin within the space of seven minutes in the third quarter.
CR stepped up pressure with skipper Omalka Gunaratne charging like a terrier in the loose to galvanise the forwards into action. Reeza Raffaideen did not have the pace when he stumbled on a loose ball but the momentum resulted in a try by prop Supun Warnakulasuriya from a driving maul following a line out for an unconverted try in the 52nd minute.
CR were then awarded a penalty try in the 62nd minute by Hong Kong Jonathan Markowitz while the ball bounced right for centre Janidu Dilshan to touch down a high kick into the in-goal area by half back Kavindu de Costa for yet another unconverted try.
Fly half Nigel Ratwatte hared across on the left flank to score a superb corner flag try in the 70th minute as Kandy maintained their winning streak.
| Decent Havies overcome ruthless Army | |
| Havelocks SC dominated over Army SC 25-17 in a Dialog Rugby League match where each team scored three tries apiece, and depended heavily on the other to commit errors. The Havies travelled to the Naval Base in Welisara in which Army hosted the game, and made early inroads to take a lead of 10-0, but after battling for over 20 minutes.The Soldiers retaliated promptly to trail 7-10 at halftime, as fullback and kicker Prince Chamara ended the day as the winning factor for the Havies. Chamara’s boot contributed 10 points after successfully putting over two each of conversions and penalties, next to the three tries, scored by scored by three-quarters Asitha Punchihewa, Dilanka Perera and Zayan Jabbar. The Soldiers performed splendidly to shackle the visitors, but they were not decent as the Havies, who refrained from conceding penalties to the opponent. But Army had the clout to penetrate the Havies defence thrice as they completed three tries, but just managed to convert one of them. The tries were scored by Sachin Gamage, Danushka Thalwattha and Thusitha Senanayake, as Gayan Salinda was successful only once in his three kicking attempts. In addition Army were reduced to 14 men twice during the second half as Chameera Silva and Sudaraka Dikkumburu had to sit out briefly with yellow cards. The Havies were far decent, but Dilanka Perera was given the yellow card after the eventual winner had almost claimed the game with a 8-point lead. |