Kandy survive Army slaughter
Kandy Sports Club recorded their sixth successive win of the SLR Nippon Paints Club Rugby League, after a brilliant comeback win of 21-17 against the marauding Army Sports Club at Havelock Park yesterday. The win places Kandy SC on top of the points table, as they dismantle Havelocks SC from the leadership with 35 points in total.
This will make Kandy’s upcoming game against Havelocks next Sunday, a thriller coming in as a decider to determine which team ends up unbeaten after the first round. Kandy, who trailed 14-17 at halftime, scored from three converted tries, but yesterday they failed to earn bonus points against the much improved Soldiers. Army, who almost had it all, scored from two converted tries and a penalty, despite having the honour of dominating the entire first half.
The Soldiers wasted very little time, when they stunned the visitors by scoring a try soon after the kickoff, when winger Sudaraka Dikkumbura made a surprise breakthrough to touch down. With fullback Tharindu Hettiarachchi’s conversion, they led 7-0 within the first minute.
However, Kandy, being the most sought after professional unit, made amendments to their approach, and eventually their efforts were paid off in the 20th minute, when centre Diluksha Dange braced a try. With flyhalf Tarindu Ratwatte’s conversion, the scores were tied at 7-7.
But the Soldiers showed more grit than they did earlier to gain the lead again, when centre Danushka Thalwatte braced a try five minutes later. The conversion by Hettiarachchi put them back in the lead 14-7. The Soldiers made use of that advantage to force Kandy to commit errors, and in one such event Army were awarded a penalty in the 35th minute and Hettiarachchi made no mistake to put it over.
Army enjoyed a handsome 17-7 lead but they were flummoxed by a sudden move by the Kandy three-quarters, which gave No.8 Jason Dissanayake the breakthrough to touchdown just before the short whistle. With Ratwatte’s conversion Kandy accumulated 14 points, Army led by three points.
However, after the turnaround the entire script of the game changed, with Kandy playing up to their true potential. They scored three minutes after the resumption with skipper and flyhalf Nigel Ratwatte scoring a try to give Tarinda Ratwatte an easy conversion. With that Kandy gained the lead 21-17, and maintained it up to the end, as the game was shortened due to heavy rain.