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Lanka pull off sensational victory over Denmark
Amjad Buksh, Pradeep Liyanage, Pradeep Chaturanga outstanding
By Aubrey Kuruppu

Action from the Australia vs SriLanka game which Australia won 19-7.. Pictures by Ishara S. Kodikara

A Sri Lankan player breaks away from Chinese Taipei. Sri Lanka lost the game 22-28

At the end of an eventful day's rugby, there were just four unbeaten teams left. New Zealand Centurians, Portugal, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei played consistently good rugby to top their groups and project themselves as front runners for the Cup competition at the Singer Rugby Sevens conduct by Kandy Sports Club at the Bogambara Stadium.

Sri Lanka lost twice - both encounters - to Chinese Taipei and the Australian Poteroos. However they gave the 5000 strong crowd something to cheer about by thrashing Denmark 31-5 in the last game of the day.

Amjad Buksh was quite outstanding and Pradeep Liyanage was not far behind. But the lad who stole the show was debutante Pradeep Chaturanga, the Anthoniam schoolboy. a veritable David among Goliaths the way he flung himself at the huge foreigners in defence, and his beautifully executed dummies and side steps were a delight to behold.

The local team gave as good as they got in their two earlier games. However some lapses in defence undid their good work. Both Chinese Taipei and Australian Poteroos were put under pressure and had to struggle hard for victory. Kenya were quite impressive in their first game with their distinctive draw of "Black Magic". When it came to their their crunch encounter against the New Zealand Centurions, they were all thumbs and kept dropping their passes.

Last year's winners, Portugal will be in serious contention for the title. The way they moved the ball around, their handling and support play was quite outstanding. Tomorrow's line up will be as follows: Cup Quarter Finals - New Zealand Centurious vs South Korea; Hong Kong vs Kenya; Portugal vs Australian Poteroos; Chinese Taipei vs Cook Island.

Plate Semi Finals : Morocco vs Belgium; Germany vs Sri Lanka. Bowl Semi Finals : Arabian Gulf vs Singapore; Malaysia vs Denmark.' 15-12.

Results
Plate Semi-Finals (Schools): Royal beat Thurstan 19-7; Vidyartha beat St. Sylvester's 15-12. Results (International):

Pool A: New Zealand Centurians bt Arabian Gulf 42-0; Kenya bt Morokko 40-0.
Pool B: Portugal bt Singapore 52-0; Cook Islands bt Belgium 33-5.
Pool C: South Korea bt Malaysia 59-0; Hong Kong bt Germany 12-10.
Pool D: Australian Poteroos bt Denmark 21-17; Chinese Taipei bt Sri Lanka 28-22.

Rd. 2 -Pool A: New Zealand Centurions beat Morocco 47-0; Kenya bt Arabian Gulf 31-7. Pool B: Portugal bt Belgium 33-0; Cook Island bt Singapore 62-0.
Pool C: South Korea bt Germany 35-0; Hong Kong bt Malaysia 47-0.

Pool D: Australian Poteroos bt Sri Lanka 19-7; Chinese Taipei bt Denmark12-5.
Rd. 3 Pool A: New Zealand Centurians bt Kenya 21-12; Morocco bt Arabian Gulf 12-0. Pool B: Portugal bt Cook Island 31-19; Belgium bt Singapore 38-7.
Pool C: Hong Kong bt South Korea 28-14; Germany bt Malaysia 54-0.
Pool D: Chinese Taipei bt Australian Poteroos 26-19; Sri Lanka bt Denmark 31-5.

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