Sri Lanka’s chances of remaining in the top five of the HSBC Asian Five Nations Tournament faded further last evening when the Hong Kong lads out played the home team by 48 Points (5 Goals, 2 Tries, 1 Penalty) to 3 Points (1 Penalty) win at CR & FC rugby grounds at Longdon Place.
At the short breather it was Hong Kong who led 22-3.
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| No 8 Pale Tauty grounds Hong Kong’s sixth try evading Sri Lanka’s Gayan Weeraratne - Pic by Sanka Vidanagama. |
Simply the Hong Kong lads were too much for the Sri Lankans. Though the Hong Kong pack was lesser in weight than UAE they were very mobile and very fast on the loose ball. Hong Kong forwards looked to have got on the top of Sri Lankans from the kick off onwards. Sri Lanka most of the time missed out on the first tackle. Out of the seven tries five of them were scored by the three quarters.
ong Kong’s only weak point was the high ball. However the Lankans tested them with only a few of them. On the other hand Hong Kong did not fare too well and fared miserably by not going for it.
For the Sri Lankans it was Scrum Half Roshan Weeraratne and his brother Gayan Weeraratne were outstanding in attack as well in defense. Roshan ran without being touched a few times but lacked support. His elder brother Gayan tackled low and hard.
Hong Kong drew first blood when their stand off Keith Robertson touched down in the first 5 minutes of the game. He converted it himself and increased the lead to 7-0. Eight minutes later Centre Jones Lee brushed aside few defenders and touched down. Keith Robertson added the extra points. Saliya Kumara reduced the lead through an easy 30 meter penalty kick.
Minutes before the short whistle Winger Rowan Varti touched down for an unconverted try. On stroke of half time Keith Robertson increased Hong Kong’s lead through another penalty to take “Lemons” at 22-3.
After the turn around Sri Lanka played well re grouping in the initial 20 minutes but lacked fitness.
For Hong Kong tries were scored by Tim Alexander, Lee Jones, Pale Taity and Keith Robertson. Three of them were converted by skipper Tom Maccol.
Referee Taku Otsuki (Japan)
Sri Lanka’s only hope of remaining in the Top five of this tournament will depend on their performance against Kazakhstan next Saturday in Almaty which will be a do-or-die game. Sri Lanka must win this game if they hope to be in the competition. |
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