Kandy Sports Club continued their unbeaten run when they avoided a stiff opposition from Colombo Rugby Football Club. In the end Kandy won by 22 points (1 conversion, 4 tries) to 15 points (1 conversion, 2 tries, 1 penalty) in their Caltex Inter Club rugby first round encounter at Longdon Place yesterday. At the short breather Kandy led 17-10.The match was played under wet conditions and the ground was water logged. But this did not stop the three-quarters from moving the ball.
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| Kandy SC replacement scrum-half Prasad Chathuranga is about to sling out a pass. – Pic by Ranjith Perera. |
The Kandy outfit virtually had the national three quarter line which was left hungry for the ball. Kandy without a permanent full back depended a lot on their fresher Tharindu Chanaka. But most times he opted to kick the ball to open the field rather than run it down the line or kick to touch. Due to this the ‘Red Shirts’ full back Mohamed Sheriff got plenty of running opportunities to cover vital ground and attack the Kandy half.
CR & FC forwards looked a yard faster and were quick on the ball. Ishan Noor and Sharo Fernando played their hearts out as usual. For Kandy, Senaka Bandara and Sajith Saranga were outstanding. Sajith Saranga broke through the CR & FC defense on several occasions and this was a constant occurrence .Their defense was exposed by his powerful running.
Among the three-quarter’s Kandy SC were far superior with Fazil Marija, Gayan Weeraratne, Pradeep Liyanage, with ample support coming from their wingers Mohamed Jabbar Sanjeewa Jayasinghe (who was playing his last season) attacked and defended extremely well. CR & FC felt the absence of Nigel Ratwatte and Lasintha De Costa both down with injuries.
Kandy drew first blood early in the 4th minute of the game through a quick line-out throw for centre Pradeep Liyanage to touch down under the posts. Scrum half Roshan Weeraratne added the extra points. Soon afterwards CR & FC fly half Reza Mubarak missed a penalty 35 meters out. Kandy who worked their powerful three-quarter line scored through Fly half Fazil Marija. The ‘Red shirts’ reduced the lead through a Srinath Sooriyabandara try. Reza Mubarak added the extra points to cut the deficit to 12-7
In the 40th minute Sajith Saranga brushed aside a few defenders to score a forwards try. On stroke of half time Reza Mubarak put over a penalty to take “Lemons” at 17-10.
After the turn around Sajith Saranga scored for Kandy and for CR & FC Ishan Noor touched down. In the end Kandy, not only beat CR & FC by 22-15, but also kept their unbeaten run intact this season.
It was an off day for place kickers from both sides. Reza missed 5 penalties and Sheriff one. For Kandy, Roshan Weeraratne (1) and Tharindu Chanaka (3) missed the kicks.
Referee Dilroy Fernando
Touch Judges: Gamini Indrasena and Dinka Peiris |
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