Kandy in close win over CR
Despite being a low score one, the game was unusually intense as both teams battled to the wire - Pic Courtesy Sri Lanka Rugby
Despite playing with 14 men for almost half of the game, CR&FC gave defending SLR Nippon Rugby League champions Kandy SC, the toughest challenge in the recent times, before conceding to a narrow 11-13 loss at Longdon Place yesterday.
Kandy SC failed to capitalise from the kickoff, yet they were able to make headway with a lead of 3-0 off a penalty by the 10th minute, which was eventually the halftime score. They scored from a tally of a converted try and two penalties, while CR too managed to score a try, which went unconverted and put over two penalties. The difference of the game was the conversion, which could have conveniently given CR the privilege of drawing the game. But Kandy SC had the final say.
The game was unexpectedly tight from the beginning, until CR let lose their composure and gave away a penalty in the 10th minute. Centre Tarinda Ratwatte took the kick from a long range, and made a hard looking kick easy to give his team an early lead. Less than a minute later CR was brought down to 14 men, when flanker Vageesha Weerasinghe was shown a yellow card. Despite that, CR made the game hard on the visitors, as both teams failed to score during the remaining duration until halftime.
Soon after the resumption, CR equalised through a penalty off the boots of centre Mohan Chathura, but four minutes later was brought down to 14 men for the second time of the game. Yet CR was on the move and took the lead for the first time when Chathura put over his second penalty in the 48th minute, as the home team led 6-3.
That was when Kandy SC regrouped and played in accordance to a plan, which finished off with a try from Tarinda Ratwatte in the 54th minute. With the conversion being taken by the try scorer himself Kandy regained the lead 10-6.
With the game turning out to be intense, CR’s flanker Vageesha Weerasinghe made a brilliant breakthrough to brace a try in the 65th minute, but awfully the conversion was off target. This gave CR a slight lead by one point 11-10. But they failed to capitalise on that advantage, and losing No.8 Lasindu Karunathilake in the 72nd minute was crucial to the host, as Kandy rallied and managed to gain a penalty two minutes later, which Ratwatte converted and sealed the game for the title holders 13-11.