Red Shirts strike back to pummel Cops
CR&FC, the reigning champions, displayed their pedigree with a stunning comeback to defeat Police SC 40-20 in their SLR-MasterCard Club Rugby League match played under floodlights at Longden Place last night. Trailing 17-14 at halftime, the unbeaten Red Shirts delivered a master-class in the final 20 minutes, scoring four tries to secure victory.
The game began with CR&FC’s hooker Venura Kodagoda scoring a try in the fourth minute, converted by the reliable fullback Mursheed Doray, giving the defending champions an early 7-0 lead. Police SC responded swiftly, with centre Vihanga Pivithuru driving over from a maul in the 13th minute. Fullback Yehan Bulathsinhalage’s conversion levelled the scores at 7-all.
CR&FC trailed at halftime, but made a remarkable comeback to beat Police - Pic by Eshan Fernando
CR&FC faced an early setback when flanker Adeesha Weeratunga was sin-binned in the 21st minute. Police capitalised on the numerical advantage, as flyhalf Navin Kanishka slotted a penalty to give them a 10-7 lead. Moments later lock Lahiru Thilakaratne extended Police’s advantage with a try in the left corner, and Bulathsinhalage’s brilliant conversion made it 17-7 in the 31st minute.
CR&FC struck back before halftime when burly lock forward Naveen Marasinghe powered through under the posts after a swift counterattack. Doray’s conversion reduced the deficit to 17-14 at the break.
Police resumed strongly in the second half, with Bulathsinhalage adding a penalty in the 47th minute to increase the lead to 20-14. However, the tide turned dramatically when Police were reduced to 14 men in the 57th minute, after lock Thilakaratne was shown a yellow card.
The Red Shirts capitalised immediately, with Kodagoda scoring his second try in the 58th minute to bring the score to 19-20. From there, the Red Shirts dominated. Winger Chemod Muthunayake secured the bonus point try in the 66th minute, following a brilliant forward drive and Doray’s conversion made it 26-20.
Prop Shenal Adhikaram added the finishing touch with a powerful try in the 77th minute, created by fluid passing from winger Rinesh Silva and centre Janith Chandimal. Doray’s flawless conversion sealed the 40-20 win. Police SC’s two yellow cards proved costly as CR& FC’s composure and late-game brilliance ensured their unbeaten streak remained intact.