Sailors break winless jinx after three seasons
Navy Sports Club finally broke their winless streak after three seasons with a hard-fought 41-38 victory over newcomers Sri Lions in their final-week encounter of the SLR-MasterCard Club Rugby League at the Racecourse ground yesterday. Navy led 34-21 at halftime in an electrifying match.
Navy SC scored six tries, four counversions and a penalty to secure their 41 points, while Sri Lions registered six tries and conversions, making it a nail-biting contest.
Navy skipper and fullback Thilina Weerasinghe opened the scoring with a penalty in the fifth minute. Three minutes later, centre Dimuth Perera powered through for a try, which Weerasinghe converted to give Navy an early 10-0 lead.
Pic courtesy ThePapare
Sri Lions responded in the 10th minute as No.8 Nizran Mohamed crossed the line, with fly-half Chanaka Chandimal adding the extras to reduce the gap to 7-10. Navy extended their lead when scrum-half Hashan Madumadawa dived over in the 12th minute, with Weerasinghe converting to make it 17-7. Centre Saviru Nimsika then produced a sensational run to score in the 16th minute, and Weerasinghe converted from a difficult angle to stretch the lead to 24-7.
The relentless Sri Lions fought back, with Mohamed scoring his second try under the posts in the 21st minute. Chandimal converted, narrowing the deficit to 14-24. Madumadawa then scored his second try in the 26th minute, securing a bonus point for Navy. However, the conversion was missed, leaving the score at 29-14.
A crucial moment came in the 33rd minute when Navy prop Shabith Mushin received a yellow card, reducing them to 14 men. Sri Lions capitalised as Mohamed completed his hat-trick in the 36th minute, with Chandimal converting to bring them within striking distance at 21-29. Navy responded on the stroke of halftime when flanker Apoorva Wijesinghe powered over from a maul for an unconverted try, giving the Sailors a 34-21 lead at the break.
The second half saw a dominant display by Sri Lions. Hooker Prasad Madusanka scored an unconverted try in the 47th minute, reducing the gap to 26-34. Momentum swung further in Sri Lions’ favour when hooker Dilshan Madushanka crossed the line in the 62nd minute. Chandimal converted to bring them within three points at 31-34.
Sri Lions then took the lead for the first time in the 68th minute with a stunning try from winger Pranith Silva, who finished in the left corner after receiving a brilliant cut-out pass. The missed conversion left Sri Lions ahead 38-34.
With Navy reduced to 14 men after centre Saviru Nimsika was sin-binned in the dying moments, the Sailors produced a decisive response. Fly half Chirantha Kaluarachchi dived over for a crucial try, and Weerasinghe converted, restoring Navy’s lead to 41-38. Despite Sri Lions dominating the second half, Navy held firm to claim a long-awaited victory, their first in three seasons, having gone winless in both the 2023 and 2024 seasons.