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Friday Sep 20, 2024
Monday, 15 October 2018 00:36 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Shamseer Jaleel
Sri Lanka, after playing some entertaining rugby, lost the third-place playoff 19-7 to the Philippines at the Asian Sevens 2018 third leg played at the Racecourse grounds yesterday.
The loss means Sri Lanka miss out on a place in the Hong Kong Sevens 2019 with only Hong Kong, Japan and the Philippines qualifying. Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka lost their last two games to Hong Kong and Japan.
Japan stamped their class by clinching both the men’s and women’s segments. Japan’s men beat Hong Kong while their women clinched the trophy with an easy win over Hong Kong. Both their men’s and women’s teams remained unbeaten in the Asian Series 2018 which was remarkable.
Men
Sri Lanka displayed fighting qualities in their encounter against Hong Kong which was the last of their group encounters. Hong Kong as usual settled down fast in the humid Colombo conditions before scoring two quick tries. Sri Lanka defended well in the initial two minutes but their defence was exposed afterward. On the stroke of halftime Kevin Dixon exploited holes in the defence to score under the posts. Sooriyabandara added the extra points.
After the turnaround Hong Kong touched down for their third try. Sri Lanka, who never gave up, scored their last try through Reza Rafaideen who covered nearly 40 meters, brushing past two defenders to touch down. Sri Lanka went down like brave soldiers who fought till the end but it was a case of them being so close yet so far.
Sri Lanka produced some blockbuster rugby against Asian giants Japan in the semi-final encounter. They defended well with some fine covering tackles which kept the Japanese from scoring freely. Both Dixon and Amarasinghe stood out with some superb attacking and defensive rugby. Japan scored first but their success was short-lived as Dinuk Amarasinghe dodged three Japanese tackles to score under the posts. Sooriyarachchi converted to give Sri Lanka a rare 7-5 lead. But Japan replied with two quick tries to enter halftime up 19-7.
After the turnaround Japan scored again but Dixon covered nearly 45 meters for a solo try to have the score reading 24-12. But Japan scored two more tires to take a 34-12 lead. However, the Sri Lankans, who never gave up, scored a consolation try through burly prop Omalka Gunaratne.
Sri Lanka put up a pathetic display in the third place playoff when they were outclassed 19-7 by the Philippines in an error-filled encounter for the Sri Lankans.
The Philippines took an early lead but Sri Lanka replied through a Naveen Heenakankanmge try which levelled the scores after Rafaideen was successful with his conversion. With the Sri Lankans conceding a number of penalties, the Philippines easily came back into the game. One more try gave them a 14-7 halftime lead.
After the breather, the Philippines added one more try to their bag plus clinching their Hong Kong Sevens 2019 berth with a 19-7 win.
Women
Japan led 12-0 at halftime. After the breather, Japan cut loose in the latter half to add another two tries to run away with an easy 29-0 win. Sri Lanka’s women’s outfit appeared not to be giving their full effort, seeming to reserve their energy for important Plate encounters later in the day.
Sri Lanka displayed champagne rugby in a five-try blitz against Singapore in the plate semi-final encounter. Tries from Thanuja Weerakody and Ayesha Perera (2) took them to a comfortable 21-0 lead. After the turnaround Sri Lanka never relaxed, increasing their scoring through tries from skipper Sanjeevani de Silva and Wasana Weerakody to end up with a comfortable 40-0 win.
Sri Lanka once again settled for fifth position (Plate win) at the third leg in Colombo with a close 7-5 win over the Thai women. Skipper Sanjeewani Wijethilake scored the only try for Sri Lanka, breaking free and dashing nearly 45 meters before touching down. Earlier in the Asian Series 2018 in Hong Kong and South Korea, Sri Lanka also finished fifth.
Women
Men
Photo Credit Lahiru Harshana
