Wednesday Dec 25, 2024
Wednesday Dec 25, 2024
Monday, 23 December 2024 01:48 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Nizran Mohamed of Sri Lions held by a CR player
By Shamseer Jaleel
Defending league champions CR & FC kicked off the new rugby season in a positive way when they outplayed the Sri Lions Sports Club by 43 points (6 tries, 5 conversions, 1 penalty) to 13 points (2 tries, 1 penalty) under lights at Longdon Place last night.
At the short breather, Red Shirts led 22/8.
CR & FC, after an early unsettled start, shaped things off well in the remaining 30 minutes of play in the initial half. They continued this in the second half as well, rattling the newcomers by not allowing them to score and move freely. The Red Shirts combined some fantastic moves with their burly forwards and fast three-quarter line which kept the visitors guessing at every given time.
Though they lost two players to a yellow offence, Adeesha Weerathunga, Mursheed Doray, and Venura Kodagoda were outstanding for the home side.
Sri Lions fought hard and played well within themselves and paced out for the full 80 minutes of play. Their skipper, Kevin Dixon, and Nizran Mohamed both played their hearts out for the newcomers.
Sri Lions SC scored first through a Kevin Dixon penalty early in the second minute of the game. Two minutes later, CR & FC hit back through a Weerathunga try and a Doray conversion. CR & FC, who looked unstoppable, saw brothers Randy and Rinesh scoring a try each. Both were converted by Doray who also put over a penalty for the Red Shirts in the initial half. Visitors scored their first try of the game through their outstanding flanker, Nizran.
After the turnaround, CR & FC scored three more tries – two by their hooker Kodagoda and one by Thilina Wijesinghe. All three tries were converted by Doray who contributed 13 points in the game. Sri Lions scored their second try through a forwards rush, with Denuwan Silva touching down.
The referee was Kelum Sandaruwan.
