Sri Lanka beat Kazakhstan to book berth in Asia Rugby top 4

By Shamseer Jaleel 

In a remarkable display of skills and determination, the young Sri Lankan rugby outfit on Saturday secured a dominant 45/7 victory over Kazakhstan team in the Asia Rugby Championship Division 1 Tournament final encounter, at the Racecourse in front of a packed house. 

This impressive performance has earned Sri Lanka a well-deserved promotion to the prestigious Asian Rugby Top 4 competition, set to take place in 2025.

Sri Lanka collected their points through 7 tries and 5 conversions, while the visitors collected from a solitary try and conversion. At the short breather hosts had a clear 31/0 lead. 

Sri Lankan always wanted to use their speedy three-quarter line and this paid them the dividends as the Kazakhstan line looked yards slower. A testament to the unwavering spirit and resilience of the Sri Lankan youngsters, who had just 2 weeks of preparation under their hard-working coaching staff Headed by Sanath Martis and well supported by Nilfer Ibrahim and Dushantha Lewke.

From the kick off home team showed their superior running skills and tactical moves, overwhelming their Kazakhstani counterparts with a relentless onslaught of attacks in tandem. Even though Sri Lanka had a short time of preparation just 2 weeks, had an excellent structured game plan, rush defence and tackling were of high class. The fluency and combinations in attack was great to watch in that initial half and the lead they created was more than ample to defend in the later half.

On the other hand, Kazakhstan outfit was shell shocked and they never expected this kind of attack from the hosts. They wanted to control the game with the heavier set of forwards. But even the Colombo conditions suited the three quarters for fast running rugby. Sri Lankan backline, led by their dynamic playmaker, Tarinda Ratwatte controlled the game beautifully. He chooses what to do in each Sri Lankan move and he was spot on. They touched down no less than 7 times where the visitors could reply with a solitary try.

In forward play, it was their skipper, Sohiru Anthony who too had a grand outing, controlling all operations beautifully. They never gave easy opportunities for Kazakhstani forwards to move forward. Hosts defence was at its best and never gave any opportunity for advancement for a territory game. For hosts other than Tarinda and skipper Sohiru their scrumhalf Heshan Jensen, Tharindu Chathuranga, Dinal Ekanayake, Sachith Silva, Mursheed Doray and Lasindu Karunathilake played their hearts out.

Sri Lanka drew first blood in the 11th minute of the game through a beautifully executed chip kick left corner by Tarinda Ratwatte which ended in a try for their full back, Mursheed Doray. Adeesha Weerathunge scored hosts› second try but surprisingly, Tarinda missed both kickable conversions according to his high standards. Thenuka Nanayakkara put his name on the scoreboard with the third try and Tarinda was on target. time around to take the scores to 17/0 favouring the home team. One try each by Tarinda Ratwatte and lightning pace Dinal Ekanayake and both conversions by Tari took Sri Lanka into safety at 31/0 during the short breather.

After the turn around, though, Kaz attacked in patches; they lacked the finishing touches. Nippy scrum half Heshan Jensen and Sachith Silva plus two more accurate conversions by Tarinda Ratwatte took Sri Lanka to 45 points while the Kaz outfit replied with a solitary try through their skipper and number 8, Magamedrasul Magomedov and converted by Avdrakhiman Nazhibayev.

Referee James Fairbourn controlled the game commendably. 

Head Coach Sanath Martis speaking to Daily FT expressed his immense pride in the team’s performance.

“This was a truly remarkable effort by our young players. They have shown tremendous heart, discipline, and skill, and their victory is proof of the hard work and dedication they have put into just being together for the last two weeks. Boys supported well, as the unit was young as several players were not available due to injury and personal reasons, which gave the youngsters to wear the national jersey with much pride," Martis said. 

"We are thankful to SLR officials within a tight budget; they helped us plus the sponsors and Minister of Sports, Haren Fernando. The squad needs to be together and the next level is going to be a tough group with the AR 4 currently played between Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia and UAE with the last placed team going to drop off and we will replace them in 2025. We need to focus and have a long plan supported by sponsors, the Minister of Sports and SLR,” Martis added. 

Sri Lanka’s stunning victory over Kazakhstan has not only secured their promotion in AR Top 4 but also showed the immense potential of the young Sri Lankan rugby team. It’s up to the governing body to work on a long-term plan and prepare for the AR Top 4 from now on, giving ample time for their training. 

Qatar beat India

Meanwhile, Qatar beat India 34/25 after a late burst by the Indian outfit was too late for a comeback, as they conceded many points in the initial half. Now India will be demoted to Division 2 while Qatar survives in the same division as Kazakhstan for 2025. There will be a promotion for Division 2 champions, while the Top 4 last placed team too will join AR Division 1 next year. 

Referee was Ishanka Abeykoon.