Sri Lanka men’s team end at #4

Hong Kong Mens accounted for the Cup in the second leg in China

Pathetic tournament for Sri Lanka Women's ranked 8th and last in China leg

• Asia Rugby Sevens second leg in China

The Sri Lanka men’s team secured fourth place at the second leg of the Asian Rugby Sevens 2019 which took place in China yesterday. Meanwhile the Women’s outfit ended last in the eight-team event, having had a disastrous tournament and the worst ranking in the recent past. 

They lost out to Hong Kong 7/22, Malaysia 5/20 and China 0/40 and on day two, they continued the losing streak in the knockout stages to Thailand 5/31 before being relegated to the play-off for the 7th position in the event. That, too, they lost to a lower-ranked Singapore outfit 10/15. They lost all their five matches in the two-day event.

Meanwhile the Men’s outfit ended a yard faster in the second leg in China when they beat South Korea 28/5, Taipei 28/17 but lost out to Japan in their last group encounter 0/37 and Hong Kong in the Cup semi-final encounter 0/55 in a one-sided affair. Sri Lanka was never allowed to be ranked higher than fourth in the recent past. Only when Japan opted out on the Asian Sevens was Sri Lanka able to be ranked third. Further Hong Kong were the major obstacles for the Sri Lankans in the shorter version of the game. Sri Lanka, who ended fifth in South Korea, will need a minimum of a Cup final end in the third leg in Colombo in order to qualify for the Hong Kong Sevens 2020 emerging team event.

Surprisingly, Japan, who were beaten by China in the Cup semi-finals, came in Sri Lanka’s way in the third place play-off where Sri Lanka were handed off 0/40, losing all their matches on day two. Out of the five games, they won two, both on day one, against South Korea and Taipei.

Hong Kong won the Men’s segment while Japan accounted for the Women’s event. The third leg will be worked off in Colombo during the last weekend of September at the Racecourse rugby grounds.

(SJ)