Grants wins inter-Ad agency tag rugby

Grants Advertising retained the Inter-Advertising Agency Tag Rugby Challenge 2016 competition, presented by the Accredited  Advertising Agencies Association  (The Four  A’s)  with a thrilling 2-1 win in extratime over Media Factory in the final, played under floodlights at Havelock Park on Friday.

Defending champions Grants, led by Sathiya Premaratne, were stretched to the limit by Shift Integrated (1-0) in the quarterfinals and by Group ‘M’ Media (2-1) in the semifinals. They were even held to a 2-2 draw by Triad in the league stage. 

Media Factory, led by Viraj Cooray, too had to fight their way through as they were given a torrid time by Triad (2-1 in extra time) in the quarterfinals and by 2015 runners-up Leo Burnett (2-1) in the semifinals. In the playoff for third place, Group ‘M’ Media beat Leo Burnett 2-1. In the final, Media Factory drew first blood when their captain Viraj Peiris scored his sixth try in the tournament. Grants captain Premaratne rolled over to equalise. The scores stood 1-1 at full time. The game then went into extratime, with the teams facing a sudden death situation. The very nippy Zubair Hussan, with an inspired solo move, scored the winning try for Grants to win 2-1.

Media Factory captain Viraj Peiris was adjudged the Man of the Tournament.  The second edition of the tournament saw the participation of 12 teams, playing in four groups with a total of 20 matches. 

The awards were presented by the President of the Four A’s Sharon Jayawardena; Organising Committee Co-Chairs Selonica Nalawansa and Peter Solomon and Secretary Allen Lopez. 

The tournament was co-ordinated by Julianne Fernando and marshalled by Achala Ramanayake, both from Grants Advertising.