Kandy grounds Air Force 

Kandy centre Nigel Ratwatte is held by three Air Force players

By Shamseer Jaleel

Kandy grounded Air Force when they scored an easy 73 points (11 tries, 9 conversions) to 13 points (2 tries, 1 penalty) win against them at the Nittawela Rugby Stadium yesterday.

At the breather Kandy led 40-3.

It was Kandy all the way as they dished out cohesive rugby both from their speedy three quarter line and rock solid forwards. Air Force, who played well in the first five minutes, could not keep up with Kandy’s pace. As usual it was the speedy three quarter line consisting of Dhanushka Ranjan, Richard Dharmapala and Vishwamithra which looked threatening with its swift moves. Once again Ranjan was in top form, scoring two quick tries. One was a solo intercepted try which saw him covered over 60 meters. Ranjan was taken out early in the game, giving him much needed rest for the game against Havelocks next weekend. Fazil Marija and Nigel also chipped in with their experience, leading an outfit playing without Roshan Weeraratne, Gayan Weeraratne and Shehan Pathirana, who were all injured.

Air Force drew first blood early in the second minute when Kandy was penalised for a high tackle leading to a successful penalty from Charith Seneviratne. But that was the only time the visitors scored. Kandy opened their account through a forwards rush when their Number 8 Buwanaka Udangamuwa touched down for Thilina Wijesinghe to add the extra points. Kandy touched down through Ranjan (2), Dharmapala, Gayan Ratnayake and Kanchana Ramanayake.Thilina Wijesnghe failed to convert only one of these tries.

In the second half Kandy scored through Thilina Wijesinghe, Dharmapala, Vishwamithra, Attanagoda and Kanchana Ramanayake. Thlina converted two of them and the other two saw were converted by Jamaldeen. Air Force scored both their tries through replacement winger Dinesh Weeraratne. The game was refereed by Aruna Rankothge. The Asisstant Referee was Priyantha Gunaratne and Dharmapla Nimal. The match referee was Tuan Dole. Kandy will next lock horns with Havelocks on 5 February at Havelock Park in the title decider.