Sri Lanka advances to Asian Rugby C’ship final

Thursday, 7 May 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka will meet the Philippines in the final on 9 May By Shamseer Jaleel The Sri Lankan rugby outfit, led by Fazil Marija, booked a berth in the finals of the Asian Rugby Championship’s (ARC) Division I competition in Manila, Philippines yesterday. The Sri Lanka team staved off stiff resistance from a determined Kazakhstani outfit to record a 35-14 win in their semi-final. They will now meet hosts Philippines in the final on 9 May. Sri Lanka’s tries were scored by Dhanushka Ranjan (2), Lavanga Perera and Dulaj Perera. Reza Mubarak was on target with each of the ensuing conversions. Penalties were taken by Kanchana Ramanayake, Reza Mubarak and Dulaj Perera. For Kazakhstan tries were scored by Ruslan Gulyev and Serik Zhanseitov. Ivan Olkohosiv was on target with both the conversions. In the second semi-final, the Philippines beat Singapore 20-17 to book their finals’ berth. The winner of the tournament will play the third-placed team in the ARC Top Three tournament on 6 June in an away game. This will be a decider for promotion and relegation for 2016 in the Top Three and Division I segments. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan will meet Singapore in the play-off for third position. During the first of the day’s matches, Singapore, Kazakhstan and the Philippines were each given a yellow card. One of Kazakhstan’s players received a red card as well. Sri Lanka was the only team to avoid any cards on Day One.