Sri Lanka climbs to number three in Asian Rugby Sevens third-leg

Sri Lanka Rugby Captain Fazil Marija in action Asian Rugby Sevens third-leg - Pic by Shantha Ratnayake

Sri Lanka secured third place at the Asian Rugby Sevens third-leg when they trounced Malaysia 45-12 in the playoff at the Race Course International Stadium.

Japan underlined their supremacy in Asian Rugby Fifteens as well as Sevens when they defeated Hong Kong 29-22 in the men’s cup final also remaining unbeaten in the three-legged event.

The Japanese women’s outfit followed the success of its men’s outfit when they outclassed China 33-12 in the cup final.

Sri Lanka beat South Korea 19-12 in the semi final encounter but was edged out by the defending champions Japan by the difference of one converted try (26-19) making it one of the closest margins by which Sri Lanka has lost to Japan.

Outgoing Sri Lankan skipper, Fazil Marija said: “We were so close yet so far. A few defensive errors cost us the game. Had we settled early we could have pulled it off. We played as a team but need to get things sorted out before next month’s Hong Kong tour for the Asian Olympic Qualifiers. We’ll give our best shot for the final berth which is a dream for all of us”.

Teruoya Goto (Japan) and Dhanushka Ranjan (Sri Lanka) scored six tries apiece in the Colombo leg. Sakai (Japan) scored the highest number of points (46) with Srinath Sooriyabandara coming second with 32 points with his tries and conversions. The third slot was grabbed by Dhanuska Ranjan with 30 points.

Sri Lanka will feature in the last Sevens tournament for this year when they lock horns in the Hong Kong edition of the Asian Qualifiers for the RIO Olympics 2016. This will take place at the Hong Kong Stadium on 7 and 8 November.

The results:

Men’s Cup quarter-finals

Sri Lanka beat South Korea 19-12

Japan beat China 31-5

Malaysia beat Thailand 43-0

Hong Kong beat Taipei 33-5

Semifinals

Japan beat Sri Lanka 26-19

Hong Kong beat Malaysia 38-7

Men’s third place playoff

Sri Lanka beat Malaysia 45-12

Final

Japan beat Hong Kong 29-22

Men’s Plate Championship Final

South Korea beat Taipei 17-7

Women’s Cup Championship Final

Japan beat China 33-12

Women’s Plate Championship Final

Kazakhstan beat Uzbekistan 43-0

Women’s third place 

playoff

Hong Kong beat Thailand 21-15