Western Warriors clinch overall Carlton Super Sevens

Monday, 18 August 2014 01:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Shamseer Jaleel The Northern Gladiators teaming up with some excellent local players such as Fazil Marija, Pradeep Liyanage and Roshan Weeraratne along with their Tongan club mate David Halifonia beat the much-fancied Western warriors in the second leg of the Carlton super sevens final at the Race Course Rugby Grounds. But it came a little too late as the Western

warriors champions in the first leg in Koggala bagged the overall trophy on aggregate. The tournament was very well organised with some over 40 overseas players around the globe mainly from Fiji and some outstanding players from New Zealand such as DJ Forbes, Kakka and Kama dished out champion rugby for the large crowd gathered on the last day. The major drop was the Southern Sharks who were runner-up in the first tournament were placed 5th in this leg in Colombo and Central Kings who were placed third in Koggala were placed at 4th position. "We had a grand tournament; it is improving every year. Players were of top quality and the rugby played of international class. We had a full house on the second day despite so many events taking place on the same day including the test cricket match at a close-by venue – Chief Organiser Ronny Ibrahim" Highest try scores award went to former Thomian, Havies and now Kandy SC player Anuruddha Wilvara who had an outstanding tournament in Koggala as well as in Colombo. Once again Sri Lanka sevens player Srinarth Sooriyabandara who led the Southern Sharks was in peak form getting ready for the Asian Sevens Series which will kick off in Hong Kong next week-end. He ended as the highest try scorer at the second leg in Colombo. He also bagged the Best Local Player award. Kandy SC’s last year star player and Tongan national player David Halifonia who was outstanding in both legs were awarded as the Best International Player. In the school segment Wesley won the Shield beating C.W.W. Kannanagara, Trinity beat their traditional rivals Royal to win the Bowl, Science beat Joes for the Plate and once again Isipathana ended the season on a very high note when they secured all trophies on offer this season when they beat Kingswood in the Cup final.

Chief Organiser of the Tournament Ronny Ibrahim told the Daily FT: “We had a grand tournament; it is improving every year. Players were of top quality and the rugby played of international class. We had a full house on the second day despite so many events taking place on the same day including the test cricket match at a close-by venue.” He praised George Simpkin for his excellent organising skills and hard work. “His punctuality and how the tournament is run set his high standard. He being with China, Germany and Hong Kong Sevens helped us a lot.” He added that many players praised the tournament, including DJ Forbes, Rakabula and Kama all of New Zealand and those who have played around the globe. “With the support of former Thomian, Sri Lanka Youth and National Skipper Namal Rajapaksa, we will take this forward even better in the coming years.” Ronny also thanked all the franchises for their support and the international and local referees along with the Organising Committee for the excellent work done.