Up Country Lions Sports Club came out with their best performance for the current season when they trounced CH and FC by a massive margin of 123 points to 11 points in a completely one sided Dialog inter club ‘A’ division league rugby tournament first round match worked off at the Jayathilake Stadium in Nawalapitiya today.
The Lions displayed their class and supremacy with a fine exhibition of fast open rugby as they went on to collect their points from a total of fourteen goals and five tries after having built up a commanding 52-5 lead at half time.
This was also the biggest victory margin recorded in the current season while overcoming the previous best effort after former champions Kandy Sports Club had the better of Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club by 93 point to 5 points three weeks ago at the Nittawela Stadium.
CH and FC who are currently placed in the bottom of the league tournament points table put up another dismal performance as they suffered their ninth successive defeat while managing to score just a solitary try and a couple of penalties.
In contrast this was a perfect ending of the first round for the Up Country Lions Sports Club as they were able to finish among the top five teams alongside the reigning champions Havelocks Sports Club, Kandy Sports Club, Sri Lanka Navy Sports Club and the CR and FC.
This huge success will also provide the Up Country Lions Sports Club a great amount of confidence going into the vital second round of the tournament as they look towards completing another fantastic season having made it to Division One rugby just two years ago.
Another encouraging point for the Up Country Lions Sports Club was the fact that they were able to make use of all the eight substitutes in this encounter which helped them to test their back up strength almost during the entire second half.
In fact the Up Country Lions Sports Club will be quite pleased with the quality of rugby displayed by their substitutes who grabbed this opportunity with both hands to make an impact even against a weak opposition.
The consistency and the understanding among the players was remarkable as they exploited the opposition until the final whistle with eleven of their nineteen tries coming in the second half of the game.
This was a clear indication of their commitment and the determination to succeed which argues well for the future development of their rugby and more importantly for the steady progress in the second round of the competition.
Up Country Lions Sports Club of course sealed the game even before half time as they got off to a spectacular start and planted three superb tries within the opening twenty minutes of play to build up a 19-0 lead.
This was just a glimpse of what will be in store for CH and FC during the rest of the game as the Up Country Lions three quarters cut loose in great style to touch down at regular intervals and to produce a feast of tries on their home ground.
The best individual effort no doubt came from their dynamic centre three quarter and former Isipathana College player Hirantha Perera who produced a dazzling performance to penetrate the opposition goal line on four occasions.
In addition full back Nigel Ratwatte also gave a classic performance to score three magnificent tries while Vipula Devinda, Asitha Wijesinghe, and Shanaka Kumara scored two tries each.
Joining the try scorers were Shamika Nalinda, Raikaboola, Ranga Perera, Aruna Kumara, Randeera de Silva and Buwanaka Udangamuwa who scored a try each for the winners.
Their reliable place kicker Shanaka Kumara also had a splendid outing with the boot as he managed to convert fourteen tries which was certainly a creditable achievement.
