The glamourous Mercantile Sevens tournament concluded for the 48th time over the weekend as Access managed to put an end to MAS’ supremacy.
Who stood out, who lit up the tournament and who were the players who made the difference at the tournament, let’s find out.
Read: Access dethrone MAS to win third Mercantile title
1. Srinath Sooriyabandara (Access)
The player of the tournament, the MVP, Soori was at his absolute best. His side steps, his speed and tackling were all on show, the Kandy start brought out his full bag of tricks, making one-on-one tackles and even going on to bring one of the fastest men around — Buddima Piyarathne — from behind in a try-saving, game winning moment of brilliance.
In the final, Soori was the pivot of the team, in both attack and defense. His organization in defense, and his game reading ability in attack set things up in a sublime second half showing for Access, winning them the title. His efforts were capped off in brilliant fashion as he bisected the Dialog defense as if it was non-existent, gifting captain and fellow Kandy mate Richard Dharmapala a try under the posts.
2. Danushka Ranjan (Access)
Player of the final, and game breaker, Danushka Ranjan was sublime. This was never more so evident than in the final when the Kandy center first set up Jason Dissanayake and score himself to take the game out of the reach of the chasing pack.
Not only the final, but against MAS in the semifinal, and throughout the tournament, Ranjan brought about his whole array of skills, reminding everyone what he is capable of.
3. Thilina Wijesinghe (Dialog A)
A champion with his school and Kandy SC, Thilina Wijesinghe brought about his champion instincts even though Dialog A fell at the final hurdle. The telecommunication outfit did not play up to their ability, however, a semifinal win on the final day, inspired by Thilina’s kicking and ball-playing ability brought life back into a promising Dialog outfit.
His restarts in both the semi and final were pinpoint accurate as the lads hammered an out-of-sorts JKH A team — who beat MAS on the second night. The loss came as somewhat of a surprise, however, Thilina and Co. knew what they were doing from the onset. Finishing second will no doubt hurt quite a bit, however, they can hold their heads held high even in defeat for the performance they put in.
4. Anuradha Herath (Dialog A)
The CH & FC Winger was prolific, crossing the white wash time and time again. The power of the former Peterite is very well known and he did not disappoint. The 25-year old leaped high on plenty of occasions in the semifinal as Dialog ran out comprehensive winners.
Herath was instrumental in the final even though Dialog finished second best. His work with ball in hand and in the air over the two days surely did add to his stocks.
5. Janith Chanaka (JKH B)
Having missed out on the first two days due to a hamstring niggle, the Police Winger came back with a vengeance on the third and final day as he helped JKH ‘B’ with the match winner in the semifinal.
With no wins to their name on day one and two, and having being left out for more than three quarter of the tournament, it was no surprise he started the Plate final, following a supreme show in the semi. He went on to score in the final as he dragged his team to the Plate championship in fortunate fashion, winning just two games throughout the tournament.
6. Dilusha Dange (CDB)
Playing alongside the likes of Saliya Handapangoda, youngster and former Trinity College centre went on to show what he is capable of. Playing in the back line for CDB, the youngster has managed to make a smooth transition after finishing the 2017 Schools’ season with 8 tries to his name to earn a call up to the Kandy squad.
Dange put on a show with his vast array of skills, power, and strength to take CDB to the Bowl championship, winning the Emerging Player of the Tournament award.
7. Heshan Jensan (CDB)
Another product from Kandy, Kingswood College halfback from 2018, stylish Heshan Jansen controlled the game, mesmerizing opposition on the way to victory. Not only with ball in hand, but without as well the former Kingswood 9’s organization was vital for the rock-solid defense for CDB.
At such a young age, his leadership ability and playmaker role was vital to his team’s performances and along with the win the lad was named the Young Player of the Tournament.
