Meeting Japan once again in the 3rd/4th play-off of the Asia 7s 2nd Leg, Sri Lanka finished without a single try scored for the entire day with the Japanese clinching a 40-0 win.
Earlier hosts China defeated the Asian giants Japan in the Cup semifinal, paving the way for the Japanese to confront Sri Lanka in the 3rd/4th play-off.
The game was nothing different than the other two Sri Lanka played during the day, losing to Japan in their final group stage encounter and then Hong Kong in the semis. Sri Lanka were backpedaling and desperate without a playmaker. While the Tuskers’ defense was crumbling, there was no real candidate to fill Srinath Sooriyabandara’s shoes in China.
Japan started off in their usual playing pattern, scoring their first off Ryoto Kano. The try was followed up by scores from Naoki Motomura and Yoshikazu Fujita who took the side to a 21-0 lead at half time.
The second half went the same way with the Tuskers’ defense further compromised when Jason Dissanayaka was sent to the sin bin.
Japan went on to score 3 more tries and that sealed them the 3rd place in the 2nd leg.
Sri Lanka however should be satisfied with their finish, despite their performance as they clinched 4th place in the second leg.
The 3rd and final leg will kick off on the 28th of September at the Colombo Racecourse
Sri Lanka play their worst ever game against Hong Kong
A Cup semifinal that was expected to be a close tussle ended up in misery for the Tuskers as Hong Kong got their final ticket with a 55-0 win.
Sri Lanka defeated both Korea and Chinese Taipei on day 1 to earn their spot in the Cup semifinals despite losing out to Japan earlier this morning.
The first two minutes from the kick off was the most promising start Sri Lanka had seen all series but beyond that, they just could not keep up with the men from Hong Kong.
Sri Lanka into Cup Semis
Sri Lanka managed to secure a 26 – 17 victory against a resilient Chinese Taipei team..
Hong Kong were well organized and utilized their strengths to penetrate the Lankan defense at will. Sri Lanka’s continuous errors in defense paved the way for the one-sided semifinal.
Half Time – Sri Lanka 0 – Hong Kong 24
The second half was nothing different to the first, as Hong Kong continued to cross the white line. The only break that Sri Lanka earned into their attacking 22 was through Kevin Dixon, but that too didn’t give them any points.
Sri Lanka were disorganized and lacked basic game mentality as Hong Kong crossed the 50-point mark in the match.
Full Time: Sri Lanka 0 – Hong Kong 55
Sri Lanka are yet to score a try on day 2. They will play the 3rd place play-off at 3.26 p.m Sri Lankan time.
Sri Lanka thrashed by Japan
Sri Lanka were humbled early on day 2 by the Asian giants Japan with a 37-0 loss in their final group stage game in the Asia Sevens Series 2nd Leg in Huzhou, China.
Despite the loss, the Tuskers will qualify for the Cup semifinals after winning both their games yesterday against Korea and Chinese Taipei.
Read More: Disastrous day for Lankan Women in China
Coming in to the game, Sri Lanka had several lapses in defense and that paved the way for the bigger-made Japanese players to cross over.
Chihito Matsui was the highlight for the Japanese, scoring 3 tries out of the 7 and the Michael Toloke inspired a few more while scoring one himself.
Japan scored 7 tries in total and converted one to take top spot in the group.
Full Time Score: Sri Lanka 0 – Japan 37 (7T 1C)
