In the week 7 opener of the Nippon Paint Rugby League 2023/24, Havelock SC hosted the winless Navy SC. In a game in which the hosts sealed the result in the first half itself, the visitors made a good comeback in the second half as the final scoreline read 39-26.
The first try of the game was scored by Oliver Buckle, the number 8 for the hosts when they received a scrum just a few metres away from the try line, and Buckle just overpowered the Navy defenders to go over. The foundation for the try was laid when they received a penalty and went for the territory gaining kick, which was followed up by another penalty in which they opted for the scrum. Janith Chandimal converted the first successfully. (HSC 07 – 00 NSC)
Udara Lakshan made a splendid break for the Havies just few minutes after the first try. and luckily for Navy. he lost the ball forward before touching the ball down as Amith Madushanka defended his heart out. However, from the goal line dropout which followed, Navy defence was caught napping, and the Havies forwards made short work of them as Nepul Athukorala found the whitewash. Chandimal converted this with ease as well. (HSC 14 – 00 NSC)
- CR & FC continue their unbeaten run with a dominant outing at Welisara
- Schools Rugby Calendar for 2024 Released
- Kandy survives Havelock scare as battle for first place heats up
- Dinka Peiris to continue as President of SLSRFR
A phenomenal break by Havies Wing Harusha Perera took them inside the Navy half once again, and a line offside penalty was awarded shortly to the hosts. They decided to go for points, and Chandimal added the 3 points to further increase their lead. (HSC 17 – 00 NSC)
The third try for Havelock did not take much more time to come as Stephan Sivaraj went for an up under, and Perera who gave the chase managed to put so much pressure on the Navy fullback that he lost the ball and gave enough space for Sudesh Jayawickrama, who gathered the loose ball to run all the way and score a very good try. Chandimal converted again to make it 4 out of 4. (HSC 24 – 00 NSC)
After Havelock dominated for the first 30 minutes of the game, Navy finally found some momentum as they managed to put together a string of phases and went deep into the opposition half. After gaining much needed yardage, Kavishka Gayashan was able to score a welcome try for the visitors. Skipper Isuru Kongahawaththa added the two extra points. (HSC 24 – 07 NSC)
However, all the hard work done by Navy just to score a single try was completely undone when young speedster from Havelock Jayathu Rajaratne managed to charge down Kongahawaththa’s kick straight after the restart kick and scored another 5 pointer, which was also the bonus point try for the hosts. Chandimal missed his first kick of the day as the referee signalled for half time. (HSC 29 – 07 NSC)
Half Time :- Havelock SC 29 – 07 Navy SC
To begin the second half, Navy made a lot of changes to their line-up and the replacements managed to make an impact straightaway. They repeated what they did to score the first try to build up a lot of phases and play the patient game. With Navy making inroads deep into their territory, mistakes started to happen from the hosts as they conceded a penalty close to the whitewash. Lahiru Herath, who was one of the replacements, took it quickly and scored the second try of the day for Navy. Stevan Sansoni converted the try. (HSC 29 – 14 NSC)
Just like the previous time, Navy once again gave the momentum they created after scoring a try rather quickly. The hosts managed to score a fifth try on the back of a lovely break from Buckle, which was followed up by a quick pick and go from Udara Lakshan. Chandimal missed another conversion, but the lead was up to 20 for the hosts. (HSC 34 – 14 NSC)
A sixth and final try was also scored by the Havies when they patiently gained metres, learning a lesson from all the opportunities they missed in the game by trying to do things too quickly, which caused unforced errors. Working the ball from left to right and then right to left with the involvement of the forwards brought them just a few metres short, and Sivaraj managed to break the last line of defence to go over the line. Chandimal’s horrid second half of kicking continued as he missed this conversion as well. (HSC 39 – 14 NSC)
Going into the last 10 minutes of the game, Stephan Gregory scored twice for Navy with his pure power, which Havelock had no answers whatsoever. In both the tries, they came close and gave the ball to Gregory, who was no match for the defence of Havelock.
Stephan Sivaraj of Havelock, who played his first game as the fly half for the Havies, was adjudged Player of the Match for his intelligent kicking, especially the up and under kicks which managed to put the Navy players under a lot of pressure. His kicks were so threatening as the Havies backline had a lot of speed, which was hard for the visitors to cope up with. To cap things off, he scored a try as well just at the end.
Full Time :- Havelock SC 39 (6T 3C 1P) beat Navy SC 26 (4T 3C)
Black Knight Player of the Match :- Stephan Sivaraj (Havelock SC)
Points Breakdown
Havelock SC – Udara Lakshan 1T, Oliver Buckle 1T, Sudesh Jayawickrama 1T, Nepul Athukorala 1T, Jayathu Rajaratne 1T, Stephan Sivraja 1T, Janith Chandimal 3C 1P
Navy SC – Stephan Gregory 2T, Lahiru Herath 1T, Kavishka Gayashan 1T, Imanka Ishara 1C, Isuru Kongahawaththa 1C, Stevan Sansoni 1C
