Kandy Sports Club kept their title hopes alive with an emphatic 34 points to 13 points victory over a fighting Up Country Lions Sports Club team in their Dialog inter club ‘A’ division league rugby tournament first round match worked off at the Jayathilake Stadium in Nawalapitiya today.
The former league champions recovered magnificently after an ordinary first half to turn the game in their favour, collecting their points from four goals and two penalties while the home side responded with one try and two penalties.
Even then Kandy SC’s success was in the balance at one stage as the Up Country Lions SC got off to a flying start and also scored an early try as they showed signs of stretching their more fancied opponents to the maximum.
In fact the exchanges were even during the first half and the possession was also shared and the scores read ten all at half time with both teams collecting their points from one goal and one penalty.
However Kandy SC regrouped during the interval and came back strongly firing on all cylinders to outsmart their opponents with a classic true to Kandy performance that would give them a great amount of confidence ahead of next week’s vital game against the reigning champions Havelocks Sports Club in Colombo.
Kandy SC’s dominance in the second half was so much that they did not concede any points to their opponents and were able to plant three splendid tries which clearly showcased their abundant talent and the potential in the side.
The match also turned out to be a fantastic outing for Sri Lanka wing three quarter Anuruddha Wilwara who produced another blistering performance to score twice in addition to coming close towards touching down on two other occasions.
However his two tries in the space of a few minutes certainly was the key to Kandy SC’s success as they consolidated their position and went on to add the finishing touches in the most spectacular manner.
Both his tries were the result of some real hard work and commitment as the Kandy SC back division looked in a class of its own with promising players in the caliber of Thilina Jayasinghe and Richard Dharmapala also contributing in a large scale towards their success.
The other major individual contribution for Kandy SC came from the dynamic centre Roshan Weeraratne who produced one of his best performances for the season while converting all four tries in addition to putting over two neat penalties.
The deadly hill capital contingent really got their act together during the latter stages of the game and went on to increase their tally while adding two more tries through third row forward Thomisoni and winger Lavanga Perera.
The Kandy SC forwards should also be complimented for their success as they were able to withstand a great amount of pressure from the opposition especially during the initial stages before coming into top gear in the second half.
No doubt they were somewhat shaken by a spirited Up Country Lions SC team at the beginning as both teams figured in a grudge battle for supremacy and also squandered some good scoring opportunities.
In fact the Lions struck early in the game with Kanchana Ramanayake going over for a superb try after their back division had worked on a successful second phase move which initiated from mid field.
Full back Nigel Ratwatte added the extra points and continued his outstanding form with the boot while firing across two more penalties to keep their hopes alive.
Referee: Dimithri Gunasekera
