Army SC recorded a resounding 60-30 win over Air Force SC in their final game of the first round of the Dialog Club Rugby League 2013/14 played at Diyagama.
Army SC full back Rizvi Mohammed kicked off this important clash for the hosts where they had to win somehow to ensure their place in the top six. Air Force drew first blood when Asanka Perera converted a penalty kick which was clearly in front of the Army Posts in the 5th minute of the game. (Army 00 – Air Force 03)
Army did not let Air Force enjoy their slim lead when they responded from a try well scripted by
Army back line in a superb counter attacking move to pave the way for Imanka Ariyapala to touch down under the posts. Upali Wickramasinghe converted the try. (Army 07 – Air Force 03)
Army SC’s Fijian winger Dilai Esava was devastating in his attacking line breaks which resulted in gaining another penalty advantage deep inside Air Force territory in the 11th minute and Army SC hooker Ashoka Jayalal was quick to take a short tap and pass it to their strong Tongan No.8 Lalai Jalebula who went over for his 1st try of the match. Upali Wickramasinghe made no mistake with the conversion. (Army 14 – Air Force 03)
After the end of the 1st quarter Army extended their lead from another Lalai Jalebula try through a perfectly executed rolling maul. Upali Wickramasinghe missed the conversion.(Army 19 – Air Force 03)
The Air Force made many errors in handling and missed tackles and Dilai Esava was too strong for Army in the 24th minute when he touched down near the left corner flag after showing off his speedy foot moves side-stepping along the way. Victor Pradeep missed a difficult conversion. (Army 24 – Air Force 03) Army frequently used their boot to put the ball high and let their three quarters chase down those booming kicks and Krishanth Pushpakumar successfully chased down a smart box kick made by Army scrum half to score the 5th Army try of the evening. Upali Wickramasinghe added the extra points. (Army 31 – Air Force 03)
Army SC’s passing was quick and efficient and a brilliant set move play helped Dilai Esava score his 2nd try for the game in the 30th minute to torment Air Force further more. Upali Wickramasinghe failed to add the extra points. (Army 36 – Air Force 03)
Air Force finally managed to find their way past the strong Army defense in the 34th minute when flanker Pradeep Kurukulasooriya barged his way over from a well driven ‘Airmen’ maul. Asanka Perera added the conversion. ( Army 36 – Air Force 10)
Army SC continued their dominance throughout the 1st half and Krishanth Pushpakumar finished off a brilliant 40 minutes of Rugby for the soldiers when he touched down his own territorial kick near the right corner flag. Upali Wickramasinghe missed the conversion kick.
Half-time : Army SC 41 – Air Force SC 10
After the 10 minute break, both teams took the field hoping to entertain the crowd with another exciting half of classic Sri Lankan Rugby. Air Force capitalized a ball handling error made by Army captain Upali Wickramasinghe on their own 22’ meter line in the 43rd minute of the game and his counterpart Charith Senevirathne grabbed the ball and made his way to score the 2nd Air Force try for the evening. Asanka Perera missed the conversion. (Army 41 – Air Force 15)
Army SC continued their try scoring spree when replacement prop forward Manoj Silva crashed through the lopsided Air Force defense to score the 8th Army try. Upali Wickramasinghe continued his prosperous field day with conversions. (Army 48 – Air Force 15)
Air Force SC recorded a much needed bonus point when Gayan Anuruddha and Nuwan Perera scored a try each in the 52nd and 58th minutes respectively to the much delight of the Air Force coaching staff. Both conversions by Asanka Perera went astray as the game approached the last quarter. (Army 48 – Air Force 25)
Hard working prop forward Manoj Silva of Army SC scored the evening’s 13th try with less than 15 minutes left on the clock when he wasn’t even touched by Air Force defense in a superb dummy play executed by the Army pack. Upali Wickramasinghe bisected the posts with ease. (Army 55 – Army 25)
Three yellow cards when shown in the 2nd half by referee Gamini Indrasena for foul play and yellow cards were received by 2 Army Players namely Maika Ligaqaqa and Upul Abeyrathne while Nadeesh Perera of Air Force was also sent to the ‘Sin Bin’ for 10 minutes.
Army SC’s ever reliable hooker Ashoka Jayalal put the final nail in the Air Force coffin when he scored a brilliant team try in the 75th minute of the game after few attacking phrases by the tireless Army forwards which carried them to Air Force 22’ meter line on numerous occasions. Upali Wickramasinghe failed to add the extra points. (Army 60 – Air Force 25)
Dilusha Pathmakumara finished of the try fest by scoring the 15th try of this Dialog Club Rugby League clash when he found a hole in the Army SC’s wall of defense in the final move of the game. Nuwan Perera missed the conversion. Referee Gamini Indrasena blew the final whistle to another game where the visiting team failed to beat the host team Army SC.
Full Time : Army SC 60 – Air Force SC 30
After the game ThePapare.com interviewed the jubilant Army SC coach Ben Macdougall
“ I’m happy with our performance today, We gave the chance to few new players in this game to try them out before the 2nd round and I’m quite pleased with their effort today. We have built a fortress here and we will be a hard team to beat in our home conditions in the 2nd round“
