Sri Lankan Tuskers suffered a disheartening 26-25 loss at the hands of Philippines Volcanoes in their Asian 5 Nations 2014 game played under lights at Race Course international stadium.
Both teams were desperate for their 1st win of the tournament after losing out heavily to the top ranked Asian giants in the previous weeks. Star Lankan fly-half Fazil Marija kicked off this crucial encounter on perfect atmosphere for a cracking game of rugby.
Reliable full back Nuwan Hettiarachchi got Sri Lanka off to a great start as he fired across a 25 meter penalty in the 1st minute of the game itself after Philippines defender was penalized for not releasing the player on the ground. (Tuskers 03 – Volcanoes 00)
Sri Lankans enjoyed most of the possession in the first 10 minutes with debutant Joseph Dunn playing at his pet position of Wing three-quarter was threatening the Philippines defense on several times with stunning attacking moves. Volcanoes skipper Oliver Saunders missed a great opportunity to level the scores after he missed a 40 meter penalty in the 12th minute.
Six foot tall lanky full back, Nuwan Hettiarachchi failed to bisect the posts in the 18th minute after his penalty kick went astray. Philippines got their act together in the 22nd minute to take the lead when their outside center Matthew Saunders touched down an intelligent drubber kick by his captain Oliver after their forwards successfully got the ball to their powerful backs from a 10 meter lineout deep inside Lankan territory. Oliver Saunders converted the try. (Tuskers 03 – Volcanoes 07)
Sri Lankans responded right away as playmaker Fazil Marija sneaked through the Philippines defense to score the 1st try for the hosts in the 24th minute after Sri Lanka was awarded a 5 meter penalty advantage due to the deliberate knock-on by Volcanoes wing three quarter Gareth Holgate. Nuwan Hettiarachchi added the extra points. (Tuskers 10 – Volcanoes 07)
Promising center three-quarter Danushka Ranjan continued his try scoring form as he sprinted 45 meters and scored a wonderful try to extend the Lankan dominance with 30 minutes on the game clock after Fazil Marija’s bone crushing tackle made Philippines center Justin Coveney knock the ball and let Dhanushka display his exciting talents after collecting the loose ball. Nuwan Hettiarachchi converted the try. (Tuskers 17 – Volcanoes 07)
Volcanoes lock forward David Feeney reduced the deficit against the run of play in the 33rd minutes of the game as he touched down with ease after the Sri Lankan player knocked on the oval shaped ball inside his goal area to concede easy points for the visitors. Oliver Saunders made no mistake with the conversion kick. (Tuskers 17 – Volcanoes 14)
Sri Lanka dominated the first half’s proceedings as they were the far more superior team but they squandered points scoring opportunities only to see themselves trailing at the half time mark after Philipines No.5 Stephen Howorth crashed his way over the try line in the 38th minute to take the lead going into the 10 minute break after an electrifying half of Rugby. Oliver Saunders failed to add the extra points.
Half Time: Sri Lanka 17 – Philippines 19
After the lemons break, Philippines first five-eighth Oliver Saunders restarted the game. Strong and Speedy Fijian expatriate donning the Lankan jersey for the first time worked his magic as his chip kick found Sri Lankan captain Namal Rajapakshe who was at the right place at right time as the Hooker eased his way through to draw the first blood in the 2nd half with only two minutes into the final 40 minutes. Nuwan Hettiarachchi’s conversion failed to add extra points.
(Tuskers 22 – Volcanoes 19)
Volcanoes forwards played a superb game as they were very quick in breakdowns compared to the Lankan forwards as ball retention was not the plan of the hosts as Sri Lanka gave away crucial possession and territory. Lankan backs were running in vigorous attacking angles to showcase their class with ball in hand.
After the early 2nd half try, Teams made unforced and forced errors in a crowd teaser of a game as the match reached the final 15 minutes. Lankan 7s sensations Srinath Sooriyabandara and Fazil Marija was marked players as their free flowing game was curtailed by the determined Philippines defenders.
Sri Lanka suffered a major blow in the 67th minute as their replacement lock forward Suhiru Anthony was sin binned for bringing down the attacking Philippines maul. Pendulum was swinging both ways as both teams had to give their best shot to close out the game in the winning side as the fitness levels and mental toughness were on test as the final minutes of the game inched close in a nail-biting encounter.
Sri Lanka’s chances of securing a memorable win was propelled by Nuwan Hettiarachchi as he successfully kicked a 38 meter penalty kick to gain a 6 points breathing space after Philippines player was penalized for not releasing the ball in the 77th minute of the game. (Tuskers 25 – Volcanoes 19)
Determined Philippines Volcanoes secured possession of the ball in the final minutes of the game and their elusive final and match winning try was helped due to the high number of penalties conceded by the hosts and the referee continued with the game in the injury-time with the ball still on play. Nippy scrum-half Jake Letts crossed over the try line to break thousands Lankan hearts after Volcanoes kept on building up the pressure to the tired Lankan defenders throughout their attacking phases in the final couple of minutes.
Responsibility of taking the most important conversion was given to replacement full back Alexander Aronson and his conversion kick went off target but the Referee controversially denied the first conversion. Alexander took a deep breath and kicked the ball to bisect the uprights in the second attempt to register a thrilling 26-25 victory for the Philippines.
Sri Lankans opposed to the call by referee but the Referee’s decision was final and the hearts were broken of the Tuskers as their unsuccessful Asian 5 Nations 2014 campaign ended without a win.
Referee – Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
Full Time: Sri Lanka 25 – Philippines 26
