The Nittawela grounds opened up for the final game prior to Kandy Sports Club’s departure to the Asia Western Club Rugby Championships welcoming the Abu Dhabi Harlequins for the first time to Sri Lanka to play a warm up match before they toured. Full Time score read 32-17 in favor of the Abu Dhabi Harlequins.
Kandy Sports Club playing with the absence of their key players who are currently on national duty were under the captaincy of Sean Mark Wijesinghe. The game kicked off at 4.30 p.m. under cloudy conditions prevailing over the hills. Few minutes into first half, it was Hooker Damith Dissanayake that spotted the blind spot in the Harlequins defense and jumped over the try line to score the first which was later converted by Arshad Jamaldeen. (7-0)
Alastair Johnson of Harlequins kept his team’s hopes high with a fabulous 22m sprint on the right corner to tick their board with five points. Luke Stevenson added the extra points to level the score. (7-7)
Poor ball handling by Harlequins costed them as Kandy got a penalty that successfully kicked in between the post by Arshad Jamaldeen to take the lead again. (10-7)
Harlequins Fly half Luke Stevenson brought his team back to level off an easy penalty under posts which came due to an infringement by a Kandy player. (10-10)
Harlequins were doing the basics right and a clean cut-out to their corner wing Maxwell Trimble allowed them to go one up again but Stevenson was not successful in converting the try this time. (15-10)
Just before the 20th minute break came as Kandy’s attacking phase bore fruit when they scored through a pick and go routine with quick hands between the players. Jamaldeen got the extras for the team but that was all what the hosts could score for the day. (17-15)
The first twenty minutes was the best part of the game and it was the best minutes for home side. The rest was almost an onslaught for them. Few minutes before the 1st half break, Maxwell Trimble made a splendid sprint to take the lead on the 1st half while Luke Stevenson missed the conversion again. (20-17)
Half Time – Kandy 17 : Harlequins 22
Both the teams failed to tick even a single point in the first twenty minutes of play in the second half as both stood strong in defense.
Soon after the 20th minute while Kandy fans kept shouting and motivating the players to score more, things did not seem to be going their way. Kyle Knox of Harlequins did not have much work to do as the ball fell in close proximity to the try line. He pulled a Kandy defender off and fancied his chance to score the try. Envico Lategaen who replaced Luke Stevenson bisected the uprights easily. (29-17)
Minutes before the final whistle, another fatal error made by a Kandy player gave a penalty to Harlequins and again Envico Lategaen continued his successful stint as he kicked it between the posts to call it a day at Nittawela. (32-17)
The warm up match did not end in favor of Kandy but the fans will expect more from them in the upcoming tour and will look forward to receiving some silverware back home.
