The Air Force secured their first win of the season in the wooden spoon encounter against CH and FC as they rank amok with 39 points to 22. James Tuteovuya made a hat trick at half time when scores were at 27-08.
CH kick started proceedings and Air Force, having the home advantage, were on the attack right from the start. With a few pick and goes, Air Force scored their first try as James Tuteovuya muscled his way under the post. Charith Seneviratne made the east conversion. (07-00)
Air Force once again found themselves in the opposition red zone but missed out a try scoring opportunity. CH used the opportunity to keep possession. After being awarded a penalty in the opposition half, Arshad Jamaldeen pit 3 points on the board for his team. (07-03)
Air Force were playing positively, using the wind which was in their advantage, slotting 2 penalties off the boot of Charith Seneviratne (13-03). CH and FC were trying all sorts of tricks and Worran Weerakoon managed to slice past the defence in the left corner. Jamaldeen missed the conversion from the difficult angle.(13-08)
Air Force once again found themselves in the opposition red zone, but play was very slow from the breakdown after the maul collapsed from a clean line out. The ball was shifting sides with no forward progression until James Tuteovuya decided to join the breakdown and scored from the pick and go. Gayantha Iddamalgoda added the extras. (20-08)
CH found themselves in the exact same situation but this time were down to 14 men as Sathya Rantunga was sin binned. The physically unmatched Fijian James scored his hat trick under the post and Iddamalgoda added the easy 2 points at the breather. (27-08)
Half time- Air Force 27 (3T 3C 2P) – CH and FC 08 (1T 1P)
CH didn’t have the best starts and once again found themselves down to 14 men as Pulasthi Dasanayaka was yellow carded. Air Force made a reasonable attempt at the posts as Iddamalgoda missed the long penalty kick. However he was able to score more points for his team when he managed to score a try on his own. It was simply individual brilliance when he chased the up and under, collected it off the rebound and darted his way under the post. Nuwan Perera added the extras. (34-08)
CH were going to give up without a fight as they managed to find their way into the 22 and captain Rohitha Rajapaksa barged over close to the left flag. Jamaldeen made an excellent conversion from the difficult angle. (34-15)
It was not a very smooth passage of play as players were getting injured regularly and the play had to be stopped on a number of occasions. However in the mean time, CH were more dominant as former Peterite schoolboy player Nizran Nilar scored his first try. Jamaldeen added the 2 valuable extras. (34-22)
Minutes later, Ramzan Amith scored a scorching try when his fellow winger Kaushal Manupriya kept the ball alive by kicking it inwards and collecting it from the rebound (39-22). Time was not going in favour of CH as they were unable to capitalize on the opportunities even though they had possession most of the time. Air Force used one final trick of a drop goal which did not go through, but it did not matter as they secured their first win of the season. Air Force number 8 Saraka Weralla played a pivotal role in today’s game as he was found in almost every part of the park and game play.
Full time – Air Force 39 (5T 4C 2P) – CH 22 (3T 2C 1P)
Player of the match – Saraka Weralla
Referee – Kelum Sandaruwan
Air Force-
Tries – James Tuteovuya(3), Gayantha Iddamalgoda, Ramzan Amith
Conversions- Gayantha Iddamalgoda (2),Charith Seneviratne, Nuwan Perera
Penalties- Charith Seneviratne(2)
CH and FC-
Tries – Worran Weerakoon, Rohitha Rajapaksa, Nizran Nilar
Conversions and Penalties – Arshad Jamaldeen (2C 1P)
Yellow cards – Sathya Ranatunga, Pulasthi Dasanayaka
