Sri Lanka Army SC rugby team hosted Sri Lanka Police SC rugby team in their 1st game in the Dialog Club League 2013/14 today at Diyagama amidst throngs of soldiers and policemen who were present to cheer their respective rugby teams.
Army SC snatched a thrilling 15-14 win over Police SC in a game which went down to the wire.
Army SC skipper Asanka Perera kicked off proceedings from left to right of the ground and soon after the kick off, Police SC forwards were forced in to an unforced error by the Army SC forwards in the 1st minute itself but Asanka Perera missed an easy penalty in front of posts. High percentage of kicking was shown by both the teams during the early stages of this battle but poor ball handling wasted great territory for both teams as the players took the first quarter to settle into the groove.
Army SC were dominating the scrums but Police SC showed their dominance in breakdowns when Police SC were awarded a penalty due to an error made by an Army player who did not roll away in a ruck and Police SC’s new place kicker, former royal captain Arshad Jamaldeen made no mistake with the kick to start off the scoreboard. ( Police 03 – Army 00 )
Foreign players from both the teams were putting the hard yards as they were clearly the play- makers for the season but the local talent was not as effective as they gave away valuable possession due to their poor ball handling. Both teams tried their best to cross over the try line before the half time whistle but none were able to as referee Priyantha Gunarathne blew the half time whistle after a scrappy first half.
( Half Time : Police 03 – Army 00 )
After the break, Army SC were seen playing a game plan of contact rugby before Nishantha Kobbekaduwa gave a late tackle to a Police SC player and referee had no hesitation in sending him to the sin bin for 10 minutes but Arshad Jamaldeen could not add to his 1st half score when his penalty kick went astray.
Army SC came back strongly with only 14 men on the park when their hard working prop forward N.Kothalawala barged over the try line to give the hosts the lead into 20 minutes of the second half. Army SC’s reserve stand -off Upul Wickramasinghe’s conversion was successful. ( Police 03 – Army 07)
With the game spicing up for a nerve-wrecking end, Army SC were caught offside in their own half but Arshad Jamaldeen missed another golden opportunity to add 3 points to his team. New Zealand born Tongan player Kawa extended the Army SC lead in the 23rd minute of the 2nd half when he slotted a well timed drop goal. ( Police 03 – Army 10)
Army SC backline were caught offside for the 2nd time in 10 minutes in their own half and this time former Royal college play maker found his target on spot and slotted a superb kick to reduce the deficit. ( Police 06 – Army 10)
Poor handling was seen throughout the 2nd half as well and the spectators were disappointed due to the slow pace of the game. Arshad Jamaldeen continued his mission to reduce the Army SC lead when he scored his 3rd penalty kick after Army SC were penalized for not releasing the ball on a ruck with less than 10 minutes for the final whistle. ( Police 09 – Army 10)
Royalists were carrying it for the policemen when former royal wing three quarter Ijaz Bohoraan worked his magic with his speedy boots when he touched down the far corner at the 72nd minute of the game and gave Police SC the lead again, his former college team mate missed the conversion. ( Police 14 – Army 10 )
With the game reaching out of the hands of the host team, Army SC needed a morale boosting performance from their playmaker Kawa and he worked his brilliance to great effect to run a strong 25 meters and then he offloaded to Sanjeewa Hapugaskumubura who finished off a superb set play to score a memorable try to end Police SC hopes of winning their 1st game of the season and last year’s 5th placed Army SC started their new season with a thrilling win.
(Final Score : Police 14 – Army 15)
After the game Army SC coach Ben Macdougall gave his feedback to Thepapare.com – “We wanted to win the first game, I’m quite pleased that we ended with a win but loads of aspects of the game to improve“
Both teams will be disappointed in their ball handling and place kicking and will be itching to improve going into the competition in the coming weeks.
