Sri Lanka men’s and women’s teams performed excellently in front of the home crowd on the first day of the Asia Rugby Sevens Series 2015 – Sri Lanka leg at Race Course International Stadium on Saturday.
Sri Lanka men’s team led by Fazil Marija thumped down Philippines (38-07) and Malaysia (40-00) as they cruised to the quarter-finals against South Korea tomorrow at 11.20am.
Sri Lanka women’s outfit displayed an improved performance and recorded their first victory in the 2015 sevens edition. Lady Tuskers will meet Thailand women in the 4th cup-quarter final tomorrow at 10.58am.
Sri Lanka Men 38 – 07 Philippines Men
The Tuskers made a dream start when Shehan ‘Lema’ Pathirana collected the high ball off the kick-off and offered a nice inside pass to Nigel Ratwatte as he scored the first try within 20 seconds.
Srinath Sooriyabandara scored the next try thanks to some excellent work in the breakdown by Fazil Marija. Danushka Ranjan dummied through the Philippines defense as he went over for an unconverted try.
Philippine forward, Timothy Bweheni scored the only try for the losing team with the hosts’ losing focus on their defensive line. Nigel Ratwatte capped off Sri Lanka’s dominating first half scoring his 2nd try when he was assisted by Fazil Marija’s excellent side-stepping skills to breakthrough.
HT – Sri Lanka 26: 07 Philippines
After the turnaround, Sri Lanka brought in fresh legs as the heat took a toll on the players. Srinath ‘Soori’ managed to give a stunning offload to Dulaj Perera from a broken play move as the hosts scored their 5th try.
Gayan Weerarathne played the full duration of the match and ended up scoring a magnificent try by booting and chasing the oval-shaped ball.
Sri Lanka Men 40 – 00 Malaysia Men
The home team scored their first points on the board in less than 2 minutes when speedster Sandun Herath fended off his counterpart and touched down near the corner flag.
Center, Danushka Ranjan made a dashing run around the Malaysian defense to score under the posts showcasing his sheer pace.
Just before the half-time whistle, Fazil Marija’s trademark inside step was on display and it tore apart the opposition defensive strategies as the hosts’ scored their 3rd try.
HT – Sri Lanka 19: 00 Malaysia
Anurudda Wilwara also known as ‘Iron Man’ dished out his speed and power together to score a fantastic try much to the delight of the large home crowd gathered at the Race course.
The youngest but one of the most dangerous players in the Sri Lanka squad, Richard Dharmapala side-stepped his way to another try while Danushka Ranjan wrapped up the proceedings for the Tuskers with another late try.
Sri Lanka Women 10 – 17 Kazakhstan Women
The 4th placed team in China, Kazakhs scored three tries in the first half though the Lankans displayed patches of brilliance with their attacking and defensive work. The hosts’ were trailing 17 points to nil at the half-way point.
Sri Lankan lasses hit-back strongly in the second half when Thanuja Weerakkody made a stunning 80-meter sprint to score an unconverted try from a broken play move.
Anusha Attanayake received an easy pass from a 5-meter scrum and dived over for another unconverted try to end their superb effort in the second-half.
Sri Lanka Women 00 – 45 China Women
In the second game of the day, China Women thrashed Lady Tuskers by 45 points to nothing. Few weeks ago, China Women defeated Sri Lanka lasses by 31-5 points at their den.
Amidst scorching sun, the Chinese Women showcased great speed and stamina to score 7 tries after leading 21 points to nil at the break.
Sri Lanka Women 28 – 10 Singapore Women
Sri Lanka showcased real intent from the start and after a very good buildup, Thanuja Weerakkody took a quick tap from a penalty advantage and scored a superb converted try.
Sri Lankan speedster Anusha Attanayake scored the second try when her skipper punted down a release kick from the in-goal area and the bounce favoured the skillful Lankan winger.
Anusha Attanayake once again showed brilliant pace by outrunning her opposition winger to score her 2nd try in the game as the half-time hooter came off.
After the one-minute breather, Randika Kumudumali barged over for the 4th Lankan try which ensured the win when she collected the ball from a defensive line-out.
Singapore women scored two consolation tries in the latter stages of the game but that it did not stop the Lady Tuskers from winning their first game of the Asian Sevens Series 2015.
