CR&FC hosted Police for the second home game of the season and managed to overcome the cops with a 31-26 victory after a heady battle between the two teams.
Visit the Dialog Rugby 2016/17 HUB for more
The game kicked started with Ashan De Costa commencing the game. CR&FC was bolstered with the addition of Rowan Perry, the Sri Lankan born Australian junior national player making his debut for the red shirts.
The Longdon Place club looked threating from the onset of the game but it was the cops who managed to get the first points on the board with former Wesliete Joel Perera touching down from the back of a maul to cross the white line. The red shirts were guilty of idling at the back of the maul as Perera managed to put Police in the lead. Rajitha Sansoni missed the conversion (00-05)
CR& FC managed to hit back straight away through their backs when quick hands helped open space for Sashan Mohammad in the corner. Mohammad did brilliantly with the ball in two hands dummying few defenders to touch down for a well- executed try. Tarinda Rattwatte missed the conversion and the scores were level at 5 points all.
Kavindu Perera CR&FC’s other Wing three decided that it was time he got on the score sheets when he muscled his way through three defenders to touch down for the Longdon place club’s second try. Ratwatte was successful with his second attempt to put CR in the lead 12- 05.
Soon after, Ratwatte managed to extend the lead further with a successful penalty conversion.
It was a scuffle between the CR&FC backs vs the Police forwards as the cops were dominant in the line outs and the scrums. Police also managed to keep the ball close to their forwards and were rewarded as they received a penalty for CR’s indiscipline around the fringes. They decided to go for touch and the Police hooker Rasith Silva touched down for the cops. Sansoni added the extras to bring Police just 3 points away from their opponents. (CR 15 – 12 Police)
Indiscipline crept into the reds team as they gave away repeated penalties. The cops took the brave decision of not taking the three points deciding to go for the touch line instead. With a strong lineout to back them up they came good when the pocket dynamo Radeesha Senavirathne touched down in front of his former club’s club house. Sansoni was good with his kick putting the cops in the lead for the first time in the game (CR 15 – 19 Police)
With the clock ticking away in the first half CR&FC were furious in the attack and finally managed to cross the white line when Kavindu Costa sent out acut out pass to Bhanuka Nanayakkara to score near the corner flag. Ratwatte missed the conversion but CR led at lemons.
Half time : CR&FC 20 – 19 Police SC
With the change of sides CR&FC was the first to get off the mark with CR’s playmaker in the previous game and in the first half Tarinda Ratwatte touched down to open account in the second half after chasing a Kavindu Costa’s kick from the base and touching down in the far corner. Ratwatte missed the difficult conversion (CR 25 – 19 Police)
Police were playing the best game of the season and were not ready to fold just yet as Chula Susantha ran over 50 meters after intercepting a pass by Omalka Gunaratna when he broke away from the back of the scrum. Susantha was not going to be stopped as the CR team was committed in the attacking play and Sansoni had no problem adding the extras putting Police in the lead (CR 25 – 26 Police)
Both teams battled up with CR’s back line and Police’s forwards showing dominance but Ratwatte who was the stand out player and clearly the difference between the two teams managed to put in two more penalties at the latter part of the game to clinch the game for CR.
Full Time : CR&FC 31 – 26 Police
Score breakdown
CR&FC
Tries – Sashan Mohammad, Kavindu Perea, Bhanuka Nanayakkara, Tarinda Ratwatte
Conversions – Tarinda Ratwatte – 1 Conversion, 1 PenaltyPolice SC
Tries – Joel Perera, Rasith Silva, Radeesha Seneviratne, Chula Susantha
Conversions – Rajith Sansoni – 03
