Defending Champions CR & FC kicked off their title defense in style by hammering the newbies to the top division Sri Lions 43-13 in a Week 2 clash of the Mastercard Inter-Club A Division Rugby League which took place under lights at Longdon Place.
Sri Lions became the first team to score in the encounter as they received a penalty which they decided to go for points and skipper Kevin Dixon kicked through quite easily. But just a few minutes later the CR & FC forwards and the backs combined to produce a phenomenal try. Adeesha Weerathunga was the try scorer but it was Lasindu Karunathilaka who began the onslaught with a powerful run from the left side of the field and some slick offloads did the rest for the home team. Skipper Zubair Doray added the extra couple for CR & FC (CR 07 – 03 SL)
The hosts struck gold once again with a 5 pointer through Randy Silva just a few minutes later as he found the whitewash from the left corner of the field. Although the conversion missed, CR were now with a 9 point buffer after conceding the early penalty. They scored a 3rd try inside the first 20 minutes when they made use of a scrum just 5 meters away from the tryline as Karunathilaka who took the ball out gave a quick pass out to Rinesh Silva on the short side as he went over easily. Doray produced a stunning conversion to add the extras for his team as the lead grew for the boys from Longdon Place. Couple of minutes later they received a penalty as well to get the points tally over 20 (CR 22 – 03 SL)
Right at the 30th minute mark, Nizran Mohamed scored the first try for Sri Lions as they made use of a 5 meter scrum and used the shorter side to attack and find space. It was a much needed boost for the newcomers who were struggling but unfortunately skipper Dixon missed the conversion from a hard angle. That was also the last try of the first half as the home team went into Lemons with a lot of advantage while the visitors found some payback to come back stronger in the second half.
Half-Time : CR&FC 22 – 08 Sri Lions
CR & FC managed to start the second half with a bang as they made full use of a penalty advantage inside the opposition half and kicked it into touch where the rolling maul which followed was too good for the Sri Lions forwards to even think about stopping. Venura Kodagoda touched the ball down while Doray converted the bonus point try for the defending champions. 7 minutes later, the boys in red repeated the same move and scored a try through a rolling maul as Kodagoda scored his 2nd try inside the first 10 minutes of the second half. Doray once again converted the try with a beautiful kick from the right corner of the field (CR 36 – 08 SL)
CR & FC scored their final try of the game making use of a scrum which they received inside the 22m territory of Sri Lions as they worked the ball from right to left allowing Thilina Wijesinghe to score a diving try on his return to the club rugby scene after a hiatus. Another superb kick from the skipper added the extra points for the hosts as their lead grew to 35 points. Sri Lions did manage to score a consolation try going into the last 10 minutes through Denuwan Silva but a missed conversion meant they had to finish on just 13 in this game (CR 43 – 13 SL)
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It was a great start for the defending champions from Longdon Place as the 30 point buffer shows how dominant they were. Their forwards were on point throughout the game and the backline also chipped in when mattered. With this comfortable win they will be looking for more stern challenges during the upcoming weeks. For Sri Lions it’s about trying to regroup well before Week 3 and focus on not suffering a hat trick of losses to kickoff their A Division story. Adeesha Weeratunga had a phenomenal outing as he scored a try and played a pivotal part in most of the attacking moves by CR. For his influence in the final result, Weeratunga was named the player of the match.
Full-Time : CR&FC 43 (6T 5C 1P) defeated Sri Lions 13 (2T 1P)
- Player of the Match : Adeesha Weeratunga (CR&FC)
Points Breakdown
CR & FC : Adeesha Weeratunga 05 Points (1T), Randy Silva 05 Points (1T), Zubair Doray 13 Points (5C, 1P), Rinesh Silva 05 Points (1T), Venura Kodagoda 10 Points (2T)
Sri Lions : Nizran Mohamed 05 Points (1T), Denuwan Silva 05 Points (1T), Kevin Dixon 03 Points (1P)
