Madgascar beat the far more accomplished Poland 25-21 in a thrilling encounter yesterday at the Racecourse Grounds. The Malagasies played adventurously throughout the game and were also resolute in defense.
David Banaszek kicked off Poland’s first match of the tournament as the home crowd caught glimpses of what to expect from this Polish team that consists of a pack that weighs 850kgs. However, riding high on confidence after their victory against the Tuskers, it was Madagascar who threatened in the opening few minutes as they managed to utilize their speed and agility to good effect, eventually gaining the yards. Fullback Bernard seemed to be their main focal point in attack as he managed to thread through defenders in search of space.
But it was Poland who got the scoreboard ticking after Tiana Nirina was penalized for illegally joining the ruck. David slotted in the three points with an easy kick to give his team the lead.
Bernard who was showing glimpses of his ability then managed to score his first try of the game with a brilliant bit of individual skill that saw him whiz past Robert Pawelec who missed the all important tackle giving Bernard a free run under the post. After a horrendous kicking day for Jose Rakoto in the match against Sri Lanka, he seemed much more accustomed to the conditions today with a telling conversion.
Poland who were looking rusty early in the game made quite a few handling errors that eventually cost the European team another try. Again, it was Bernard who was the enforcer. After gathering the ball cleanly when Prop Craig Bachurzewski bundled it forward, Bernard chipped it past the defensive line and ran into space eventually being helped on by the bounce as he dashed a good 70m to score under the post once again. Rakoto added the extra points this time as well as the Madagascar lead 14-03.
The Malagasy team was penalized for offside, but Dawid failed to find his accuracy with the kick going wide. Craig Bachurzewski had a daunting run, shrugging off defenders with his power but failed to reach the try line leaving Poland with only an opportunity to score three points which Dawid made no mistake in capitalizing this time.
Madagascar who understood that strength of this hefty Polish side looked towards their captain Rakoto who sensibly extended the lead with a drop goal after a brilliant line out for the Malagasies
The game slowly shifted in momentum towards Poland when Szymon Sirocki scored under the post after a brilliant try coming from the right flank. After a bit of consistent pressure, Poland switch sides in attack, eventually utilizing overlap to allow Sirocki run into space. Dawid added the extra two points.
The pendulum shifted towards Poland at half time when Dawid scored another penalty minutes before the whistle to cut the deficit to one point. At the breather the scores read 17-16 in favour of Madgascar.
The Malagasies started the second half with a bang when winger Benjanaina Rakotoarivelo blazed through the Poland defense to score. Referee Irshard Carder had a tough job through ought the game and the awarding of the try was on one of those decisions. Rakoto then extended the lead with another brilliant drop goal as Madagascar was in control of the game once again.
Poland hit back through Robert Walelec after a penetrating run by try scorer Sirocki and a cheeky kick inbetween the defense that released Walelec. However, Dawid missed a tough conversion leaving Poland four points behind as time ran out for the Europeans.
Madgascar won their second game on the trot, eventually securing the first ever Dialog Serendib International Cup with a 25-21 victory over Poland.
