Havelocks Sports Club continued their unbeaten streak against the gallant Police SC outfit 27-06 points in the Dialog Club Rugby League week 5 at Havelock Park under the artificial lights.
Havelocks play maker and fly half Niroshan Fernando kicked off the game from left to right and Havelocks were up for the task from the 1st move itself as the Policemen piled on to the breakdowns but kept their corner flanks open and Niroshan Fernando capitalized on a superb move by Daniel Falefa to score near the corner flag to open the scoring 5 minutes into the game. Hakalo Villiami bisected the posts brilliantly to add the extra points. ( Havelocks 07 – Police 00 )
The challenging Policemen won the 1st opportunity to get on the score board when they were awarded a penalty inside the Havelocks half in the 12th minute of the game but Arshad Jamaldeen missed the chance. Havelocks extended their lead on the 18th minute when Romesh Acharige of Police were penalized for a dangerous tackle on a Havies player and Hakalo Villiami had no problems with the penalty kick. ( Havelocks 10 – Police 00 )
Defending champions Havelocks SC dominated the set plays as their tall jumpers had an advantage over the Police SC second rowers and Havies forwards showed no mercy in the scrums as they used all their experience to the count in winning much needed advantage but the power-packed Havelocks scrum faulted in the 28th minute when prop forward Dushmantha Priyardarshana were yellow carded for a scrum infringement but Arshad Jamaldeen missed another crucial penalty kick to the dismay of Police fans.
As the game progressed steadily to the half-way mark, Police opened scoring in the 34th minute when Havelocks defense were caught red handed for not releasing the tackler and Police stand off Arshad Jamaldeen was 3rd time lucky to put over a 30 meter penalty kick. ( Havelocks 10 – Police 03 )
Just seconds before the half time whistle, the Policemen got the perfect chance to stay in contention as Havelocks scrum half Zulki Hameed was sent off to the bin. Arshad Jamaldeen scored the penalty kick to reduce the deficit going into the half time.
Half Time : Havelocks 10 – Police 06
After the break, Arshad Jamaldeen restarted the game as both teams looked to play with great skill and temperament to settle down for an exciting half of rugby. Police played with a plan to topple the reigning champions and the fighting policemen got the 1st chance to secure points in the 2nd half when Havelocks speedster Chamara Dabare was yellow carded for an early tackle on a Police player inside the Havies territory but Arshad Jamaldeen let his team down when he missed another penalty kick. Scores remained the same.
Referee Irshad Cader after using his yellow card thrice so far on Havelocks players, continued his fondness of giving yellow cards at will when he sent off Gayan Udara and Udara Suriyapperuma of Police SC in the 51st and 55th minutes respectively for infringements which should have been only penalties. Mohammed Sherriff was never going to miss an easy penalty kick in front of posts in the 55 minute to extend the slight Havelocks lead. ( Havelocks 13 – Police 06 )
The 6th yellow card for the match was received by Havies second row Asitha Perera for a neck tackle in the 60th minute but Police SC failed to convert their scoring opportunities into points as they very much lacked in putting the finishing touches as they had to come back from deep inside Havelocks half.
The Police misery of giving away unnecessary penalties continued to torment their chances of a comeback as Niroshan Fernando scored his 2nd try in the 65th minute when he took a quick tap off a penalty advantage near the Police try line. Mohammed Sheriff converted with ease. ( Havelocks 20 – Police 06 )
7th and the last yellow card was shown to the Havies captain Sudarshana Muthuthanththri in the 73rd minute for hands in the ruck. Police showed a glimpse of brilliance as the forwards kept on going forward with ‘pick and go’ moves but lost the ball near the try line to provide Sri Lanka’s best wing three quarter at present Sandun Herath the space wide open with the ball in his hands to score a brilliant individual tri as he sprinted down nearly 90 meters breaking tackles and punting to confirm their shady victory. Mohammed Sheriff converted Herath’s magical try. ( Havelocks 27 – 06 )
No points were scored by both teams in the last 5 minutes or and no yellow cards were shown in the last 5 minutes either as the game ended with Referee Irshad Cader blowing the final whistle to end an exciting but sloppy game by the defending champions. Police SC will be gutted as they played their hearts out to create many scoring chances but the score line suggest a different story.
Full Time – Havelocks 27 – Police 06
