The Soldiers are the only team who beat Kandy in round one with a 21 – 13 margin. With a different team and a man going off with a red card Kandy won the match convincingly at Nittawela.
Full Time : Kandy 37 (T5, C3, P2) – Army 10 (T1, C1, P1)
Fazil Marija kicked off the game with a full house at Nittawela. Army with the ball position early on but playing in an off side position resulted Roshan Weerarathne slithering a 23m penalty to get the first bpoints on the board. Army conceded another penalty within a kickable distance to Weerarathne, Marija went to touch instead and Kandy lost ball position. (Kandy 03 – 00 Army)
Kandy in the opposite 5m had a chance to score but great counter attack by the visitors with Mohamed Absal making a box kick which was fumbled by Danushka Dayan. Although Lavanga Perera collected the ball from the ground his off load was intercepted by Sashan Mohamed who ran a 70m try. Gayan Salinda added the extras. Mesake Baisagal the Army foreigner was yellow carded for going high on Buwanaka Udangamuwa. Weerarathne slotted the penalty to reduce the deficit for one point. (Kandy 06 – 07 Army)
Kandy was so poor in terms of ball handling, Giant Koto Pongi made two knock-ons inside the opposite 22m along with Lanaga’s two. Sashan almost took another interception off Marija’s long pass but the ball fliped through his fingertips. Nevertheless, a brilliant decoy run by Kandy three quarters inside opposite 22m led Anurudda Wilwara to score the try in the left flank. Mesake Baisagale was red carded with an incident with Pongi and although the incident happened in front of the referee Pradeep Fernando he was looking for Assistant D. Nimal’s help. The outcome as a red card was a pathetic decision as this is not football. Rehan Weerakoon kicked a penalty for the visitors to add extra three points. Soldiers defended well with a man short but Wilwara’s inside ball to Pongi, saw the next try scored. (Kandy 18 – 10 Army)
Half Time : Kandy 18 (T2, C1, P2) – Army 10 (T1, C1, P1)
The second half started with Kandy playing running rugby but not at their best as errors continued to pile-on. On the other hand Army’s line out was too scrappy in the entire game. After ten minutes of play Kandy with a free kick by Oscar Ouma the Kenyan speedster collected an inside ball from Marija and sprinted to an eye catching try under the post. Soon after Rehan Weerakoon had an opportunity with a penalty but the kick went wide of the left bar.. (Kandy 25 – 10 Army)
Marija with a wonderful line break ran 40m and sent out the ball wide to Lavanga Perera who stormed past to score the bonus point try. Credit to Army for the brave effort on the field but with Baisagale off with the red-card, the Soldiers lost the man in the full back position. Marija made a few chips and chases and one of his chases was sweetly collected by the veteran himself who went under the post. . (Kandy 37 – 10 Army)
Army center Aparasa Rasavulu tackling without arms inside own 22m was also a yellow card incident where Rasavulu had a lucky escape. Visitors did dominate opposite territory a few times but the ball possession cut lose as a result Kandy countered back. Moreover, Kandy could have scored more if they did not use so much kicking in the last quarter. Army had 5-6 penalties in a row in the last few minutes, instead of going for touch or points they showed some intensity for a running game. However, they could not finish what they wanted to do as the ball went to touch from the breakdown.
Full Time : Kandy 37 (T5, C3, P2) – Army 10 (T1, C1, P1)
Referee : Pradeep Fernando
ThePapare Player of the match – Buwanaka Udangamuwa (Kandy)
